A farewell dinner. Godspeed and farewell services. It seems as though the bad news of one leaving is often accompanied by either food or the good news of God.
Today's gospel is no different. Jesus spent the evening with his disciples. He washed their dirty feet, he told them of the future betrayal, his upcoming departure from them, taught them the new commandment and continued teaching them about faith. He wanted to prepare them for what was about to come – so that they might see his death through the eyes of faith. He wanted to leave them with something. And, so they would know that he would live after death, he introduced them to the Holy Spirit.
It occurs to me that we all know a little something about being introduced to someone who will be with us to help us along until the primary caregiver can return. Perhaps child care givers, baby sitters, teachers, or foster parents.
In my family, my daughters have 3 mothers… the women who gave birth to them, the women who cared for them from leaving their birth mothers until I was officially their mother. Each of these women fed, loved and taught my daughters things…about life…about love…about faith. Some might even say that these women were with them until I could be….possibly their advocates….their guardians…their protectors….
Mothers love us so much that they want to give us opportunities that they feel they can't offer. It is this kind of unselfish love that can open hearts and minds….As Pastor said last week, this is RADICAL LOVE….radical love generates self-giving love….it is this kind of love that shows true faith in the teachings of Jesus. …Jesus asked his disciples to live and love in ways that seemed impossible. The disciples couldn't do it – not without the Spirit. Jesus told them this Spirit of Truth, would come to help the disciples in Jesus' absence. The Spirit would be God's way to be with them in a different way because Jesus had already been with them.
In the power of the Spirit, Jesus will continue to be present with you. Jesus told the disciples earlier in John "I will not leave you orphaned. I am coming to you".
Love and the Spirit….these are at the center of Jesus farewell message… "Love one another as I have loved you" and "The Spirit of Truth will abide in you when I am gone". A little later, Jesus tells the disciples, "You don't know everything yet. ..you have much more to learn."
Who are we charged with loving with such pure unselfish love until Jesus comes again? What has Jesus asked us to do as stewards, protectors, guardians, advocates until he comes again? As we travel this road in our ministry, who do we call on for support, wisdom, reassurance, comfort and love? Yes, Jesus tells us of the Holy Spirit to remind us of his teaching, of his love and of his ministry. Until he can come again…
In the meantime, God has given us the gift of The Spirit. The Spirit will teach you how to love one another. The Spirit will keep us connected, said Jesus. You to me, all of us to God. And you to one another.
Today is the end of my ministry here and I will go on to another ministry as part of my formation to become an ordained pastor. Pastors say this is the difficult part of becoming and being a pastor – leaving those who you have grown to know and love. I am finding this to be true. I also have learned how important Love and Spirit are in a family of faith…it comes in a blessed feeling of grace. The feeling is so splendidly pervasive that it defies the limitations of words, yet I will try to share with you.
During my time here with you, I have felt and seen the work of Love and Spirit among you. You are sending me with many lessons learned and as you send me out to serve in another ministry, you, too are moving on and going out into the world together... as one unified family of faith. The sign of Jesus' work in us will be peace…the kind of peace that casts out all fears…the peace that comes through radical love and understanding. With the peace of God, our hearts will be unafraid.
And it is in those moments of grace that I have encountered Christ working in you….through the Holy Spirit. These, my dear brothers and sisters, are the moments that I will treasure and call up again when we are apart. It is through the Spirit that we will remain connected even though our physical paths may take us in different directions.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment