God's Love (for you and everyone else) poured Into Your Heart and My Heart

Many have noticed that in the narratives of Jesus' resurrection appearances to his disciples, Jesus never says that, because he is risen, we also will rise. Jesus says this elsewhere (see, for example, John 11:25-26), as does St Paul. (See Romans 8:1; 1Corinthians 15:12-23) But the resurrection appearances in the Gospels are focused on mission. For instance, after appearing to his disciples and offering his peace to them, Jesus says to them, "As the Father has sent me, so I send you." (John 20:21) And at the conclusion of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus commands his disciples to, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:19-20) 

We read of this mission in the Book of Acts, following a pattern repeated time and again. The Gospel of repentance and forgiveness is spread through face-to-face encounters. Not with an air of superiority, but in humility, requiring the evangelist to open their heart to their neighbour as the good news of God’s love is spread. 

 It is a beautiful culmination of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. God sent the Son into the world to save the world. For no other reason than love. And through the love of God we see in the crucified Jesus, we are invited to fall in love with God. To let God’s love re-fashion our hearts and minds, so that we can know the height and depth of God’s love for us. That is part of what it means for us to have God's love poured into our hearts (through the Holy Spirit). The height, breadth, and depth of God's love for you poured into your heart. And with God's love for each of us in our hearts - refashioning who we are - we also have God's love for every other person poured into our hearts. And whatever else we do as we spread the good news of Jesus, all of it is based on us opening the door of our heart to our neighbour as we share with them (and live with them) God’s love for us all.

Falling in Love With God on Good Friday

When love meets sin, the cross is the result. But when love meets sin, the opportunity to fall in love is offered to us. This is why it isn’t so strange to say Good Friday. And not so strange for the cross (of Jesus) to become the symbol of God’s love. And for churches to have crosses in and on their buildings. The cross of Jesus is self-sacrificing love for us. There is no remainder. Jesus, out of love for us, endures the cross for our good. And because Jesus is a victim of what he saves us from – sin - we are loved at even this low point of crucifying the Son of God. Literally or metaphorically crucifying each other is a low point and does not earn anything but condemnation. But God’s love doesn’t just hold at this point; God seeks us out at our lowest point of failure and saves us. (We are saved by the death of Jesus, the low point of human sin.) 

 In John’s Gospel, the opposite of sin is faith. Faith that God so loved the world that he gave his only Son for us. Faith is how we fall in love. And when we fall in love with God because of the cross of Jesus, we are on the path of faith. Continuing down the path of faith will bring more to this initial falling in love (for example, hope), but what is added along the journey will never be contrary to the initial conversion to God’s love. To have faith in Jesus is to be overwhelmed with love. God’s love for us, a love that goes so far as to be sent into the world of sin and be cruelly tortured, crucified, and killed. To have faith is to know that we are loved as we are (even if it seems unbelievable), and to grow deeper into that knowledge and love. God loves you and has poured that love into your heart. Think about that. God’s love for you has been poured into your heart so that you might come to know the depth of God’s love for you. (Romans 5:5) And more than this, God gave the Son for us, as we are, so that we can become more than we are. And if there are times when that might seem unbelievable, and times you can’t see God’s love for you, then look to the cross. And fall in love with God’s love again. 

 Simultaneously, to have faith in God’s love crucified is also to see God’s love for all people. To fall in love with the cross is to be on a journey of opening our hearts in love toward others. God loves me and seeks me out even while still a sinner? Yes. This changes us. Being loved transforms the human heart. (See Ezekiel 36:26) To love God and Jesus is to love all those whom they love. As St John says: 

Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. (1John 4:11-12)

Maundy Thursday Love

 He loved his own who were in the world, and he loved them to the end. (John 13:1) 

 Jesus died for one reason, without remainder. He died ‘for us.” For no other reason. He loves God and us, and died out of love. Think of the washing of the feet at the Last Supper. Jesus washes the feet of the disciples – the action of a slave - not for his benefit but as an act of service, indicating in this symbolic action the meaning of his life, death, and resurrection. Jesus receives no personal benefit from the cross. It is a gift for us. But we shouldn’t misunderstand this. Often, when people do something without receiving any personal benefit, they are less committed than they would be if they had. That’s not Jesus. His death on the cross is entirely for our benefit, and he is utterly committed to this path. If, in some fictional world, Jesus were suddenly offered a personal benefit to go to the cross, there would be no unused commitment, love or heart in Jesus to put into carrying the cross to qualify to receive the benefit. Jesus is 100% committed in love for us and love for God when he goes to the cross. Jesus goes to the cross willingly as an expression of his love for God and us. The cross is love in crucified flesh. 

We see this time and again in the Gospels. His ministry is defined by love. Three in particular come to mind: love of God, love of neighbour, and love of enemies. He eats and drinks with outcasts (but anyone really), he forgives sins, heals the sick, raises the dead, brings freedom to the burdened. And at the Last Supper, Jesus says he is giving his blood to bring the New Covenant. (See Jeremiah 31:31-34) The New Covenant is for us. (Matthew 26:26-29) 

 And then on the cross, still giving his all for us, he says, “Father forgive them, they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34) And, finally, when his life is expired in love, “It is finished.” (John 19:30) Jesus gives everything out of love, even to the point of death on a cross. (Philippians 2:5-11) And this is the beautiful thing about self-giving love. What is our response? To give our lives to Christ, to him who died for us. As St Paul says,  

And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.” (2Corinthians 5:15) 

 And it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

John 9: Arguing Yourself Into (a Deeper) Faith

Strangely, Jesus is mostly absent from today’s story. Jesus speaks in verses 1-7 and 35-41. He is present in the remaining verses that constitute the bulk of the story, but not in person. But he is there, the subject of the action. And if I were to summarise verses 8-34 it would be something like: 

 1. People wondered about the man and his healing. Is it really him? The man confirms the miracle at the hands of Jesus. (9:8-12) 
2. The Pharisees speak to the man and are divided in their opinion about Jesus. Jesus broke the sabbath; he is therefore a sinner. But others wondered how a sinner could perform such a miracle. They ask the man, and he confesses Jesus as a prophet. (9:13-17) 
3. The man’s parents are called to verify the facts. But his parents, fearful of the consequences, direct them back to the man. (9:18-23) 
4. The man is interrogated again. He says he doesn’t know if Jesus is a sinner, but one thing he does know: “I was blind, now I see.” Jesus must be from God. They revile the man as a disciple of Jesus and refuse to be taught by such a man. 

 From 9:35, Jesus returns to the narrative and leads the man to articulate his faith in Jesus: “Lord, I believe.” And he worships Jesus. (Compare John 20:28) Jesus finds the man and brings him to faith. Jesus then teaches what has just played out between the man and the opponents of Jesus in respect of jesus.  Jesus coming into the world brings judgement. (See John 3:17-21) His presence allows those who come to faith to shift from spiritual blindness to spiritual (in)sight, but those who physically see but reject Jesus because they claim they have spiritual (in)sight, become blind. (9:39-41) The man who was physically and spiritually blind moves from blindness to physical sight and spiritual (in)sight, culminating in his confession of Jesus as the Son of Man. On the other hand, the opponents of Jesus, while physically able to see, remain in spiritual darkness. They refuse to acknowledge the sign of the miracle and what it means (about Jesus). And they refuse to be taught by the man who has gained both physical and spiritual sight. And this double movement applies to the man as he moves from sin to faith, and the opponents from a claimed righteousness to the darkness of clinging sin. (9:40-41) 
 

The absence of Jesus through the middle of the narrative allows us to watch a man arguing himself into faith. And he is wrestling not just with others, but also with himself, and with God. (See Genesis 32:22-32) He argues with his neighbours and names Jesus as the miracle worker. He argues for Jesus against the Pharisees: “Jesus healed me and he is a prophet.” And again, with more opponents of Jesus, the man implies that he is, or wishes to be, a disciple of Jesus. (9:27) And he is reviled by them. But the man knows that sinners can’t do what Jesus has done. And the miracle is a sign waiting to be interpreted correctly. (In John 5, Jesus heals on the sabbath. In the dispute with his opponents, he says that he gives life on the sabbath just as his Father is working on the sabbath. See John 5:16-18 & 10:10) The man is coming to faith: “If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” (9:33) 

And then Jesus meets the man, points to the man’s hope, and declares that he, Jesus, is the fulfilment of that hope. (9:37) “Lord, I believe.” And he worshipped him. (9:38) I, too, have argued myself into a deeper faith at times.  I do it every time I write a sermon. I wrestle with the text.  In speaking to others about Jesus, I argue myself into a deeper faith. The interaction with others, with life itself in all its joy and sorrow, asks me to decide. Is life stronger than sin and death? Without God, does any of it make sense? Is Jesus the one? “Yes, Lord, I believe.” And he worshipped him.