Sixth Sunday of Easter, cycle b

JOHN 15:9-17
FOR OUR FORTIETH ANNIVERSARY, I SURPRISED JOAN AND WE WENT TO BERMUDA FOR A FEW DAYS. I'M VERY SENSITIVE TO SPENDING MONEY, OR AS JOAN WOULD SAY, CHEAP, SO I WAS SHOCKED AT THE PRICES FOR FOOD. I THINK WE LOST A LITTLE WEIGHT ON THAT TRIP. BUT IN ADDITION TO BERMUDA'S NATURAL BEAUTY, THE THING YOU CAN'T MISS IS HOW VERY BRITISH IT IS. YOU HAVE CITIZENS OF BERMUDA WHO PROBABLY HAVE NEVER BEEN TO ENGLAND, BUT SPEAK WITH BRITISH ACCENTS, WEAR CLOTHING LIKE YOU SEE IN LONDON, HAVE PUBS, DRIVE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD, AND BUILD THEIR BUILDINGS WITH A DISTINCTIVELY BRITISH STYLE.
WHEN BERMUDA WAS SETTLED, AS SOON AS THE PEOPLE HAD ENOUGH LEISURE AND RESOURCES, THEY SET OUT TO RECREATE A LITTLE BIT OF THE HOMELAND THAT THEY REMEMBERED. IT IS A COMMON TRAIT OF HUMAN BEINGS; WHEN WE LEAVE HOME TO TAKE UP RESIDENCE IN ANOTHER LAND, WE TRY TO MAKE OUR NEW HOME RESEMBLE WHAT WE REMEMBER FONDLY OF OUR OLD HOME. YOU CAN SEE IT IN QUEBEC CITY, OR ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA. I'M SURE ANYONE WHO HAS TRAVELED, EVEN TO BOSTON, RECOGNIZES WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT.
DURING THE LAST FEW WEEKS WE'VE BEEN LISTENING TO JESUS' FAREWELL DISCOURSE TO HIS DISCIPLES. HE KEEPS TELLING US THAT WE ARE TO LOVE EACH OTHER. WE'VE HEARD THAT COMMAND SO OFTEN, WE SORT OF LET IT ROLL OFF OUR BACKS. BUT THERE ARE TWO QUESTIONS WE MIGHT WANT TO ASK. FIRST, WHY? AND SECOND, WHAT DOES LOVING EACH OTHER REALLY MEAN?
IN THE SECOND CENTURY, AN ANONYMOUS CHRISTIAN WROTE A LETTER TO DIOGNETUS, A ROMAN RULER. HE WAS TRYING TO DESCRIBE WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE A CHRISTIAN. HE SAID, “ANY COUNTRY CAN BE THEIR HOMELAND, BUT FOR THEM, THEIR HOMELAND, WHEREVER IT MAY BE, IS A FOREIGN COUNTRY.” AND “THEY PASS THEIR DAYS UPON THE EARTH, BUT THEY ARE CITIZENS OF HEAVEN.”
SO THAT IS PART OF THE STORY. JESUS COMES TO US FROM THE TRINITY. HE HAS EXPERIENCED THE LOVE THAT EXISTS THERE, AND HE WANTS TO RECREATE SOMETHING OF HEAVEN HERE ON EARTH. TO CREATE A LITTLE PATCH OF HEAVEN ON EARTH, THERE NEEDS TO BE A COMMUNITY THAT LOVES, AND THAT IS WHAT HE CREATES, AND THAT IS WHY HE ADMONISHES HIS DISCIPLES TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER. YOU AND I ARE CITIZENS OF HEAVEN. WHEN WE WERE BAPTIZED, WHEN WE RECEIVE THE OTHER SACRAMENTS, WE ARE ENVELOPED IN THE LOVE OF THE TRINITY. WHEN WE RECEIVE THE EUCHARIST ESPECIALLY, WE ARE TRANSPORTED FOR A FEW MOMENTS INTO THE MIDST OF THE TRINITY, WHERE JESUS LIVES ETERNALLY, BODY AND SOUL. SOME OF THE GREAT SAINTS EXPERIENCED THIS ON THIS EARTH. WHILE WE MAY NOT BE MOVED TO ECSTASY AS THEY WERE, I THINK MOST OF US AT SOME TIME OR ANOTHER HAVE CAUGHT A TINY GLIMPSE OF OUR HOMELAND WHEN WE RECEIVE THE EUCHARIST.
SO, LIKE THE FIRST DISCIPLES AND LIKE CHRISTIANS DOWN THROUGH THE AGES, SOMETHING IN US WANTS TO CREATE SOMETHING OF HEAVEN HERE ON EARTH; AND FUNDAMENTAL TO THAT IS LOVE.
THE SECOND QUESTION IS, WHAT IS THIS LOVE? JESUS GIVES A FEW HINTS. IT IS LIKE THE LOVE HE SHARES WITH HIS FATHER. IN THE TRINITY, THE FATHER GENERATES THE SON FOR ALL ETERNITY. THE SON HAS NO BEGINNING, BUT IS BEGOTTEN. THE SON IS THERE BECAUSE IT IS THE VERY NATURE OF THE FATHER TO GENERATE THE SON. LOVE, THE HEAVENLY LOVE WE SEEK TO RECREATE ON EARTH, IS GENERATIVE; IT IS EMPOWERING. IT IS AN ATTITUDE OF HOW CAN I HELP MY NEIGHBOR BECOME A MORE COMPLETE PERSON; HOW CAN I HELP HIM OR HER BECOME WHAT GOD WANTS THEM TO BE? PARENTS KNOW ABOUT THIS ASPECT OF LOVE. THERE IS NEVER A TIME WHEN THE CHILD IS OUT OF THE PARENT'S MIND, WHEN THE PARENT ISN'T THINKING, WHAT CAN I DO TO MAKE HER LIFE BETTER? THE LAST TIME I SAW MY MOTHER, 90 YEARS OLD AND WITH A FAIR DEGREE OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE, SHE ASKED, AS SHE ALWAYS DID, WHAT SHE COULD DO FOR ME.
JESUS SAYS THAT THE GREATEST LOVE IS WHEN THE LOVER LAYS DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS. BECAUSE JESUS LAID DOWN HIS LIFE IN A PARTICULAR WAY, SOMETIMES WE SEE THIS STATEMENT AS MEANING THAT WE NEED TO BE WILLING TO DIE FOR LOVE, IF WE REALLY WANT TO LOVE. BUT LAYING DOWN YOUR LIFE IS BROADER THAN THAT. IT MEANS THAT WE ARE CONSCIOUS OF THE FACT THAT OUR LIFE BELONGS TO OTHERS, TO GOD, TO OUR NEIGHBOR. THINK ABOUT HOW DIFFERENT OUR WORLD WOULD BE IF WE WERE ALWAYS LIVING LIKE THIS – WHEN I WORK, I AM LAYING DOWN MY LIFE FOR MY FRIENDS; BECAUSE THERE ISN'T ANY LEGITIMATE HUMAN WORK THAT DOESN'T IN SOME WAY BENEFIT OTHER PEOPLE. IN MY FAMILY LIFE, I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR MY SPOUSE, MY CHILDREN. IN ALL MY RELATIONSHIPS, IN SOME WAY I LAY DOWN A BIT OF MY LIFE – MY TIME, MY ATTENTION, MY ACTIONS – FOR OTHERS.
FINALLY, JESUS SEEMS TO EQUATE THE LOVE HE SPEAKS ABOUT WITH FRIENDSHIP. WE COULD SAY A LOT ABOUT FRIENDSHIP, BUT THE REASON WE SEEK FRIENDSHIP IS A VERY SIMPLE ONE; WHEN WE ARE WITH FRIENDS, WE HAVE JOY. WHEN WE ARE APART FROM A FRIEND, THERE IS A LITTLE BIT OF EMPTINESS IN OUR HEARTS; WHEN WE MEET A FRIEND AFTER A LONG ABSENCE, WE HAVE A SENSE OF BEING MORE COMPLETE. AGAIN, OUR SPIRITUAL FATHERS AND MOTHERS, THE GREAT SAINTS, TEACH US THAT HUMAN FRIENDSHIP IS A PALE IMITATION OF FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD; ST AUGUSTINE SAYS “OUR HEARTS BEING RESTLESS, UNTIL THEY REST IN THEE, OH GOD.” ST JANE DE CHANTAL SAID THAT UNION WITH GOD WAS LIKE A RAINDROP FALLING INTO THE OCEAN; SUDDENLY WHAT WAS TINY AND CLOSED UP OPENS UP TO INFINITY.
SO THAT'S THE STORY. JESUS MAKES US CITIZENS OF HEAVEN; AS WE PASS THROUGH THIS WORLD WHERE WE ARE FOREVER FOREIGNERS, WE SEEK TO BUILD A LITTLE REFLECTION OF HEAVEN ON EARTH. WE DO THIS THROUGH THE PRACTICE OF LOVE – LOVE THAT BUILDS EACH OTHER UP, THAT HELPS EACH OTHER REACH OUR FULL POTENTIAL. WE DO THIS BY LAYING DOWN OUR LIVES FOR THOSE AROUND US; AND WE DO THIS BY GIVING AND RECEIVING THE JOY OF TRUE FRIENDSHIP, A JOY WE FIRST RECEIVE FROM JESUS, WHO HAS CHOSEN US TO BE HIS FRIENDS.
KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN THE NEXT TIME YOU VISIT AN OLD HISTORICAL SITE IN THE NEW WORLD, AND SEE IF YOU CAN TELL WHERE THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED THERE SO LONG AGO TRIED TO RE CREATE A LITTLE BIT OF THEIR HOME IN THEIR NEW SURROUNDINGS. AND REMEMBER, THAT IS WHAT WE CHRISTIANS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING IN THIS FOREIGN LAND WHERE WE AWAIT OUR EVENTUAL RETURN TO OUR TRUE HOME.