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As we gather, we recognize that we live, work, pray, and play
in the traditional lands
of the Cowichan Tribes and Coast Salish People.
We continue to commit ourselves
to the work of reconciliation and relationship-building
with our First Nations neighbours.
Call to Worship:
A new commandment I give to you,
that you love one another as I have loved you.
John 13.34
Collect:
Almighty God, your son Jesus Christ is
the way, the truth, and the life.
Give us grace to love one another and
walk in the way of his commandments,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
The Proclamation of the Gospel:
John 13. 31-35
Sermon: The Venerable Brian Evans
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of
our hearts be ever acceptable to you, O Lord. Amen.
Grace to Love
A new commandment I give you, that you love one another.
Just as I love you, you should also love one another.
Living in a world where, because of open communication technology, our knowledge of discrimination, prejudice, and bigotry is constantly in the forefront of our lives.
Reading the ancient texts, we are made aware of these differences being amplified throughout history. For us today, it begins with the lesson from the Acts of Apostles.
Here, we have Peter, who is instrumental in the baptism of Cornelius.
Except, there is a problem with this back home. Not only is Cornelius an officer of the Roman Empire; not only has he been baptized and received the Holy Spirit; not only have the members of his household....
The real problem is: Cornelius is a Gentile.
And, the community back home asks Peter to account for himself. The question, possibly, went something like this:
'Peter you need to account for your actions.
How could you, in all conscience, baptize these Gentiles?'
Wow!
At the same, time why should it surprise us? To this day, we experience similar remarks. Yes, even within the Church.
This Lesson from Acts is filled with teaching for our everyday lives.
- First, it teaches us what can happen when we open our hearts to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
- Second, we learn how opening our hearts to the guidance of the Holy Spirit can be questioned by others. Peter’s home community questioned how he could enter the house of those who the community saw as unclean.
On a personal note, I think of more than once being questioned about taking communion to the incarcerated. My Curacy supervisor would respond, “We must never stand in the way of Gods’ grace.”
God gives us more than enough grace to love.
The dialogue in the lesson has this great ending:
And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning.
And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’
If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?”
When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, “Then God has given even to the gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”
This is followed by our reading from The Revelation of John. The revelation of Christ, through John, shares with us the connection between heaven and earth.
Today, we find John sharing with us how the old city (the former time), and the old heaven and the old earth, must pass away. Now, he sees a new creation.
This new creation will be filled with divine experience, and will be free of evil forces. In other words, telling (assuring) us: God’s love will prevail.
This new love follows, then, in the Gospel lesson for today:
A new commandment I give you, that you love one another.
Just as I love you, you should also love one another.
What about this new commandment?
In many ways, this is not a new commandment, as we first learned of this commandment in Leviticus 19.18
'You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people,
but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.'
What is revolutionary, in this moment with Jesus’ “NEW” commandment is: to love others, as much as Christ loved others, was revolutionary.
We are to love others based on Jesus’ sacrificial love.
We will recall, a couple of weeks ago, when Jesus asks Peter for a 3rd time, ‘Do you love me?’
When we love accordingly, then others will come to the well-of-life, the life-giving gift of the waters of baptism (aka – believers).
This is the love we are called to share in a world, which at times appears a hostile world to life in the love of God.
Our reading today opened with these words:
When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him.
If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once.
Behind these words, is the knowledge that Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen. He knew Judas was going to betray him. He also knew Peter was going to deny their friendship.
What we learn from this is Jesus knows us. He knows we will fall short at times in our faith. At the same time, Jesus never gives up on us. Jesus loves us unconditionally, and will always forgive, if we are prepared to ask.
We also know, Judas could never come to this acceptance. His life was tragic in so many ways. At the same time, Peter understood, even in the midst of his shortcomings; his life comes to fullness because he never lets go of his faith.
Possibly, this sustaining love of Christ is best illustrated in the French kitchen!
It is said, the first lesson every French chef must master is the making of roux. In fact, they say, the next is to master five basic sauces from your roux: Bechamel, Velouté, Espagnole, Tomate, and Hollandaise.
The real secret to a great sauce for a great recipe, is the ability for the sauce to bring harmony to the dish. If you watch cooking shows, (of which I possibly watch too many) you will hear reviews like: consistency, reliability, trustworthy, or the unity it brings to the dish.
You will hear the judges remark how the sauce brings a uniqueness, and harmony, which makes the dish superb.
Uniqueness and harmony in the sauce is a metaphor for the good news of Christ today, grace to love.
Jesus’ message is a call for humanity to return to a state of harmony: relationship and symphony, with one another.
The gift of “grace to love”, is our opportunity to be in tune with God, in tune with each other, and the world.
A colleague writes: “No matter how hard loving is, it is the goal that all Christians pursue, in order to build the kind of community Jesus intended.” (Lori Wagner)
In the French kitchen, there is always a secret within the sauce. In Jesus’ kitchen, the secret ingredient is Grace. For with grace, we can love as Jesus loves.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Let Us Pray
Loving God,
lead us to follow your Spirit, rather than our own prejudices or desires,
as the church cares for one another.
Open us to perceive your gifts in those we least expect.
God, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Inspire us to praise you through the beauty and majesty
of the natural world around us,
especially here in the Cowichan Valley.
Urge us toward more deliberate care of the world you have made.
God, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Humble rulers of the nations before your splendour.
Direct them to the people who need their attention most,
and turn them from the temptation to hoard wealth, or power.
God, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Hasten to dwell among those who are in pain or distress.
In our Parish we pray for:
Roy & Gail; Darryl & Sue; Steven; Maureen; Geoff; Sheila; Jay; Joseph; and Steve .
As Christ enters our deepest suffering, remain with
those experiencing despair and great need.
God, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Place holy love at the center of all our relationships, and communities.
By your love heal us, convict us, and renew us.
Let everyone know your goodness by the love we show one another.
God, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.