Easter 6
Sermon preached by Jenny Walpole, ordinand at Westcott House
‘As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; remain in my love’. I remember singing these words in 2013, at my sister’s wedding. A two-part anthem composed my Simon Lole, which was sung as a duet with my brother. Lucky for him he wasn’t wearing a bold pink bridesmaid’s dress at the time, unlike me. Not that there is anything wrong with the colour pink, but I couldn’t help but think that this moment was part of a humorous plan, known as sister’s revenge.
In the gospel account which we heard today Jesus praises love. Love is a gift, an excellence of character, a way of life. Nothing in this scriptural passage dismisses love as a flight of fancy. But on the other hand, love as pure as it sounds can be a highly ambiguous word, it can have multiple meanings that need further exploration.
Jesus tells us to love one another, a command that is as simple as it is confounding. In this passage, love is translated each time from the Greek word Agape. And comes into Latin as caritas, then into English as charity, though the meaning gradually shifted to philanthropy which has brought us back to love as the best translation.
It is regarded as the highest form of love, from this love all other loves flow. Love in this sense is a virtue, a theological virtue because God is love. And it is that nature of love that we seek to emulate, and to participate in through the grace of God. Agape is the love of God for humankind and of humankind for God. Our love for our neighbour is at best a faithful response to God’s love for us. It is a love that reaches out, to go beyond ourselves and to seek the best for others.
This love passage from John’s gospel, has a rightful use in a wedding context because such love is primarily interested in the good of the other person, rather than one’s own. It does not attempt to possess or dominate. A fruitful marriage or partnership will not just be concerned with the welfare of the individual members of their household, but will bear the fruitfulness of charity, hospitality and service. Love between individuals can uphold and strengthen a relationship, and love directed beyond the immediacy of a couple is also good for their community.
As I speak about love and about marriage, I am aware that many of us have been hurt when loving relationships have ended. Others may be single, and haven’t chosen to be. Some of us may have experienced suffering at the hands of the Church because of who we love. So, as we dwell on this passage the words which can help us to make sense of love, which have helped me to understand who God is and who I am, are the words which are also found on the icon in Westcott Chapel: Ye have not chosen me. But I have chosen you.
Over the last two years, I have been training for ordination at Westcott House. The icon was commissioned by the Westcott community, and painted by Marianna Fortounatto in 1981. Rowan Williams said this about it: ‘The point is simple: face to face with Jesus, there and only there, do we find who we are’.
When we come before God to pray, bringing all that is broken and seeking spiritual love to sustain us, it is good to remember that God seeks friendship and that God has chosen us. In the failings of our relationships, in our own specific failings and in the failings which have caused us hurt. It is face to face with Jesus where we understand who we are and who God is. In the face of the almighty we may feel overwhelmed by our failings, just unworthy servants caught up in the complexities of life. But as we look at God, God looks back at us – and it is in Christ’s gaze that we recognise that we too are bearers of the divine image, and that in Christ’s gaze we can never be lost. Because we are chosen, chosen in love and chosen for joy. We are called to be in relationship with Christ, and amidst all the difficulties and complexities of the journey we are chosen and we are loved.
This choosing is not dependant on us, we don’t earn this choosing. And as we stand before God, it would surely be a great privilege to be servant of God, yet we are called friends. It is a relationship of friendship that God seeks, a mutual and reciprocal relationship of being loved and loving back. God does not stand far off but invites us into his presence.
What does this picture mean for you? If we imagine ourselves only as servants, are we forgoing the greater mutuality that Christ seeks with us as his friends? We are called into a relationship of friendship with Jesus. And it is through this friendship that we hope to take on God’s characteristics as our own, and to love one another as God loves us.
My sister’s wedding which featured the striking pink ensemble, unfortunately went the way of many other relationships. Many good things came from this marriage and many good things continue because of it but sometimes things just don’t work out the way we hope or imagine. When failures inevitably occur, it is hard not to turn inwards, feeling the pain within ourselves or blaming the other. But there is a deeper love that runs through all things. A love that is faithful and strong, enduring and sacred. The love of a creator who faces us not with condemnation but with the gentleness of a friend, with the strength of a saviour and who in return seeks our love and friendship.
As we contemplate who we are in the face of Jesus, the characteristics of God are reflected back to us. God’s love and forgiveness reach out to us, to all at is broken to heal and restore, and to love us into a new creation. And in return we are to be known by that love which we receive and which we can give.
‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you’. As simple and as hard as these words are, there is a deep commitment from God who says: I love you and I have chosen you. And God says these things so that the character of love will remain in us, will flow from us and so that our joy may be complete. Amen