Sermon 5/9/2021

Listen along on Facebook [link] or YouTube [link].

Sermon Easter 6B 2021

Series: Witness and Wonder

Title: God Chose You

Scriptures: 1 John 5:1-6, John 15:9-17

Not being chosen for something can be difficult. I can still recall that feeling I had as a child

when I was picked last in gym class for the teams. But it doesn’t get a whole lot easier as an

adolescent or an adult when:

● We don’t make the cut for the team

● Don’t get chosen for one of the roles in the play

● Don’t get accepted by the college we want to attend

● Don’t get the job we applied for

● Get rejected by a romantic interest

● Get passed over for a promotion at work

But the truth is that being chosen comes with its own set of hardships.

● What if I’m not up for the task and I can’t hack it?

● What if I let other people down?

● What if I make a fool of myself?

Being chosen can feel heavy and burdensome. The main reason for this is that we feel like we

are alone. That we have to make it by ourselves purely by our own abilities and efforts.

That is why today’s passages from scripture are so important to take to heart. Being chosen by

God to be a witness of God’s love in the world is intended not as a burden but for our joy.

That my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. - John 15:11

It’s not that being called by God to love as Christ loves is always going to be easy. Certainly all

of the accounts we have been reading about the early followers of Jesus and the challenges

they faced when bearing witness to his life and teachings is evidence of this. They endured

rejection, imprisonment and beatings. What is remarkable to me about these accounts is not so

much what they accomplished (wonders and signs and miracles) but the spirit in which they

accomplished them (the witness of love and joy and peace).

One of my favorite stories is the one in which Paul and Silas, after being beaten and thrown in

jail, are singing songs of praise to God in their jail cells when an earthquake hits, breaking their

chains and opening the doors of their cells. The jailer, fearing everyone had escaped, is about

to take his life but is stopped when Paul shouts out, “don’t harm yourself, we are all here!”.

(Acts 16:16-40) How are they able to respond to such difficult circumstances with songs of joy

and compassion for their jailer?

It reminds me of a modern day account often told by the Dalai Lama about a Tibetan monk who

had been tortured in a Chinese prison for 22 years. When he reached Dharamsala, the Dalai

Lama asked him: "What were you afraid of the most in prison?" He replied: "I was afraid that I

might lose my compassion towards the torturers."

I’m not going to stand up here and pretend to understand exactly how all of the crazy stuff with

Paul and Silas went down. But I can tell you that I long to live in such a way that I can find joy

and treat others with compassion even under the most difficult circumstances.

As our scripture from 1 John reminds us, being chosen by God as a witness for love is not

meant to feel heavy and daunting but light and freeing.

God’s commandments are not burdensome. - 1 John 5:3

Scriptures also instruct us how to achieve this joy and freedom.

As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. - John 15:9

When I read this familiar phrase “abide with me” I think of 2 things.

1. The lovely hymn “Abide With Me” which is one of my favorite “comfort hymns”

2. My childhood Sunday school days of the felt boards. I picture a green branch

representing the vine and Jesus and a cluster of grapes representing the fruit that will

grow as I abide in Jesus.

These are both helpful images from our tradition that many of us find inspiring. If they inspire

you then by all means use them!

But I would also like to share with you another way to imagine the spiritual practice of abiding

with Jesus that I came across recently which I found incredibly enriching. It is from Andrew Otto,

a leader in Ignatian Spirituality. He writes:

One of the primary goals of the spiritual life is to journey toward being our fullest and

truest selves. When we live out of our True Self, we find ourselves living and contributing

to God’s dream for the world

The Flow

This means following the deep desires of the heart. These desires, Ignatius tells us, are

the deep and good desires that propel our lives forward toward God. These have to do

with our heart’s longings, our hopes and dreams, the gifts we’ve been given, our life’s

circumstances, our talents… When we follow the desires that arise from these things, we

find that they are aligned with God’s desires. When we use the gifts in our lives in ways

that build God’s kingdom—contribute to God’s dream for the world—then we find

ourselves in the flow of God’s will.

We’ve all experienced this flow when we’re in a moment of living out of our true selves.

Maybe it’s when we’re working on a passion project or hiking in the woods or making

love with our spouse or baking a cake or volunteering or spending quality time with our

kids. These are moments where we’re brought outside of our small egos and move

towards God and neighbour. We’re in the flow of creative love.

https://godinallthings.com/2021/04/26/in-the-flow/

How do we know if we are abiding in the flow of God’s love and contributing to the building of

God’s beloved community? We will feel drawn not driven.

Our family watched the Disney movie Moana Friday night. I’ve seen it twice before, but this time

I watched it and I was really struck by three pivotal scenes in the movie. The scene very early in

the film where Moana, just a tiny toddler, is drawn to the seashore and follows a trail of shells

into the water. A dramatic scene when all seems lost and Moana is given the choice to go back

home or venture onward. And the final climactic moment when Moana walks towards the

fearsome lava creature Te Ka with strength and purpose and a look of love on her face. In each

of these instances Moana responds with joy and love to the challenge before her. It is clear that

she is living her truest self, not being driven by the expectations of others, but allowing herself to

be drawn towards her true purpose.

When we live into the flow we allow God’s love to abide in us and move through us, compelling

us to live more fully the true and authentic lives we are called to live. Take time this week to

explore: Where is the loving energy in your life right now? Where are you being drawn? Where

do you see yourself bearing fruit?