Joy

John 15: 9-17

Last week we thought about what it means to abide, or dwell, in Jesus. the passage we heard today follows on from the image of the vine and the branches, and continues on with the theme of being in relationship with Jesus, and of Jesus being in relationship with ‘his Father’.

Today we read this passage which mentions ‘love’ so many times, I wonder if John was in a contest to see how many he could use the word in a paragraph. 9 times in this section of text, including 5 times in the first 2 verses. So we could say this passage is about love. Love is a word that gets used lots these days, but I wonder what we mean when we speak of love.  I doubt it is the same love that Jesus was talking about. I love your new haircut, car, dog, whatever; I doubt that is what Jesus is talking about here with his disciples. Jesus is talking with the disciples after the last supper, before the betrayal in the garden. 

Jesus knows that the world was not an easy place for his disciples, nor would it be easy for them after his death. The idea of crucifixion was that the ring leader would die in this very public way, then everyone else would return home and be ‘good’ citizens, and not cause the Roman or Jewish leaders any more trouble.  There are still places around the world where this method of control is still in use.

Jesus is telling the disciples to remain in his love, to abide in him as he abides in God; to love as he loves; and he calls them friends, not servants; tells them to go and bear fruit; and a final love one another, just in case they haven’t got the message.

Love one another as Jesus has loved you. If this is the standard we need to reach, I am doomed, and I am guessing you are all doomed as well. It is a standard we cannot possibly reach, it is not possible for us to love as Jesus loved, as purely, as unselfishly, as courageously, as honestly, as perfectly as Jesus loved. So we might as well just give up and go home, because of that is the standard we have no hope.

But what if Jesus is not giving a standard, an absolute so impossible for us to even think about ever reaching; what if Jesus is telling the disciples, and us, that life is about relationship, relationship with Jesus, with God, with each other. And yes our relationships with God and each other should be characterised by those qualities I mentioned, courage, honesty and purity; but maybe this is saying that when we abide in Jesus, when we our lives are saturated by Jesus and his love, our loving will be like that. We won’t be perfect, and we will not always be loving, but when we stay in relationship with Jesus, we live out the life he gives us, and we bear fruit for the kingdom.

Imagine your life saturated by Jesus. Wouldn’t that be amazing!

Now I said the theme today is Joy -  and that comes from one of the verses in this reading: I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

Our joy may be complete – after being told to love another as Jesus has loved us, it is so our joy may be complete. When are people joyful – when their team wins, when they do well in a test, get a job, buy their dream house – such joy is short lived.  Looking up the word joy on my computer’s dictionary, it means happiness or delight.

What brings us joy, what might this joy be. Again I think it has to do with relationship with Jesus. by living this closely with Jesus, by abiding in, dwelling in his love and life, our lives will be full of joy. Joy that comes from knowing we are loved by God, joy that comes from being in relationship with God through Jesus Christ, joy that comes from living deeply with Jesus.  Now that isn’t to say that life will be all smooth sailing.

The next part of this chapter of John talks of persecution, the disciples will be persecuted just as Jesus was, now how is that for a message of hope.  Yet I think it is. If we live as Jesus lived, love as Jesus loves, if we feel his joy, are his friends, bear kingdom fruit, why should we expect to be treated any differently to the way he was treated.

Jesus said: I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

Joy to me is deep within me, it is an awareness and acceptance that I am loved by God, valued by Jesus, that I abide in the vine, that I have been chosen, called and sent. Jesus came that we might have life, abundant, overflowing life.

Is the joy of Jesus part of your life?