Just loved this morning's readings (Acts 10:44-48, 1 John 5:1-6 and John 15:9-17) as they led us in to some wonderful places. Here's some brief thoughts:
Open to God Acts 10
The Acts 10 reading this morning find us with a Peter who has, three times, been challenged by a vision which called upon him to put aside his dietary rules. In the vision he is told, "Get up, Peter, kill and eat." Peter's response is, "Surely not, Lord. I have never eaten anything impure or unclean. God's response is clear: "Do not call anything that God has made clean impure!"
Peter is thinking about what this means when a delegation from a Gentile, Cornelius, arrives and, to cut the story short, at the bidding of the Holy Spirit he goes. Cornelius tells Peter how God told him to call Peter to come. Now it was against the religious laws for a Jew to enter a Gentile house and we have to remember that Peter was a 'Jew above Jews' in his story. This was a tough one.
But the realisation that God does not show favouritism but accepts all who acknowledges Him and does what is right! And so he tells them the kerygma (the Good News, Gospel, the account of jesus, life, death and resurrection) and as he does the Holy Spirit came upon those gentiles and the Jews, who had come with Peter were 'astonished' WHAT! And so Peter asks the question: "If they have received the Holy Spirit, how can anyone stand in the way of their being baptised with water?"
Born of God 1 Jn5
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God and everyone who loves the father loves the child as well. These AD 90 words form for us a summation of the Acts passage.
He speaks of a birth that is a collision of who we were with who God calls us, and has caused Christ to die, for us to be. We are not a recalled creation, like a car that has been taken back to the manufacturer to remove a design flaw, as some preach, but a NEW creation. We are reborn. We are completely undone and remade into an entirely new creature. (C S Lewis)
And it begins with love. Loving God and as we heard last week, we can't love the invisible God and not love the image of Him made visible in those around us. And if we have love then there should be no enmity between us. No factions. No vile and wicked finger pointing. We may not agree but there has to be a place where unity in who God is and why Christ died for us is open to the healing and unifying move of the Holy Spirit.
This is the evidence of the new birth and the sign of being one family, laos, the people of God.
Abiding in God Jn 15
Last week we were challenged by the words that: Jesus is the true Vine, the father is the gardener. We were exhorted to bear fruit. Abundant fruit and told how we couldn't do this in isolation from the plant. Separation meant withering and dying (could that be a word to the Church today?).
So here we are being told that just as the Father loves the Son, so too does the Son loves us. To remain centred in this love we need to do something tough; "To keep Jesus' commandments just as jesus has kept His father's!"
And this not only places us in His love but brings us joy. Yes, it sounds odd to us, God's children, but doing what we are told (commanded) to do brings us joy. Those of us who are parents will be aware that we tell our children what to do (and not to do) so that they will be safe, happy and loving (and loveable).
Our John passage continues with the words that I have used often in a military setting. The words about laying down one's life foe a friend. This is what Jesus did for us, His friends. But there is a barb here perhaps, the fact that we are His friend is we keep His commands. Those who oppose God's commands oppose Him and are not His friends. This is a passage I often hear others skip over or drop their voice over.
If we are open to God and are born of God then surely we need also to be obedient to God?
And if we are friends with God we know what the Son is doing and have open to us all that God intends for us that we might be bearing good fruit, a fruit that will last.
From the first words to Peter - to the last words of John, the hallmark is this:
Love one another
Pax
ps. more men than women in the service - what a great blessing :-)