John 15:9-17 [Easter 6—CWS B]
Pastor Ron Koehler
Grace—Tucson, AZ
May 9, 2021
The Strong Connections of Love Dear Friends in Christ, Last week, we heard these words from Jesus: “I am the vine; you are branches. The one who remains in me and I in him is the one who bears much fruit...” If that connection to Jesus does not exist, it is impossible to “bear fruit,” to do the good things God is looking for from us. Today Jesus gives us one example of those good things God wants to see from us. Love is what he is looking for. And what a strong connection love creates! Jesus tells us here about three Strong Connections of Love that link together four things. If you are able to see this heavy-duty chain, you might note that the links are super strong and joined to each other in such a way that no person can pull them apart. That is like divine love, and our love that is patterned after it and blessed by God. This morning, let’s think about what Jesus tells us in John 15—these Strong Connections of Love that are like three links in a chain—the connections of The Father to Jesus Jesus to You You to Others The Father to Jesus “I and the Father are one (John 10:30),” Jesus once said. Can you imagine a tighter connection?! What binds them together? Our lesson begins with this: As the Father has loved me. It is love that connects the Father to the Son. The Father loves Jesus. Jesus loves him back. He said so to his disciples prior to this. He said, But I want the world to know that I love the Father and that I am doing exactly what the Father has instructed me (John 14:10). That strong, loving connection between the Father and Jesus moved Jesus to hold to the commands and expectations of the Father. I have held on to my Father’s commands and remain in his love, he told his disciples. While living in this world, Jesus remained in his Father’s love by holding onto, by clinging to, by keeping absolutely every one of God’s expectations. It was his desire to carry out the plan of salvation, created out of love. It would not be easy: rejection, mocking, suffering, torture, death. But Jesus did it because he loved his Father, and the Father loved Jesus as he carried out this plan. Since we’re talking about love—and it is Mother’s Day—think about how Jesus treated his mother. He loved and obeyed her and his earthly father, Joseph, when as a 12year old boy, he was told to come with them, after he had been at the temple in Jerusalem. Or think about the wedding at Cana, when he loved her and listened to her concern over the bride and groom’s embarrassing situation, as they ran out of wine for their guests. He did his first miracle, changing jars of water into jars of wine, at least in part because his mother trusted in him and encouraged him. Then consider Mary as
she stood weeping at the foot of Jesus’ cross. As Jesus was offering up his perfect life, he loved her and made sure that she was cared for by his closest friend, John. Remember? He said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother!” And from that time this disciple took her into his own home (John 19:26-27). But isn’t it true that Jesus was always showing love to others…as he took the time to listen to people…as he healed those who were hurting…as he rescued those taken over by demons…as he shared the word of salvation with them…as he offered forgiveness…as he sat tearfully looking over the many in Jerusalem who had refused his loving efforts? Jesus’ acts of love only begin to scratch the surface of his perfection! In every way possible, Jesus listened to his Father and, with love for him, obeyed his Father’s commands. And the Father’s love remained with him—listening to his Son when he prayed, and even sending angels to support and encourage him. Finally, Jesus’ resurrection from death proved the Father’s love for his Son, who had lived every instruction of his and then sacrificed himself for sinners. It is this love from Father to Son that begins a chain reaction, because that same kind of love links Jesus to you! Jesus to You You know that Jesus’ life, his death, and his resurrection were for you. Jesus had a love for sinners that caused him to come down from heaven to do all those things his Father expects from every person. That he came speaks volumes about everyone’s inability to live without blemish what God commands. Sin is as evident in our lives as much as Jesus’ love showed in his life. Let’s consider Mother’s Day again. Whether or not you have a mom to celebrate with today or call on the phone, you can still understand these examples, perhaps even reflecting on your previous relationship with mom. Do we even get love right on this day? Oh, we try to be nicer. Maybe gifts, maybe cards, maybe a special dinner, maybe better behavior. But are our motives pure? Do we do these things purely out of love— or maybe out of expectation? Is every thought perfect about your mom—or your wife, the mother of your children? Is everything you say to her loving? And what about this— does it only last, does it only seem special, for just one day? If that doesn’t resonate with you, maybe thinking about your other relationships or how you feel about your neighbors drives the point home. A lack of love is sin. And sin is like a condemning ball and chain that keeps us as captives to the devil and far away from God. But again, this is why Jesus came—to show perfect love not only for his Father, but for you. He came to live for you. He came to die for you. He came to defeat death for you. He came to connect to you with his love. All this was done for his Father, yes! But it was all done for you too! He broke our chains of bondage and separation and replaced them with a link of love! As the Father has loved me, so also I have loved you. Remain in my love. That’s what Jesus told his friends. Like links of a chain, the Father’s love is connected to his Son, and his Son’s love is connected to you. From the mouth of Jesus, we also hear these words
that his disciples heard: No one has greater love than this: that someone lays down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you continue to do the things I instruct you. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you. Jesus has made us his friends through the forgiveness he won for us. He made us his friends by faith, gifted to us by the Holy Spirit. Jesus chose you, he says. And why did he choose you? Yes, because of his grace, his undeserved love. That is “why.” But there is another reason why. It was for a purpose. So that you become connected to others by love. You to Others A biblically-wise woman said in Women’s Bible Study recently, “Things would be so much better if we would all show love like Jesus did.” Maybe that seems obvious to you, but the point was not only the truth of it, it was the desire for it—the desire for us all to live love like Jesus lived it for us. She was envisioning all the problems that would disappear, if we loved like Jesus loved—and all the blessings that would result. The command of Jesus, the instruction of Jesus, is that we remain in his love and, as he says, to Love one another as I have loved you. The love that connects Jesus to us is the love we want to show back to him. It is also the love he wants us to show to others. And as forgiven friends of Jesus, we do want to show that love to those around us. Our Savior returns to that image of the vine and the branches: I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will endure. The fruit Jesus speaks of here, the thing produced by our connection to Jesus and his love, is that we love others. Could he be more clear? These things I am instructing you, so that you love one another. Jesus is not insisting that we die for someone else like he did. I knew a woman who did just that. She jumped into swift-flowing water in an attempt to save her child. She gave her life trying to save that child because of her love. Not many of us are called to give our lives in that way, but we are called to love each other. We are called to sincerely create strong, loving connections with people. We do that as we sacrifice our time and our efforts for others. We listen to them, and we pray for them. We give money or food or things to help those needing them. We lovingly extend forgiveness when we are wronged. We love people so much that we share Jesus with them, hoping to share heaven with them. In so many ways, we show love to others because Jesus first loved us. We are connected to Jesus by love, and we take that love and use it to connect with others. Love is a fruit of faith Jesus that looks for. This love is the final link that connects to God. What a powerful thing this is! The Father loves Jesus—Jesus loves You—You love Others. IF we do these things, Jesus says, we remain in his love and we are his friends. May the love of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit move us to understand these Strong Connections of Love, to appreciate this love, and to live this love. Amen. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.