John 14:15-21.            Call for obedience & his promise of a helper  29/5/11

(15)  "If you love me, you will obey what I command. {16} And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor to be with you forever-- {17} the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. {18} I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. {19} Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. {20} On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. {21} Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

As we face life in our world today we are confronted with all kinds of difficulties and tragic situations. Just as Jesus was here, telling his disciples of the difficulties and struggles that they would face, so also we are reminded of the harshness of life in our world. As we look around us there are suicides, paedophilia, divorce, broken homes, sexual violence, drugs, serious accidents, white collar crime, and the list goes on and on. Many of these things are occurring on a massive scale and are ripping the heart out of our nation today.

That is just in the everyday life of our society; but to add to that we also face great difficulties and hardships within the church and religious sphere of life as well. We have those who say that they are Christians and yet there is no attempt to take him and what he says seriously. We have people twisting and changing Scripture and worship to suit themselves; and are setting up sects and groups all over the place. We have condemnation for those who seek to hold to the truth, but wholehearted encouragement for those who want to try all kinds of weird and wonderful variations.

To all of this, what is the reaction of our society and church? Very little sadly. Yes we talk about some of these things; but so often it is here that we simply seek to deal with the symptoms and side issues, without getting down to the real cause of the problem. We are it seems afraid to ask the big questions of why and what is the base cause of these issues. Yes, we do not want to know, because it goes against what we truly want and accept as to what life is really all about. We truly want ourselves to be the centre of life. Yet it is this very thing which is the cause of many, if not all, of these problems.

For me it hurts to know that our society is in such a mess in this regard, and that it does not want to even discuss this very point. Through our education system and media this selfish egotism is portrayed as to be what will make life for us. So it really hurts when we can begin to see that this is the problem, but nobody wants to know or discuss it. With this as our attitude things will get even worse.

The Big question then for us is what can be done about all of this. It is here in this reading that our Lord again has a very important message for us in this regard. His call here for us is "If you love me, you will obey what I command.” For us who claim to be Christians, it means that God is the one who is all important in our lives; not ourselves. It means that we are committed to him as the centre and core of life. In fact he is what life is all about. It is only as we take this seriously that we have any hope of our society changing.

That then being the case, we will obey what He has commanded. His Word then, is what will be central to our living and thinking. We will obey what he has to say, rather than seek to twist and turn it all to suit ourselves. We will hold to the teachings that have been passed down to us through the ages that are in accord with the Scriptures. Instead of pandering to the latest trend and whim of the humanist element within the church, we will hold to that which shifts our focus away from ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ and what he has done for us through his death on the cross.

That in turn will shift our focus away from ourselves and get us to look beyond ourselves to the people around about us. We will love our neighbour; wanting was is best for them, rather than using them for our own benefit.

All the while we will know that we can give of ourselves and focus away from ourselves, because of Jesus. His death on the cross has assured us of the forgiveness of sins, and the guarantee of eternal life in heaven with our Lord. We don’t have to work and fight to maintain our status and privilege, in order to be looked up to and accepted. We already have all that is important, so we can look upward, and outward to the people around us.

It is here that Jesus goes on to say: and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor to be with you forever-- the Spirit of truth. So here in this regard we are not on our own. With the parting of Jesus physically from his people he sends another helper who can be with us all wherever we are. God’s Holy Spirit will guide and counsel us in his desire to help us to look beyond ourselves to that which is truly good and helpful for us in our world and for our relationship with God Almighty himself.

Here we need to remember that this Spirit is the Spirit of truth, as Jesus says. That is, he is the Spirit who is connected intimately with the truth of God’s very own Word. He never operates outside of the confines of God’s very own Word. Everything he says and does is in accord with what we have in the Bible. This is important for us to remember at a time when we have so many running around saying that they have a new word from the Spirit; which of course will inevitably be able to make us more super-christian; make us in some way greater people. Watch out!

However, as we spend time reading and listening to God’s Word, being regular in our worship, God’s Spirit comes to us and helps us to look beyond ourselves to the Lord Jesus and all that he has done for us. He constantly reminds us of our baptism, where God himself comes and washes us clean from our sin and joins us to himself. He comes to us at the Lord’s Table and reassures us that as we receive the bread and wine of Communion, we are also receiving Jesus very body and blood which he shed on the cross, so that we can be absolutely sure that we have the forgiveness of sins and the assurance of salvation and life. Through that, he is then able to empower us to go out and serve the people around about us; seeking their welfare and benefit, rather than our own.

It is here that we are then told, that we have one thing that the rest of society does not have. We have the Spirit which most in our communities do not have and do not want to have: nor do they give him a chance to help and guide them. They are too full of themselves, and do not want to hear what God has to say to them. They do not want to look beyond themselves as the centre of life itself. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

Yes, we one the other hand now know, that because Jesus lives, we also will live. On that day we will realize that Jesus is in the Father, and we are in him, and He is in us. What an amazing assurance that is for us as we go forward in life in the midst of a very difficult world. Now there is absolutely no need for us to get caught up in this selfish, egotistical approach to life that is so destructive. We can look up to the Almighty God and acknowledge that he truly is Lord of all, and in turn we then can follow the lead of Jesus and give of ourselves for the benefit of others.

Yes, we can now step out in response to God’s love for us in Jesus Christ and be obedient to all that he is calling on us to be and do. We can commit ourselves to the situations that lie before us knowing that God’s helper has been given to us. The same power that raised Jesus to life that first Easter morn; and which gave us new life at our baptism; now goes with us as we step out to live and be the people that God wants us to be.

Now we can keep in mind what Jesus says here, “whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

Sure the problems and tasks; the temptations and difficulties, before us are enormous. It might seem as though there is not much that we can do that will help put our society back on track. In fact so often it looks as though we are fighting a losing battle. But now because our Lord is the One who is all important and because we now are able to love those around us, we can step out to do those things which the Spirit is guiding us to do and allow God himself to work through us. We can seek to help others see how important Jesus and his death on the cross is for us all.

So let us go from here and allow the Spirit to guide and counsel us to obey all that our Lord has commanded us to heed as of utmost importance. May he through it all bring glory and honour, not to us, but to him who is truly the centre of it all; God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. To him alone belongs all glory and honour, now and always. AMEN.

Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish

John 14:1-14. Comfort - in troubled times!! 22/5/11

(1) "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God ; trust also in me. {2} In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. {3} And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. {4} You know the way to the place where I am going." {5} Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" {6} Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. {7} If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." {8} Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." {9} Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? {10} Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. {11} Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. {12} I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. {13} And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. {14} You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Do not be worried and upset - the man says. Now I don't know about you, but it seems to me that there is such a lot that has happened and continues to happen in and around us that we cannot help but be greatly concerned. I am sure that all of us at some time or other have really been down in the dumps and perhaps even in the depths of despair, so to speak. On other occasions we know of someone close to us who is greatly worried and upset about something or other in their lives. So how do we deal with it - how can we cope in those circumstances? How can he say; do not be worried and upset? Because so often that is just what we do!

Now in this reading Jesus gives us some valuable counsel in this regard. Here I will begin by giving you the picture. Jesus is speaking to his disciples who are falling apart at the seams and are about to face even more devastating events. Peter has just had a ‘run in’ with Jesus about the washing of his feet and gets reprimanded severely. They have just heard that one of the twelve is going to 'sell out' on Jesus, and that as a result Jesus would be murdered. They are told that their leader is going to go away and they will not be able to follow him. Then bold Peter; the one who they all thought would be able to stand up and be counted on when the going got tough, Jesus said, would turn weak-kneed and yellow and even deny any association with this Jesus. So on hearing all of that in one sitting, we could imagine they where getting quite worried and upset.

Here Jesus also knows that his disciples will face great difficulty, in coming to terms with Jesus death, and then the ongoing persecution from the Jewish leaders and others as life goes on. There they will find even greater difficulties and hardships, which will even be more troubling for them.

In that situation, what is it that Jesus tells them? He doesn't say, pull yourselves together and start acting like men. Nor does he give them a little pep talk on how to tough it out when the going gets rough. Nor does he say something like, ‘life wasn't meant be easy;’ or ‘think positive and good thoughts and then everything will go well for you.’

No, what is it that he says to them? Come on, Trust in God; trust also in me. On top of that; no matter what happens to you, just remember that heavens is there waiting for you. There you can be sure that you have something permanent – a permanent paradise that will go on forever. Now that is very interesting. In the midst of their difficulties; when they are least able to handle it and grasp its meaning, he gets them to look at a point that is way out there in front of them.

That is interesting, because what is it that we focus on when we are in trouble? Our problems. All we do is wind ourselves down in our misery. So often we don't look any further than our problem; and then simply feel sorry for ourselves – we imagine the worst, and so make the problem even bigger than it is.

But here Jesus points the disciples and us beyond our immediate situation and makes it quite clear that because we trust in Jesus Christ, heaven is a certainty. So no matter what difficulty we face here, and no matter how bad things get, there is now a place in heaven which is permanent and where we will be with our Lord always. Now that surely does make a difference for us. Now, there is always a way forward; and nothing now is ever as bad as it might seem at the time. Now, there is a light at the end of the tunnel – always.

So, when we loose our way in the midst of the troubles of life, we are encouraged to look to him who is the way and the truth and the life.

There in the Lord Jesus Christ we find not only that he is the one and only way to God as we heard in last week’s Gospel; but as we look to his death and resurrection we see that a way is now cut right through our worries and upsets, all the way to heaven. We are now able to simply trust that in him the road is there; the end is sure.

However not only is he the way, but here we are reminded that he is also the truth. So when he says that this will be so for us, we can be sure that it will be exactly as he says it will be. Our politicians and others can say one thing and mean another; friends and neighbours may not be as genuine as they should be, and leave us floundering when we need them most of all. Other religions can say a lot, but give no real and lasting help when the chips are down. But when the Lord Jesus makes a promise it stands firm. Every claim he made has proved to be exactly as he said it would be. He told us that he would die and rise again three days later, and it happened. In fact he fitted every promise God made way back in the Old Testament. He is true to his word in every respect. So now, no matter what we face in life, we can trust that what he promises you and me will actually come to be. No matter how traumatic and difficult life might be at the time, nothing can take the gift of eternal life away from us. And that again surely is of great comfort to us in those times of need.

But he also assures us here that he is the life. He is the giver and sustainer of life. So, now as members of his kingdom, our lives are in his hands. At all times in our lives, he has over-all control. Nothing happens that he does not allow to happen: and that does not mean that all troubles and hardships are taken away. But it means that he is there using all those happenings for our good and the good of his kingdom. He is now using those things to sustain us all, so that we do not lose out on our heavenly home.

With the Lord Jesus Christ then, our lives take on a whole new perspective. In connection with him who is the way and the truth and the life, everything now is seen in the perspective of the bigger picture. Our troubles instead of being the be-all and end-all of what my life is all about; they are now the means whereby he is either drawing us or someone else closer to him and the heavenly home that has prepared for us. They are no longer then endurances and trails that have to be endured for their own sake, but are now opportunities for God's ongoing kingdom in the midst of a sinful, lonely world that is looking to somehow make sense of what this is all about.

But even then, so often we are still like Philip in this reading here: "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." Show us the Father so that we can be sure. Jesus there points Philip and each one of us to himself: saying, “look to me and believe;” and it is there that we have all the proof that we ever need; all the strength that we ever need. If we want to be sure that what Jesus says is for real, open up our Bibles and have a good look at what it has to say with regard to Jesus Christ and his death and resurrection and trust in what it says about him; trust in him. Kneel at the Altar Rail and receive Jesus’ very body and blood which he shed on the cross for us and for our forgiveness, and know that he is for real and that he is for you, throughout. Trust him and go forward with confidence and hope.

Now remember, that we will not find him or find the strength to go forward, if we shut our eyes and ears to him, and if we look only to ourselves and our own strengths and abilities. However, as we look to the Lord Jesus, there we will find that everything that he said about handling and coping with the pressures and difficulties of life, will be exactly as he says here in this reading.

So in your obstacles and difficulties, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God ; trust also in Jesus.” Yes, the problems and hardships will still be there; but so also is the promise of eternal life in heaven. When you find that the going gets tough - there remember again, that the only way to life is through the truth of Jesus Christ. There in him you will find a peace is that is beyond all human understanding. There you will find the strength and courage to go on. And there you will find the life which is truly great and eternal. There you will find the very presence of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. To him alone be all glory and honour, now and always. AMEN.



Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish