Youth Sunday Sermon
May 16, 2004 (Sixth Sunday of Easter; Youth Sunday)
Youth Sunday sermon by Grace Fenger
- Acts 14:8-18
- Psalm 67
- Revelation 21:22-22:5
- John 14:23-29
(From The Lectionary Page)
"Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me." John 14:23.
In preparation for today's sermon, I read this scripture about one million times. At least, I'm pretty sure its that many. I lost count somewhere after the first hundred. I had a hard time trying to pinpoint the focus of the gospel. There were so many things that seemed to jump out, as though God was, in fact, talking just to me.
One thing that seemed to tug on my heart, was the thought of Jesus saying these words to his disciples and knowing the fear they were feeling. That fear reminded me of a particular incident. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was five years old, and I was waiting for my mother to pick me up after my tap dancing class. Ready to show my mom the new Tigger dance I had just learned for our spring recital, I walked out of the classroom, and watched as all of my classmates leave with their parents, but my mother was no where in sight. Seeing as how I was five, I immediately thought the worst. My mom, of course, showed up a few seconds late from traffic, but I remember promising myself that I would never leave my mother's side again.
The fear of abandonment is a pretty powerful feeling. All people experience this feeling at one time or another. Sometimes we fear that someone whom we love will leave us, but normally its just a fear that never comes true. However, in this world, its possible for anything to happen to us.
But the thing that struck me the most about this passage, was that Jesus really did think of everything. Jesus knew that his followers would have trouble understanding and coping with his death. He knew our fears about abandonment, and in order to comfort, He spent a long time talking about his death and what would happen afterwards. He tells us over and over how much he loves us and how He and the feather will stay close to us forever.
Jesus says, "Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them." This is the kind of God we have. Our God chooses to live with us -- to be with us forever-- to stay close to us, and never to abandon. God loves us so much that he sent his only son to live among us, to love us, to suffer for us, to die for us, and then to rise again for us. God did all of this for us, who were and still are sinners.
Jesus promises that He loves us so much that he'll never abandon us. When he died on the cross the Father sent in Jesus' name the Advocate, The Holy Spirit, who will teach us everything, and remind us of all that Jesus has said. You see, Jesus knows that we have a tendency to doubt and to fear that even He will leave us. Jesus knows that we are likely to forget all that he has taught us when we become troubled or afraid. So, God stays close to us and sends the Holy Spirit upon us to continually remind that God's love is everlasting and to give us peace in times of sadness, and in joy.
God is determined to love us and to keep reminding us that God's love is forever. That's a promise and God's promises are never broken. We all sometimes break our promises to God, but the good news, is that no matter how far we think we can run from God and God's love, we never get very far because God has promised to stay close to us. And God never breaks a promise. Amen.