Sixth Sunday of Easter John 15:9-17 Acts 10:44-end

‘You did not choose me but I chose you.’ says Jesus. In this part of Jesus’ farewell discourse, he gives his disciples the pattern for their lives as believers. In the context of this pattern, the commandments he gives them for their witness are all speaking about love. It is his love for them that should inspire them to love one another. And this is only possible in the best way, by remaining in Jesus’ love, just as he has kept the Father’s commandments and remained in his love. I would not suggest that we could ever do that – perfectly – in our own strength. Jesus doesn’t say that either. What he does say, is that the disciples (and we) are his friends; that he has made known to them everything that he has heard from his Father, and has appointed them to ‘go and bear fruit, fruit that will last,’ so that the Father will give them whatever they ask him in Jesus’ name. And Jesus is giving them these commands so that they may love one another, as brothers and sisters. Love points to God, reflects God, honours God. The love shared among Christians tells the story of God’s love for the world. When it is given freely, it is a testimony of a personal relationship of love and loyalty to the One who has loved us more than we can ever begin to imagine. It may not be easy to love one another; it may at times be rather difficult. But it may also be the first step towards the fuller humanity and freedom that God is calling us to. Love is an essential ingredient of life. Yes, we need shelter, food and clothing, but without love we wither. In the care for orphaned and abandoned babies, it has been noticed that those who were never picked up and carried or cuddled, didn’t thrive as those who were.

It may be worth mentioning, that it is God who initiates love. The love between Christ and the Church has begun with him in Jesus. It is about the spiritual union of the soul with God that he has moved to inspire – first through the people of Israel, and then through his Son. That is why Jesus can indeed issue the command that we ‘love one another’, and so remain in his love, because he has acted out the greatest thing that love can do. But his actions are not coercive or manipulative. Rather, he has come to give us joy and freedom, to make us more human, not less. He doesn’t ask us to become super- or even semi-human, but to bear fruit in accordance with God’s mission and purpose for us, so that, in the end, both the lover and the beloved become more human; more like God intended us to be.

We are reminded here, of what it says in 1 Corinthians 13: ‘If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.’ This is not about receiving love; it is more about giving love. Whether we are young or old, or anything in between, we need love to thrive. For those who received little in life, it may be more difficult to give. But the principle still applies, that whoever gives much, will receive much in return, if not from the same person, then in other ways.

‘You did not choose me but I chose you’, says Jesus in verse 16. And once we grasp the truth of God’s love and intentions for us, we find that loving one another is not a heavy yoke to bear, but, in humility and loyalty, the means to build life-giving relationships that honour God. So this is the command: love one another. Amen.