Acts 17: 55–60; Psalm 66: 7–18; I Peter 3: 13–22; John 14: 15–21
A
homily by Fr. Gene Tucker, given
at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon,
Illinois, on Sunday, May 25, 2014.
“I
ALWAYS DO WHAT I’M TOLD, SOMETIMES”
(Homily text:
John 14: 15–21)
“I always do what I’m told,
sometimes.”
Perhaps you’ve heard me utter that
aphorism[1]. Perhaps you’ve heard me say it more than once
(if so, I’m going to pray for you!).
Doing what we’re told to do - in other words, keeping a commandment - is at
the heart of our gospel reading for this morning.
Before we apply the aphorism that I
began with (“I always do what I’m told, sometimes”) to Jesus’ statement about
keeping His commandments, and the linkage that Jesus makes between our
obedience and the presence of love between the us, the Son and the Father,
let’s remind ourselves of the setting for today’s passage.
Jesus is in the midst of the Last
Supper[2],
which took place on Maundy Thursday.
Here, in our gospel reading for this morning, He outlines what life will
look like once He has returned to the Father who sent Him.
Jesus’ instructions have everything
to do with love….He outlines a relationship of love which links Him to the
Father, and a relationship of love which links Him to His disciples (us). We, in turn, return that love by our
faithfulness in keeping His commandments.
The proof of this wonderful love
relationship is seen in the things we do.
I think that is important: Notice that the love relationship between the
Father, the Son, and us is evidenced by the things we do, not by the things we say.
Evidence of the Father’s love for
the Son and for us is seen in the things the Father has done, and especially it
is seen in His sending the Son to be one of us.
The Son’s love for the Father (and
for us) is seen in the things that the Son does. Most clearly, we see this love evidenced by
the Son’s concern and care for His disciples, and for the whole world. We see the Son’s love for the Father and for
us in His giving up of Himself in His death on the cross. We see the Son’s continuing love for the Father
and for us by His sending the Holy Spirit to comfort, support and guide
us. (See verses 16 – 17 of John 14.)
As we look at the great and
wonderful things that the Father and the Son have done, we notice two things:
·
Both the Father and the Son act out of
love for one another. That love is
shared, back and forth, between the Father and the Son. But that love is also directed toward us
human beings.
·
Love is a powerful force. Love isn’t primarily an emotion. Love has the ability to do things and to
create things.
The Father and the Son love each
other totally, completely, and consistently.
The Son can say in all truth, “I always do what I’m told (by the
Father), all the time.” (See John 5: 19–20.)
Jesus calls us into a faithful
relationship of love. He seeks to bring
us from the place where have to admit that “We always do what we are told, sometimes,” into the place where we can
say that “We always do what we’re told, all
the time.”
Recall that Jesus said that the
greatest commandment is that we must “Love God will all our heart, and soul,
and mind,” and that we must also “love our neighbor as we love ourselves.”[3] (Matthew 22: 37)
As we move from that imperfect place
of doing what the Lord commands us to do, some of the time, to the place where
we begin to show the consistency that we see in the Father and in the Son, we
ought to admit that our love for God, our love for one another, and our love
for ourselves is often not at all what it ought to be.
If we’re honest with God and with
ourselves, we’ll have to admit that we love God some of the time, but not all
of the time.
If we’re honest with God and with
ourselves, we’ll have to admit that we love others only some of the time, but
not all of the time.
If we’re honest with God and with
ourselves, we’ll have to admit that we love ourselves only some of the time,
but not all of the time.
Come, O Lord, among us with great
power and might, and by the grace of your Holy Spirit, change our hearts, souls
and minds so that we will love you, love each other, and love ourselves all the
time, with consistency and with power.
AMEN.
[1] Webster’s dictionary defines an aphorism as
“A short, neatly expressed general truth.”
[2] In John’s gospel account, chapters thirteen,
fourteen, fifteen, sixteen and seventeen are all set within the context of the
Last Supper. So, in the Fourth Gospel,
we have the most extensive accounts of the events that took place on the last
night of Jesus’ earthly life.
[3] These two great commandments are recited at
the beginning of the Rite I liturgy in the Book of Common Prayer, 1979, page
324. The part of the Eucharistic rite is
known as the Summary of the Law.
