Today we hear Jesus continue his farewell discourse, where – just prior to Judas betraying him – Jesus speaks words of comfort and challenge to his other eleven disciples. And let’s be honest, I think at this point Jesus’ disciples are beginning to wonder what they’ve really gotten themselves into. Because the first disciples who encounter Jesus follow him in part because – to use a modern term – of a character reference. In John’s gospel, Jesus’ first disciples are a set of disciples who were following John, who, upon John declaring Jesus the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,” simply turn around and start chasing Jesus. And underneath the surface of all of this is the question: “Could he be the Messiah?”
The problem is, the Messiah they were trained to look for was a king – someone who would command forces capable of vanquishing the mighty army of Rome. They were ready for glory! And even when it became apparent that Jesus wasn’t going to be amassing a royal army to expel the Romans from the Holy Land, they still felt that they were going to have a front-row seat to Jesus changing the world. And they were right. They just didn’t know what it would cost them. Because they knew that with Jesus as their master, he’d take care of them. They knew that even if things went wrong, it was Jesus who would always lay down his life for them, and protect them – and he does. But now, although he is their Good Shepherd and master, he also calls them “friend.” This is not what they anticipated. Because Jesus is right. If they are his friends, then they will do what he has commanded – which means their love for each other is a love that sacrifices for each other.
And this self-sacrificial love of Christ that he declares the disciples should have for each other turns these disciples into more than a group of followers – they are now truly a community with all the blessings and burdens of being a community. And because of this, the joy of one of the gathered group is joy for the entire group, and burdens of one of the gathered group is a burden for the entire group.
Perhaps it is for this reason that upon Jesus’ resurrection, when Thomas isn’t with them when Jesus appears to the disciples the first time, the disciples are willing to wait until Thomas sees and believes. Because they dwell with him in his own hurt and doubt.
And this is what it means to abide in the love of Christ – to be willing to wait in love for those who are struggling, to truly be community together. And while not all communities look the same, it’s apparent that a community borne of Christ is a community where these certain qualities of love are found.
And one of the things about a community borne of Christ? It means to follow Jesus’ commandment to love one another isn’t a burden. It’s what’s done naturally, with all that it entails. But it isn’t just about love. Not really. Well, it is and it isn’t. Because to love God and to love the neighbor is to follow all the commandments as God intended, because they all come down to love. And when a community lives in all the mutuality that comes with loving one another – honoring one another, following the commandments that call us not to harm our neighbor in body or in spirit, wishing the best for all, even when we dislike them, the byproduct of this love is setting aside our own desires, in a small way laying down of our own life for the other. And this means the road to glory that the disciples thought following Jesus would be instead is a path to joy that is revealed through Jesus’ death and resurrection. Because if through Christ’s love we know we have already received the victory in Jesus Christ, and if we’re gathered here today, I think it’s likely we already know this truth, then joy is our default setting. But this leads to a bit of a disclaimer here. You see, joy isn’t the same as happiness. Joy is deeper than happiness, kind of like for Jesus, I think you could argue that love is deeper than loyalty. The disciples expected to be loyal to Jesus, and Jesus to them. They didn’t expect his deep, abiding love as the Father loves the Son.
And knowing the love of God found in Jesus leads us to this joy. And this joy means we are not bound to the moment, we are instead bound to the eternal promises of God.
And the promises of God give us this truth, that as Christ has conquered death and was raised, so we too will be raised on the last day. This is our joy. This is our hope. And as I said, joy does not mean happiness. Joy means abiding in the promises of hope beyond the passing moments of hurt and pain. Joy means waiting alongside Thomas as he longs to receive the same assurance the other disciples have received, and knowing that it will come. Joy means trusting that even though a moment might seem beyond us, that we may be in over our heads, God’s faithfulness in Christ will see us through regardless. Joy is in simply sitting in solidarity when grief threatens to crush the hearts of those we love, and not giving in to despair.
People of hope here at Esperanza, as we are called to abide in Christ’s love today, we are also called to abide in his joy – a joy that reminds us that the hurts of our past can never overcome the promise of our future, a joy that reminds us that as we are called to love one another, this love makes all of Christ’s commandments light. Today, and every day, as members of this community, we are invited to abide in the love of Christ that is not just for Christ, not just for us, but indeed for all the people. Which means we are called to abide in his love and joy beyond just this moment.
So what exactly does this look like? I think it looks like knowing that every moment of every day is another moment where we are called to abide. And if we are abiding in God’s love, others will know it. I imagine some of you are thinking to yourselves that this idea of others knowing that we abide in God’s love isn’t easy – that that might require doing some challenging things, but the good news is in Christ we are already doing challenging things every day, and even when you think you’re in over your head, Christ is there with you, and maybe you can reveal God’s abiding love in ways you don’t expect. So today I tell you, abide in the love of Christ. Abide in his joy. And by abiding in his joy, others will get a glimpse of what we know – as Christ has laid down his life for us, we now live for him, and in living for him all are welcome into the community of love and joy that we abide in today – people of hope, people of love, all of us beloved friends and children of God.