John 14:23-29 Acts 16:9-15
When
I was on staff with Brethren Volunteer Service, I had the privilege of meeting
many incredible people. Some of them
were the volunteers themselves, and others were the resource people that joined
us for our three week orientations.
Generally, they spoke about the difficulties that might be faced in the
field, but there were always one or two who came from programs that host
volunteers to help us think more deeply about the issues that underlie many of
the problems that the young people were heading out to “fix.”
One
of those resource people who joined us was Cliff Kindy. Some of you may know Cliff (or know of him)
already. He is fairly outspoken and
quite well-known in some circles – Church of the Brethren and otherwise. Cliff has done many amazing things in his
life. He chooses to live below the level
of taxable income in order to avoid supporting the military. He and his family live by intensively
gardening about 2 or 3 acres. And he has
been very involved as an observer with Christian Peacemaker Teams. That means he goes to places where there is a
lot of tension between people who feel they are oppressed and the governments
that control those areas and lives among the people in order to share what is
really happening with the rest of the world.
During
one of his sessions, Cliff shared the story of his most recent trip to
Palestine. As I remember it, he had been there for several
days accompanying Palestinians whose homes were being demolished to make room
for new Settlements, and had watched many confrontations between the farmers
and Israeli soldiers.
One
evening about a week into his stay, he was sitting with a family that was
trying to stop the bulldozers by staying in their home 24-7, and an argument
broke out between a group of soldiers on patrol and one of the older sons. Things escalated from bitter words to yelling
and then to threats. Eventually, one of
the soldiers backed the young man against a wall with his rifle. As the two continued to shout insults at each
other, Cliff stepped between them so that the gun was touching his own
chest. That caught the soldier off
guard, and he and his compatriots left after a more yelling and insults – this
time directed at Cliff.
When
he finished his story, the volunteers were completely silent for a time. Then there were some little questions, and we
finished up. Later that evening as we
were sharing about the day, some of the volunteers told us how they felt
completely inadequate after hearing Cliff share. They didn’t feel like they were up to the
challenge of facing down guns. As one
person put it, “He made it sound so natural … so easy, but I don’t think any of
us could do it.”
It’s
easy to speculate by going back to the Sermon on the Mount or any other
specific teachings (and even easier to avoid the issue by speculating), but I
think it’s relatively clear when you look for the heart of it. Jesus commands
that we serve one another. Just as Jesus
washed his disciples feet and cared for the poor, the sick, and the outcast, so
he expects us to serve each other. And
he goes further. He commands that we
love another … that we even love another as Jesus loved us … even to the point
of giving our lives for others.
Talk
about a challenge … and daunting challenge at that. But no matter how daunting that is, at least
there is also a promise in Jesus’ words.
Jesus says that the Father will love those who keep Jesus’ word, and
that Jesus and the Father will come and make their home with them. And not only that, but Jesus promises the
disciples (and us) that we will receive a peace the world cannot give.
The
question is … are they connected… or, rather, how are they connected? Do
we only get the promise if we keep the command?
And if so, what chance do we have?
Who among us is really able to live up to those expectations? Whenever I think about even trying, the words
of the volunteer at that orientation echo in my head, “He made it sound so natural
… so easy, but I don’t think any of us could do it.”
More
than that, I think Jesus was describing the spiraling feedback loop. I think he was encouraging the disciples by
trying to help them see that “as [they] kept Jesus’ commands [they] received
his promise, and as [they] received the promise [they] were equipped to keep
the commands.”[1]
So
what does that mean? …. Because people
like Cliff don’t just start off by stepping in front of semi-automatic weapons
to protect people that they only met hours before. It begins with small things – little steps
toward people instead of away from them … little choices to love rather than
hate or even ignore … little acts of selflessness (or “sacrifice” if you prefer
to use that word). We only get to the
point of risking that much after we have practiced on small things … and moved
on to slightly bigger things … and then to medium things … and so on.
It
begins with smiling at people who seem to be a little bit sad. It begins with patiently teaching small,
rambunctious children. It begins with
inviting people in to our congregation and our homes and helping them feel
welcome. As we walk that path – the path
of love, we find ourselves growing accustomed to loving, and it gets easier to
take more steps on the journey … to love more freely. AND, … I think … that when you stop and think
about it, you’ll find that you’re already pretty far along the path….
(sharing)
I
wanted you to have the chance to share those thoughts because we tend to spend
a lot of time and energy studying the gospels and trying to live up to the
teachings and example of Christ … and that’s wonderful. But, we also tend to think of that as the
only example we have. We tend to let the
rest of the New Testament fall by the wayside a little bit. That’s unfortunate because Acts and the
letters are full of examples of people like us … people who are just trying to
do their best to follow, usually without the benefit of having known Jesus.
I’m
not talking about the big names; although if you follow the career of Peter or
Paul, you can see that they started small, too – small being a relative
term. I’m thinking of people like Lydia. She was an ordinary woman. Well … perhaps not so ordinary for her
time. She was a merchant which was uncommon for a woman at the time. Aside from that, she was not so different
from you and me … just an everyday, run-of-the-mill believer. And, when she decided to follow Jesus, she
didn’t do any extraordinary things. She
didn’t receive ecstatic visions. She
simply reached out in love to offer the hospitality of her household to Paul
and his companions.
One
small step down the path of keeping Jesus’ word. One small step that on the journey of
discipleship. One small step down the
road to peace…. One small step that any
one of us could take.
It
doesn’t seem so daunting when I look at it that way. When I think about it like that, it does seem
simple. I can look back and see times
when I have shared love in those simple ways … and sometimes in bigger ways,
and I realize that I can do it … I
already have done it. I certainly have a
long way to go and the journey will never be easy … not truly, but if I take it
in small steps … if I trust that each one of those steps prepares me for the
next one … if I live that way, I can
keep Jesus’ word of love… And so can
you.
That
doesn’t mean it’s always easy. There are
times when I get discouraged … times when I have failed spectacularly … times
when I feel like I’m just so far from where I should be that I want to give
up. And I’m sure that you feel that way
too.
So,
I have a song to share with you for those times. It’s the song that another resource person at
the orientation shared. He sang it into
the silence that settled around that campfire after the young man shared. It goes like this….
He-ya
ho-ya he-ya-a,
He-ya
ho-ya he-ya-a.
I am
a wise man.
I am
a loving man.I am a healer.
My soul will never die.
I am
a strong woman.
I am
a loving woman.I am a healer.
My soul will never die.
He-ya
ho-ya he-ya-a,
He-ya
ho-ya he-ya-a.
I
sometimes sing that to Patrick when I’m trying to get him to sleep at night. And I wonder if he’ll grow up feeling more
confident in his ability to love as Jesus teaches because when I sing it to
myself in those hard times it reminds me of what I can be – what I am. It encourages me, and I come away feeling,
once again, like I can do it.
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