Breath of God

Breath of God

John 15:26-27[1]

I think that fear may be one of the greatest obstacles many of us face in life. I’ve mentioned fear a couple of times in recent sermons. The reason for that is I’ve dealt with fear many times in my life. I’m talking about the kind of fear that wakes you up in the middle of the night. I think fear can also be one of the greatest spiritual obstacles we may face. I know that when I’ve been captive to fear, I’ve had great difficulty being able to simply believe in God’s love, let alone experience it. Fear seems to cut us off from the life-giving presence of God’s Spirit in our lives just as surely as if we were branches lopped from a vine.

I mention this today because it is the day when we commemorate the first Pentecost. That was when the Spirit of God breathed life into the infant church, enabling them to bear witness to all that Jesus had meant to them. And throughout the New Testament, the Apostles affirm that the only way they were able to do the amazing things they did was because the Spirit of God had empowered them to do so. Ironically, before that first Pentecost, the first Christians typically gathered behind locked doors out of fear of being caught and arrested. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they weren’t able to live out their faith when they were captive to fear.

In contrast to that, when the Spirit came upon them, they seemed to lose their fear and became bold witnesses to Jesus Christ. This is precisely what Jesus says the Spirit would do for the disciples according to John’s Gospel. In our lesson for today, Jesus promises that the Spirit would testify to him, and that would enable them to testify as well (Jn. 15:26-27). That follows a pattern in John’s Gospel. Just as Jesus did the work God sent him to do, so they would also do the work Jesus sent them to do (Jn. 14:12). Just as Jesus taught what God had given him to teach, so the Spirit would continue to teach them, and in turn they would teach others (Jn. 16:13).

I’ve always believed that churches thrive to the extent that they become living demonstrations of the love of God, the presence of Jesus, and the new life of the Spirit. That might not sound like a very practical approach to revitalizing a church. Nevertheless it is my firm conviction that while we may generate short-term results through our own creativity and talent, anything lasting that we may do for the sake of the kingdom of God can only be done by the power of the Spirit working through us. Or perhaps I should say, it can only be done as the Spirit breathes the life of God in and through us.

One question I’ve always struggled with is what specifically we are supposed to do about this. Some would answer that we must simply become “filled with the Spirit.” But I’m not sure that really helps most of us. How can average, normal, day in and day out human beings like us become the kind of people who display the love of Christ and the new life of the Spirit? The usual answer is that it’s a matter of practicing the disciplines of the faith: prayer, scripture reading, service, and worship. These practices have sustained the life of the church for centuries, and for some of us, they continue to sustain our life. But the fact of the matter is that they simply leave some of us unmoved. 

That’s why another way to become more “Spirit-filled” is to find the presence of God through the everyday routines of life: from washing dishes to working in the yard to simply taking the time to look people in the eye and acknowledge them as human beings. I personally find exercising to be particularly effective for me —whether practicing yoga or going on a rigorous bike ride, or even walking. The key is to turn off the constant “noise” in our minds that keeps us from being aware of God’s life-giving presence. When we can silence all that mental chatter and simply be in the presence of God’s Spirit, we discover a whole new Pentecost every day—we discover that are constantly living in God’s presence. 

I don’t think there’s only one method for achieving this. And I also don’t think there’s a quick path to getting “spiritual.” In fact, it’s something we really can’t do at all! All we can do is try to “show up.” All we can do is open ourselves to the presence of the life-giving Spirit, praying for the breath of God to breathe new life in and through us. There are a number of ways of doing this, from meditative prayer to simply enjoying the beauty of the world around us. However we may find a way to become more aware of God’s presence, it makes all the difference in the way we live. And it makes all the difference in how we live out our faith.

I would say that most of us have had some kind of experience with the voice of fear. We know how powerfully it can affect us. But the voice that God’s Spirit breathes into our lives is not the voice of fear, but the voice of love. It is the voice that says “I am with you.” It is the voice that says “I will never abandon you.” It is the voice that says, “I have loved you with a love that never ends.” When we can recognize that the voice of fear is not the voice of truth, it can set us free from our fears. When we can listen to the voice of love, we can become more aware of God’s constant presence. Then we can begin to know the new life that God’s Spirit breathes in us and through us.

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[1] © 2018 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Alan Brehm on 5/20/2018 at Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.

Belonging to Truth

Belonging to Truth

John 17:6-19[1]

The concept of “Truth” is becoming more and more challenging in our society. Part of the problem is that many of us seem to have a rather flimsy approach to “Truth.” It seems that everyone has his or her “own truth,” and that no matter what that truth may be, no one has a right to dispute it. This plays out in politics, in religion, and in family life. It seems that there’s no aspect of our lives that hasn’t been affected by the fact that everything seems to be up for debate. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that this muddy outlook on “truth” has led to confusion and turmoil. If we can’t even agree on basic convictions that guide our lives, how can there be any stability in our society?

On the other hand, part of the problem seems to be that many of us have a rather rigid approach to “Truth.” We hold fast to the convictions we’ve always believed, regardless of whether the facts may fly in the face of those convictions. This has been a particular temptation for those of us in the church. We throw out some verse from the Bible and assume not only that our understanding of “Truth” is correct, but also that we have God on our side. The problem with this approach is that when we’re not willing to admit that we may not have it all down, we stagnate in our own personal growth, and we throw up walls against those who disagree with us and label them as “enemies.”

As I mentioned last week, the section of John’s Gospel from which our lesson for today comes contains Jesus’ teachings to prepare his disciples for the fact that he would be leaving them soon. Not only is he “pulling out all the stops” in his effort to communicate his message to them. He’s also tying up all the previous hints and clues in John’s Gospel that he had been dropping all along about his purpose and his mission. In our lesson for today, Jesus uses the opportunity to pray for the disciples that they would indeed understand and follow the truth he had sought to teach them.

One of the most important themes in this Gospel is that the “Truth” Jesus taught his disciples was a unique kind of truth. It was not the truth of science or mathematics, where formulas and equations all add up. It was not the truth of philosophy seeking to come up with a rational answer to just about every question one could think. Nor was it the truth of dogma, where scholars try to fit all the teachings of the Bible into a neat and tidy system. Rather, the “Truth” that Jesus came to bring was the truth of a relationship with God whereby we experience God’s grace and we embrace God’s ways and purposes in this world.

I think we see this reflected in our Gospel lesson today in several ways. First, the “Truth” that Jesus taught his disciples was something that Jesus had received from his Father. We see this in an interesting interplay between the “Name” and the “Word” and the “Truth” Jesus says that God had given him. The point of this is, as Jesus says, “Now they know that everything you have given me is from you” (Jn. 17:7). The fact that everything Jesus did and taught had come from his Father reflects the relationship between Jesus and the Father. It was such a close relationship that Jesus could say that what he was doing only what the Father had taught him.

At the same time, the theme is expanded here to include the disciples in that relationship. Interestingly, just as the Father had given Jesus the “Name” and the “Word” and the “Truth, so Jesus says that the disciples were those whom the Father had given him. The reason why Jesus had taught them the “Truth” he had received from the Father was so that the disciples could share the joy of his relationship with God. Jesus said it this way: “I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves.” (Jn. 17:13). The truth Jesus spoke was the kind of truth that was intended to draw the disciples into the same relationship with the Father that Jesus enjoyed.

But there was more to it than that. The truth that Jesus taught his disciples was the kind of truth that would not leave them where they were. It would change them, and it would change them through and through. Jesus said that the ultimate purpose of this truth was that they may be “sanctified in the truth” (Jn. 17:17, 19). In the Bible, sanctification is one of those fifty-dollar theological words that means to set something or someone apart for God’s purposes. I like the way the CEV puts it: “let this truth make them completely yours” (John 17:17 CEV). The kind of truth Jesus brought was intended to make those who followed it into people who belong completely to God.

When we receive and embrace the truth Jesus taught, we are changed so that we become people who belong to God and to God’s truth through and through. We enter into a relationship with God, a covenant, if you will, that both brings us joy and makes a claim on our lives. That may not answer the problem of “Truth” in our world. But God’s truth is a different kind of truth than that. God’s truth gives us clarity, but doesn’t make us into religious “know-it-alls.” God’s truth defines more than what we recite as our creed; it defines how we live our lives. God’s truth is about a relationship, and when we embrace that truth in Jesus Christ, we are changed into people who belong to God’s truth.

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[1] ©2018 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Alan Brehm on 5/13/2018 at Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.

No Greater Love

No Greater Love

John 15:9-17[1]

I think most of us would agree that friends are a gift. They help make life meaningful, interesting, and fun. Our friends add so much to our lives, just by sharing themselves with us. And as we share the journey of life together, it means the world to most of us to know that we have friends who are there to share our joys and our sorrows. A friend is someone we know we can rely on to be there for us no matter what, even when it may seem like the rest of the world has turned against us. We trust our friends to keep our deepest secrets and to be genuinely happy for us when we find success. Friends like that are true gifts that make our lives so much better just by being there for us.

But I think we might also agree that friendships can be tricky. Any time you are dealing with relationships between human beings, it can get tricky. We all have our flaws, our foibles, and our failings. True friends accept us despite all of that. But even among true friends, sometimes things can get tricky. In part, the fears I mentioned last week can be driven by our broken relationships with others. We can be afraid of our families, because they have the power to hurt us deeply with unkind words and actions. We can be afraid of our friends, because most of us know the pain of having a “friend” betray our trust. Many of us are afraid of others, simply because they are “other” and we assume (whether we know it or not) they pose a threat to us. Friendships can be tricky.

In our Gospel lesson for today, the idea of friendship plays a central role in what Jesus was trying to teach his disciples. This section of John’s Gospel consists of Jesus’ efforts to prepare them for his impending departure. And of course, the most difficult part of that for them would be his death on the cross. Jesus had said many things to them to help prepare them for that crisis. I think one of the most moving statements he made about his death is what he tells them here: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (Jn 15:13). In this passage, he didn’t say he was rescuing lost sinners. He said he was laying down his life for his friends.

I think this has some significant implications. Besides being Teacher, Savior, Messiah, and Lord, Jesus here says that he is giving his life for them because he is their friend. Despite the beloved hymn “What a Friend we have in Jesus,” I don’t know that we think of Jesus dying for us as a friend. I don’t know about you, but to me that makes a difference in the way I view the cross. Jesus offered himself willingly, even joyfully according to our lesson for today, on behalf of those whom he considered his friends. Not sinners lost and dying. Not wandering sheep gone astray. He “laid down his life” for his friends. Of course that included the Apostles, but it also included everyone else. Jesus “laid down his life” for us as a friend as well.

I think the context in which we most naturally understand someone laying down their life for their friends is in the context of danger. Some of the noblest and bravest heroes throughout history have laid down their lives to save others from danger. And those heroes become living examples of the “no greater love” Jesus spoke of. But I also think we can see examples of this kind of friendship in everyday life. Hopefully we all have known friends who have given of themselves to help us in a time of need. They are the ones who sit by our bedside and take time out of their lives, simply because they are our friends. And they do so without the slightest notion that we’re putting them out in any way at all. They are the friends who willingly and freely take the initiative to give of themselves because of their “no greater love” for us.

When you look at the cross from this perspective, it has significant consequences for us.^[2] The goal of Jesus’ gift of “no greater love” for us all was to make us his “friends,” and at the same time friends of God. But I think his purpose was also to make us friends to each other. In the church, we may be used to the language of brothers and sisters in reference to one another. And that biblical theme resonates with us. But at the same time, family imagery can suggest some constraints to our love. On the other hand, I think that becoming friends to each other and to all those around us in the way that Jesus was our friend can inject some new life into our understanding of what it means to be a community that follows Christ.

The message in our Gospel lesson is that the “friendship” we’ve been granted with God through Jesus Christ changes the way we look at the people around us. We become their “friends” just as Jesus made us his friends. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they change how they relate to us. They may not become more “friendly” toward us at all. But if we seek to share God’s love with others as “friends,” then it will necessarily change the way we relate to them. Like Jesus, we will take the initiative to offer ourselves on their behalf freely and willingly.

When we live our lives on the basis of the fact that Jesus “laid down his life” for us as our friend, we find ourselves naturally offering that same “no greater love” to others. We do this because as God’s friends we know the assurance of total and unconditional acceptance. We do it because as Christ’s friends we find ourselves called to follow his example of freely giving ourselves for others. And as friends to all people, we face the challenge of opening ourselves to everyone we encounter—those who are like us and those who are different, those whom we know and those who are strangers to us, those whom we trust and those we avoid. We are called to the practice the “no greater love” that Jesus modeled by living as friends to all those whom God brings into our lives.

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[1] ©2018 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Alan Brehm on 5/6/2018 at Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.

[2] Cf. Jürgen Moltmann, The Church in the Power of the Spirit, 116-21, 182-89, 314-17; cf. especially ibid., 189: “Christian fellowship is a fundamentally open fellowship and not merely a community of fellow-believers”; and 316: “Friendship is an open relationship which spreads friendliness, because it combines affection with respect.”

New Life Through God's Love

New Life Through God’s Love

1 John 4:7-21[1]

I know that not everybody looks at the world this way, but I tend to think that most people have the best of intentions behind their actions. Of course, the best of intentions can often go off the rails. If we’re honest with ourselves, I think we have to admit that having the best of intentions doesn’t guarantee we will do or say the right thing. Unfortunately, having the best of intentions can actually keep us from seeing that we’re going about something all wrong. I know that’s been true in my life more times than I can count. I’ve made so many mistakes thinking I was doing or saying the right thing because of my good intentions. But then I suspect I’m not alone in that. It seems to be something that is a part of being human.

One of the tricky aspects of our good intentions is that they can blind us to what really lies behind our words and actions.^[2] Oftentimes, our good intentions become our way of avoiding the fact that we’re afraid. Some of us may be afraid that if people really knew us they would not respect us or find us worthy of love and acceptance. Some of us may be afraid that the world is against us, and that if we don’t fight tooth and nail we will “lose.” Some of us may simply be afraid of the way the world seems to be changing at an ever faster pace. It’s an experience I think we all share at times: due to our fears we miss the fact that the “disruption” of change can lead to a life we could never have imagined would be so good.

I believe our lesson from 1 John for today addresses this problem of fear. Of course, in this particular context, the Scripture is speaking to the fear of punishment. And the point is that because of the love that God has freely poured into our lives through our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ, we need no longer fear any punishment. As the Scripture puts it, “In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10). The impact of that love in our lives is that we no longer have to cringe in fear before a God we’re afraid will strike us down in anger. Instead, the message of the Gospel is that “God is love.”

But I think this passage has more to say to us about the power of God’s love to help us find new life than simply freeing us from fear of punishment. The Scripture puts it this way: “God showed his love for us when he sent his only Son into the world to give us life” (1 John 4:9, CEV). There is some significant theology behind this.  We call it the incarnation, the belief that in Jesus, God somehow came to walk in our shoes, to experience the fullness of our suffering, our struggles, and even our fears. And the purpose of all this was so that we might “live”: really and truly live a life of faith and hope and love that God intends for us all.

Throughout this passage there is an interesting interplay between living in love and living in God. Following up on the statement that “God is love,” the Scripture goes on to say “all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them” (1 John 4:16, NLT). “Living in love” and “living in God” seem to be interchangeable in our lesson for today. That may seem confusing, but I think the point is that when we come to know in the depth of our very souls that God loves us no matter what, we find a whole new quality of life. And at the same time, that new quality of life is only possible by experiencing God’s love for us. The two are intertwined: we find new life through God’s love for us.

In this lesson, the new life we have through God’s love for us results in our relating to one another with love. The Scripture puts it this way: “Dear friends, since God loved us this much, we must love each other” (1 John 4:11, CEV). The idea is that if God loved us enough to come among us in Jesus Christ and take the full measure of our brokenness on himself, we can do no less than love one another. The lesson goes on to state it plainly: “We love because God loved us first” (1 John 4:19, CEV). In fact, I would say that one of the primary characteristics of the new life we find through God’s love for us is that we share that love with others.

The good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that God freely gives love to each of us. It seems to me that when we really get it in our “heart of hearts” that God loves us no matter what, we are set free from the chains that bind us. That includes the chains of fear that can keep us from living fully into the new life we’ve been given. Bolstered by the assurance of God’s love for us, we can have a whole new basis for relating to life and to those around us. Instead of being driven by the fears that can haunt us, when we find new life through God’s love, that love can become the motivation behind our words and actions.

Of course, even here, we all fall short at times, despite our best intentions. I don’t know many people in this world who make it their purpose in life to go out and hurt someone intentionally. But even when it is our intention to speak and act from the love of God in our hearts, nobody perfectly embodies that intention. I know our lesson speaks of God’s love being “perfected” in us. I think the point of that is that when we seek to share the love we’ve received from God, the purpose for which God intended it is fulfilled in us. It seems to me that, given our human experience of falling short, we spend our lives doing our best to speak and act out of that love. Fortunately, it’s not something we have to do in our own strength. At the end of the day, it’s the power of God’s love working in us that enables us to live this new life.

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[1] ©2018 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Alan Brehm on 4/29/2018 at Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.

[2] See Parker Palmer, Let Your Life Speak, 85-91.