“Grace Already Freely Given”  2013

John 15:8-12     1 John 5:1-5, 10-13

 

John 15:8-12

My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

 

1 John 5:1-5, 10-13

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts. Those who do not believe in God have made him a liar by not believing in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son. And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

 

In the 1850’s,

            Jean Francois Gravelot, better known as “The Great Blondin”

                thrilled audiences with his  daredevil tightrope act,

                   and most famous for his repeated Niagara Falls crossings.

           

There is a story that one time after crossing, he asked the crowd,

            “who believes I can go across Niagara Falls and back again,

                  but this time while I am pushing a wheelbarrow?”,

                                    and the crowd shouted, “We believe!  We believe!”

 

When he crossed and returned,  it was to a wildly cheering crowd.

            Then he said to the excited and enthusiastic onlookers,

                           “Who here   believes I can cross and return again,

                                    but this time with someone in the wheelbarrow?”

                  The crowd was thrilled, applauded with a deafening roar,

                           and shouted even more loudly, “We believe!  We believe!”

 

Then over the loud cheering the Great Blondin asked the crowd,

                        “Then who will be the first to volunteer,

                             to ride in the wheelbarrow going across the Falls?”

                                                         And suddenly, there was dead silence.

 

The sort of faith being described in John and First John,

                is not just screaming, “I believe!”,   but it is active,

                        and means actually getting into the wheelbarrow.

 

From the author of John’s perspective,

            belief, obedience, and the command to love   are inseparable,

                and all three are essential to Christian discipleship.

Belief is not just an intellectual exercise, but must effect      

    every aspect, every detail and corner of a Christian’s life,

                         and result in obedience to the command   that we love…

                             … and live lives that demonstrate to whom we belong.

 

As we read earlier,  vs. 1-2, vs. 12-13

            Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and … By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. … This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

 

  In the original Greek, the phrase, “eternal life”

            translated literally is, “life in the coming age”.

 

That phrase is the writer of John’s equivalent

            to “the Kingdom of God” found in Mark’s and Luke’s gospels,

                        and “the Kingdom of Heaven” used in Matthew’s gospel.

 

‘Eternal life’, ‘the Kingdom of God’, and ‘the Kingdom of Heaven’

            all refer to living  now and forever   as the children of God,

                   as those whose lives have and are   being saved & changed

                      by the gracious love of God given through Jesus Christ.

 

The point is,

            as we grow deeper in faith, closer and more focused on Jesus

                   more of our life & spiritual journey will fall into place,

                                    or as Jesus explained it in John,   vs. 9, 12

            As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. … This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

 

  Theologians call this important truth, the priority of grace ---

      first God loves us, then calls us to live in faithful response.

*That is the central message of the life and teaching of Jesus…

                          … which is why he welcomed, ate and associated

                                    with sinners, tax-collectors and other outcasts.

 

He came to show them they were loved and precious to God,

            and that they were welcome and accepted by God,

                        and not condemned to continue in destructive ways.

The message is hope, and new life  participating in God’s kingdom.

 

*  But sometimes we get our thinking and our theology backwards.

 

We mistakenly presume that we have to do something

     so that we can earn or deserve God’s love and favor, or thatà

            it’s by our good works that blessings continue to flow.

 

Jesus came to offer the mercy and compassion of a second chance,

            in fact, as many second chances as any lost sinner needs!

 

The cause is the gracious love of God through Jesus Christ,

          the effect  or consequence

                   is that we can live in gratitude as a faithful response;

                             that having received acceptance, we can live & enjoy

                                        an authentic and growing relationship with God,à

 

à and from there   we are called to live out that gift of grace,

               by letting it blossom and bloom as we explore how to live

                        within God’s intended plan and purpose for our lives.

 

Scripture is emphatic and clear

            that first we receive the offer of God’s gracious love,

                   and only then are we called to respond with the obedience

                             of good works, discipleship, and faithful service.

            As Apostle Paul explains in          Ephesians 2:8-10

                        For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing;   it is the gift of God-- not the result of works, so that no one may boast.   For we are   what he has made us…                      

 

                   So why does this reversing cause and effect matter?              

                             What difference does that really make?

 

It makes a difference in how we perceive & relate to other people.

          If we reverse cause and effect, we mistakenly assume

                   that we must earn God’s grace & mercy   by our good works …

…and rather than a joyful & grateful relationship through Christ,

      we are driven to perform, to get every detail just right,

            which is just a step away from the self-righteousness trap…

 

… and only a step away from us   judging the worthiness of others

        according to our own standard of  often harsh perfectionism,

*             which is to miss the mark of God’s love, grace and purpose.

 

What difference does it make?

            It’s the difference between living angry and resentful lives

               driven by fear, guilt, obligation and frustration,

                         or experiencing the peace & joy that God intends for us.

 

       If I lose the sense of wonder, trust and gratitude for the fact

               that God loves and blesses  an underserving sinner like me…

… then I will run myself   and others around me ragged and weary

            with trying somehow to justify that which is already mine –

                    i.e.        God’s grace, a gift already freely given by Jesus Christ.

 

Faithful Christian discipleship reflects what Jesus said, vs.9, 12

            As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. … This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

 

It is in response to God’s grace, that we are called to love,

            to reach out to all people with the love of God in our hearts;
               which means putting their interest and good   ahead of ours.

 

   It is dropping our defenses, our pretensions, our attitudes,

            and resolving to love others, the way that Jesus   loves us,

                        not for what they can do for us or how they make us feel,

                                but without any demands, because they belong to God…

                        … trusting that God will fulfill His promised salvation.

 

Suppose that

            rather than trying to prove anything to anybody, even God,

                        we chose to live our lives in joyful & grateful response

                                    trusting entirely the promise & grace given  by God?

-- how could that change how we viewed ourselves   and our lives,

                and how would that change our treatment of other people,

                          who are also infinitely precious and loved by Jesus? …

 

          … that is     the sort of church-community

                    the Holy Spirit is calling and has equipped us to be.

 

Gracie was a young woman who had severe cerebral palsy

            and had spent most of her life in various institutions.

                        Her sister brought her home to live with their family,

                                    and she began coming with them to our church.

 

One Sunday, when some new members joined during worship,

            she came to me after the service, and made it known

                        that she wanted to join, she wanted to be a member.

 

I knew that Jesus would welcome her, but I wondered

            how much of the gospel and theology would she comprehend,

                        and how could I teach the faith and prepare her

                                    to speak about faith to the Session with integrity?

 

I designed her communicants’ class around Psalm 23.

            I tried to teach her about Jesus, the Good Shepherd,

                                and with crayons and some sheets of blank paper

                                        she made a series of pictures about the 23^rd Psalm.

 

When she came to the Session & described what her drawings meant,

            it was a most amazing and powerful moment of grace & welcome.

                                         She had learned and understood God’s love

                                                 way beyond anything I had ever taught or said.          

 

Truth is, even after she joined the church,

    at times she could still be difficult and even disruptive;

              but she was always loved, and she was always one of us ---

               -- and she experienced and taught  God’s gracious love

                         through the hospitality of that little congregation.

 

*        I believe   that church   helped her discover her best,

               by loving her as the child of God and grace  she truly was.             

To abide, is to love as Jesus loves,  it is to see as Jesus sees. 

          who sees us for who we could be, as God created us to become.

 

It is in response to God's grace and mercy that we are called

     to reach out to all people with the love of God in our hearts,

               to drop our defenses, our pretensions, our attitudes,

                        and resolve to love other people,  as Jesus loves us.

 

*As we come to the Table today, it is a celebration of God’s grace.

            It’s a call to abide in God’s love … and so today I suggest,

                        reflect on where you are seeing God at work  in the world,

                                    in your own life,  where are you seeing God’s grace …

 

          … and then each of us consider prayerfully,

                 where can I reflect God’s grace in the world where I live?