Love, Obedience and Truth - A Sermon for Sunday May 14 2023

GOSPEL: John 14:15-21

The holy gospel according to John.

Glory to you, O Lord.

In final words to his disciples on the night of his arrest, Jesus encourages obedience to his commandments and speaks of the Spirit, who will be with them forever.

[Jesus said to the disciples:] 15“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. 17This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.

  18“I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. 19In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. 20On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”

The gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

Can you love someone and not be obedient to them?

Our Tuesday Bible Study group debated this.

I used this example:

What if your child asks you

if they can eat candy for supper.

Candy isn’t healthy,

but I love my children,

and I want to say yes to what they ask.

So, in love, I say,

“I’m sorry, you have to eat your vegetables.”

I love the child,

but I’m not obeying their wish for candy.

Maybe you can love someone and not obey them.

Think of this example however

if the parent is the one offering the child

candy for supper.

Let’s presume and hope that the child loves their parent,

and they know that eating vegetables

are a far better option.

The child might be better off disobeying the parent,

which in turn is an act of love.

We see this with citizens responding

to governments or employers too:

sometimes civil disobedience

is the truest form of love.

Just because your government or employer

tells you to do something,

it doesn’t make it right:

like a parent offering a child candy for supper.

Sometimes we have to disobey the people we love.

Yet Jesus, whom we love, calls for obedience.

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments”

Sometimes, often-times, we do not obey,

sometimes we don’t want to obey.

You can only show love by obedience

when truth is in the picture.

Imagine a triangle:

the three points are Obedience, Love and Truth.

Using the example of children wanting candy for supper -

If they ask for candy,

the parent shows love by saying no

because the truth is vegetables are good for them

and candy isn’t.

This is love and truth,

in obedience towards the child’s greater good.

But if the parent ignores the truth

and the child only receives candy,

does the parent really love them?

Arguably no.

Love, obedience and truth are a package.

We can show Jesus love by obedience because,

in an age of perceptive truth,

the only absolute truth is our God.

We can simply obey Jesus,

because Jesus is the way, the life, and the truth.

Just moments before these words of Jesus we heard today,

Jesus said “Very truly, I tell you,

the one who believes in me will also do

the works that I do and, in fact,

will do even greater works than these.”

Obedience is about believing in Jesus

and joining in the works of Jesus.

Obedience to Christ’s commands

is to love one another

as Christ has first loved.

Obedience is washing feet:

remember that before Jesus’ words about obedience,

Jesus takes on the role of servant

and loves his disciples by washing their feet.

“if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet,

you also ought to wash one another’s feet.

For I have set you an example,

that you also should do as I have done to you”

Remember, Jesus washed Judas’ feet.

Even the one who was about to betray him,

even the least-obedient

receives love.

God is love - God pours out love,

so we love as God has first loved us.

This can be hard.

Love your enemies,

pray for those who persecute you,

Jesus teaches.

This is where it gets really hard,

loving enemies,

those who hurt or abuse or persecute.

We value loyalty.

For many in our society,

it is family above all else.

Family always.

We define family often by biology,

but family is also those who are close to you,

those who you can trust in,

those with whom

you can be yourself unapologetically.

Watch the Fast and the Furious movies,

and they have a particular take on family;

“You don’t turn your back on family,

even when they do.”

Loyalty.

You always have their back.

This can get difficult with our brokenness,

with sin,

with selfishness,

with manipulation or greed.

Commandment #4

(or #5, depending on your faith tradition)

is to honour your father and mother,

so we even have a religious obligation

to family first,

however you define it.

I was listening to a song on Jack Harlow’s new album,

it’s called “Gang, Gang, Gang”

It is a song about loyalty to your “gang”;

to your friends,

to your family.

“Ride for my dogs,

lie for my dogs,

die for my dogs”

is the repeated refrain.

It’s the code many live by,

and we value this:

always standing by your friends,

your family,

your gang,

no matter what.

Fair warning,

if you decide to listen to the song,

there are some troubling stories in the verses

which could be triggering,

so listen with caution and discretion.

Harlow rhymes about two friends -

family, gang, dawgs -

who have done terrible,

despicable,

hurtful things;

sexual assault types of crimes, in fact.

“Ride for my dogs,

lie for my dogs,

die for my dogs…”

the refrain continues.

How do you love someone

who has really hurt you?

How do you love someone

who has done terrible, terrible things?

Harlow’s rap takes a turn in the third verse:

“Truthfully, it’s family ‘till it can’t be,

gang ‘til it ain’t…

Dawgs until the lifting of the fog…

Unconditional love becomes very conditioned

when push comes to shove…

we hold accountable the ones we hold dear

out of morals, but mainly fear,

the choice becomes clear.

And years of camaraderie suddenly disappear,

almost like you never were here.”

Obedience, Love, and Truth:

that’s the triangle.

Sometimes the best love we can show ourselves,

the best love we can show

those who have hurt us and others so deeply

is to allow a parting of ways.

You can love someone and still say goodbye.

You can love someone

and not be obedient to them

when the Truth is not in them.

You can love someone by speaking the truth in love.

The truth will set you free,

but it might hurt like hell, first.

Since the only absolute Truth is God

finding truth requires discernment:

that means dwelling in God’s Word,

listening to the Spirit in Prayer.

A truth from Jesus:

we are called to love our enemies.

Jesus calls us to forgive as we have been forgiven.

We are called into the ministry of reconciliation.

Yet we cannot love others with God’s kind of love.

We can’t always continue in relationship,

especially when there is genuine risk

that we or someone will be hurt again.

God won’t leave anyone orphaned,

yet we might have to say goodbye.

Christians are not called to be doormats

that get repeatedly stepped on.

We value loyalty,

but sometimes the loyalty or allegiances we hold

to people or organizations

only hurts ourselves and those we love

because their truth is skewed,

unaligned with God’s Truth.

When called to love,

why continue in obedience

when there is no truth?

We can love Jesus,

we can take on obedience,

we can strive to keep Jesus’ commands,

because Jesus is the Truth,

Jesus is trustworthy,

Jesus will never do anything

to break that trust.

Jesus has the track record,

God speaks, and it happens.

God always keeps God’s promises.

Jesus is in the Father,

and the Father is in Jesus.

For when love, obedience and truth get hard

Jesus promises another Advocate,

which means that there already has been

an advocate - Jesus.

Jesus promises the Spirit of Truth,

who will guide us into all truth.

Jesus is the Truth,

so Truth cannot be separate from

Jesus of Nazareth,

Jesus the Christ.

If we want to know the Truth,

we simply look to Jesus,

Jesus’ words,

Jesus’ life, death and resurrection,

Jesus’ works.

It’s a hard thing to try and know the mind of God.

Impossible, even.

Yet God is speaking to us,

calling us by the Spirit,

through the Word of God, Jesus Christ.

I will not leave you orphaned, Jesus promises.

I am coming to you.

I will love you and reveal myself to you.

That’s Jesus’ promise.

Our God is faithful.

Our God always keeps God’s promises.

By Jesus’ promise,

we can simply believe that

the Spirit of Truth will show up,

and we will be guided into the Truth.

In a little while the world will no longer see me,

but you will see me;

because I live, you also will live

We have not been left orphaned.

We are not alone.

Jesus is alive

so we might live

and even with our brokenness,

our sin,

our lack of truth,

our enemies,

The promise remains:

you will see me:

in the face of the stranger and the poor,

in the face of the faithful,

in our children,

in our neighbours,

and by God’s Spirit,

even in the mirror.

May we be those who love Jesus

by keeping Jesus’ commandments.

May the Advocate,

the Spirit of Truth,

abide with us.

May we love ourselves and our neighbours;

and see Jesus revealed.

Thanks be to God. Amen.