Sixth Sunday of Easter, cycle C

John 14:23- 29
I know of a man and woman who adopted a son.  They had already had two children, but they had room for another and took in the orphan.  They showed no favoritism and in fact the older children helped welcome the younger one into the family.  But the child kept getting into trouble.  As he grew older, he got in more serious trouble.  He dropped out of high school; married, had a child, and divorced.  He couldn't hold a job.  Every time he would fail at something, he'd come home where the family would welcome him and help him get on his feet again.  Eventually the young man left that part of the country and no one has heard from him in a couple of years.  But I suspect he knows that there will always be a place for him in that loving family, even though he's never done anything to deserve that kind of love. 
Jesus talks about peace today.  He's not talking about peace as opposed to war, because if he is, it's been 2000 years and we still don't have peace.  He's talking about personal peace.  And if we wonder what that is, I think the answer is that we have peace when we have desired something and we finally get it.  And the world can give us that kind of peace.  If I'm hungry, I desire food, and if the world gives me food, I'm at peace, for a while. If I'm bored, I can turn on the television, and I have peace for a little while.  If I've worked hard to advance in my career, and my boss promotes me and gives me a raise, I'm at peace for a while.  In fact, I think that's what moves most of us along in life; we are unsettled about something; we try to settle it, and we are at peace – for a while.  So the world can give us peace – an anemic peace, a short-lived peace, a peace that is partial and constricted.  And that's not the peace that Jesus offers. 
Imagine that you are one of the apostles.  You are sitting there at the supper table after the meal, and Jesus has been going on and on, sometimes talking to you, sometimes talking to the Father, and everyone knows that something is in the air; Jesus has been predicting his passion, and when he told you that he was going to Jerusalem, Thomas said “Let us go down with him and die with him.”  But one thing Jesus has been saying, over and over again, in different ways, is that God loves you – enough to wash your feet, enough to feed you with his very flesh; enough to make his dwelling in you.  There is no limit to God's love for you, for you personally.  And what do you have to do in return for this love?  Jesus has made it clear, you can't do anything to deserve this love and you can't do anything to make God stop loving you.  And Jesus keeps saying “believe”.  Because it's hard to believe; it's not our experience to be loved unconditionally, like the young man who was adopted.  Even with the best parents in the world, something in us is always worried that I could do something to lose the love of my mother or father, even though those of us who are parents know that that couldn't happen.  The fear of losing love is a great motivator to become civilized, but it's not the way God works. 
And what would happen if I really believed in God's unconditional love for me, whether I am the holiest monk in the world or the worst sinner? If I really believed it, I would love him back.
And that's the peace that Jesus offers; it's the same kind of peace he enjoys even as he prepares for his death.  It's the peace of knowing that he is so loved that nothing about him will be lost, everything that makes Jesus Jesus is forever with the Father.  And he tells you, “don't let your heart be troubled because I am going away, for I will come back for you.”  And he tells you, “I am sending you another advocate who will provide you with everything you need to know.”  Even if I slip away into Alzheimer's disease, the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, will not abandon me. 
If I really believed what Jesus promises, that assurance of perfect peace given out of God's love for me, I would love him back. 
And how do we love him back?  We obey his teaching.  Sometimes we think his teaching involves the ten commandments and the other rules and regulations which usually start out with “thou shalt not”.  While these are important for our spiritual health, I think the teachings of Jesus have a different character.  Here are some of the teachings of Jesus. “Come to me all you who labor and I will give you rest.”  “Love one another as I have loved you.”  “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me.”  Jesus further teaches us in his parables; in the story of the good Samaritan we learn how to identify our neighbor, whom we have been commanded to love.  Jesus' teachings are not “thou shalt not”.  Jesus' teachings are mostly about a way of life that can always be made better, more perfect, more like Jesus demonstrated in his life.  And unlike “thou shalt not” commandments, his teachings always invite us to move towards greater joy, because they ultimately lead to union with him.  Even when he says “If anyone wishes to be my disciple he must take up his cross and follow me” or when he says “whoever will lose his life for my sake will find it” and “whoever humbles himself will be exalted”  he is simply inviting us to imitate his own life, and of course that life includes resurrection and eternal life in union with the father. 
The story I told you at the beginning is a little like the story of the prodigal son, except without the happy ending, at least so far.  But I think you can appreciate that we are all like that son; we are all loved with unconditional love, love that will never close the door, will always welcome us, will offer us eternal life, not as a reward for good behavior but because that's what the Father has planned for us from the beginning because we are his sons and daughters; and all we have to do is love him back.  Believe this, because that is the peace that Jesus gives, that is the peace that he has.