Keeping Jesus' Words - Moving in God's Breath

“Keeping Jesus’ Words” – John 14:22-29

Parsons UMC – May 5, 2013

Good Morning, it is an honor and a privilege to be here and to be able to share with you this morning.

Hear these words from the Gospel of John (NRSV):

Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?” ²³Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. ²⁴Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.

²⁵”I have said these things to you while I am still with you. ²⁶But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.²⁷Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

²⁸You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. ²⁹And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe.

This passage in John on this sixth Sunday in the Easter Season is a part of the four chapters known as “discourse on intimacy and union” also sometimes called the final discourse.  Jesus has celebrated the Passover meal, washed the disciples’ feet and shared with his disciples the bread and the wine.  So now imagine this; for the last time Jesus before the crucifixion and resurrection is surrounded by his disciples and is teaching them.  They are asking questions and he is providing them with commandments to live by.  In this passage one of his disciples has asked, “How is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?”    The disciples unlike us had not lived through the Resurrection nor experienced Pentecost yet.  Therefore, I believe for us as Easter People; as disciples who know that Jesus has risen and conquered, the question we need to ask is, “Jesus, how do we keep your words?”  It sounds simple enough but keeping Jesus’ words is more than putting them in your pocket or remembering them once in a while.  We know also that it is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that we can love those around us including our enemies unconditionally.  So how then do we allow the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and how can we know peace as only Jesus can give it?

Perhaps we can examine these questions better by hearing this scripture in a different form.  Listen to this translation by Alexander Shaia, author of “The Hidden Power of the Gospels,”

14 John 22-29- copyright 2013 Dr. Alexander Shaia
Judas (not Iscariot) asks, “Holy One, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to those unaware?” Jesus answers, “Those who love The Way will move with my breath and my Source, my Father, my Mother will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love The Way does not move with my breath. The Wisdom of The Way that you hear is not mine, but is from the Source/Father who sends me. “I say these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Source/Father sends in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I say to you. Shalom I leave with you; my Shalom I give to you. I do not give to you as one unreflective gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. You hear me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you love The Way, you will rejoice that the I AM is going to The Source/Father, because The Source/Father is greater than I. And now - I tell you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may "know" it. ¹

Shaia translates keeping Jesus’ words as moving with God’s breath.   Sometimes when we think of the Holy Spirit we only think of prophesying and speaking in tongues but it is more than that.  In order to live like Resurrection people it is important to spend time with God and many of us do have a daily devotional time.  For the part, however; we Christians excel in “being active” in the church, whatever, that means.  I hear it all the time; “he or she is so active in their church. ”   It probably means that they are exhausted from attending meetings, planning meetings, and evaluating meetings.  A few months ago, I read an article in the paper about a city in Texas that gives an award to the family, which is most involved in their community.  The family who won the award had two elementary school aged children.  Each child played on three different sports teams, belonged to two school clubs plus took dance, karate and music lessons.  Each parent served on two community boards, belonged to two service clubs and they were active in their church being deacon, teaching Sunday school, serving on the outreach, children’s’ and worship committees and also sang in the church choir.  Their prize was a night out for dinner and a day trip to a local amusement park.  Personally I would need a year’s sabbatical in the Bahamas. 

 Moving with God’s breath challenges us to go a step further beyond being active in the church and having a daily devotion time.  We are called as followers of Christ to allow God to be present in everything we do.  Here are three spiritual practices that can help us move with God’s breath and reflect Jesus’ love at all times and in all places.

The first way we can move with God’s breath is by practicing gratitude.  Being thankful is our way of acknowledging the gifts God has given.  Therefore when we are grateful and give God the glory; the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us.  In the Old Testament; we observe in the Israelites how complaining and demanding what we want can separate us from God.  The Israelites received manna from heaven instead of meat.  However, instead of being thankful they grumbled and complained which then caused being separated from God.  God eventually gave them meat, however; they did not follow the Spirit and share equally with everyone but some gathered more than enough for themselves.  Because they were greedy and ungrateful; the Lord struck the Israelites with a great plague and many died.  As Christians with the full knowledge of the Resurrection of Jesus; we are exhorted by Paul to give thanks in all circumstances not just when we feel like it or when we get what we want.   When I lived in Johnson City, TN; I met a woman named Crystal who been homeless for over a year and lived in a tent.  When I asked her if she ever got lonely; Crystal replied, no, “I never get lonely; I have Jesus and the birds. Every day I share part of my crackers with the birds as a way of thanking Jesus for loving me. “  

This past fall; as my 40^th birthday was approaching; I thought that it would be really neat for us to go away for a few days as a family.  However, as I looked at different options; somehow the Holy Spirit kept nudging me that the timing was not right.  This turned out to be true as I became very ill the week before my birthday and in the midst of my illness; I was very thankful that I listened to God and didn’t rush ahead.  Often when we rush ahead; we miss out on God’s blessings.  Other times we miss out on God’s blessings because we are too preoccupied with what we want rather than like Crystal being thankful for what we have.   Be thankful in all circumstances; practice gratitude every day.

A second way we can move with God’s breath is through practicing simplicity.  No I am not saying give up all your technology or only wear one color of clothing.  I am saying to evaluate your priorities; how you use your time, money and talents.  Practicing simplicity means giving God your best.  Let your yes be yes and your no be no. Do not allow yourself to fill your time with frivolous activities simply to please or get the approval of others.  When I first moved to Jackson; I joined several groups to get to know people.   If anyone asked me, I would join because I was so excited just to be asked.   However, as time went on, I began to realize that some of these groups did not allow me to give God my best.  One of my involvements was the community garden project; I joined this because I liked the idea of growing fresh vegetables but after 2 years I realized that I had no talent or passion for growing vegetables.   Simplicity is also about focus.  In our 24/7 society, multi-tasking rules us.  In the car while commuting, some of us make phone calls, fix our make-up, eat breakfast and even finish doing our hair all while listening to the radio.  When we observe people on the street; they are often walking, talking on their phone, texting and/or listening to a digital book or music.  However, when we multi-task often we miss out on experiencing the blessings of one particular task through our five senses and instead find ourselves with sensory overload. We do many things okay instead of doing one thing well.  God expects excellence and demands our attention. Living simply means experiencing life abundantly with all of our five senses rather than hurrying and scurrying about all the time.  By allowing our minds and hearts to direct us and not others; we practice simplicity and make room for the Holy Spirit to dwell in us. 

One Sunday in church, a girl named Angela and her brother were sitting together.  Her brother kept giggling and playing around; Angela finally said pointing to the men in suits at the back of the church; be quiet or the hushers will get you.  While God does not send out hushers; He does give us the Holy Spirit to quiet our souls.

As we practice gratitude and simplicity; we create space for contemplation or rather more of an opportunity to be drawn closer to God.  As we unclutter our lives; we begin to notice God’s presence and hear that still small voice.  Yet perhaps some of you have thought like I did that in order to practice contemplation or be contemplative; we had to find a place and sit in silence for a certain amount of time.  While being silent is part of contemplation; we do not necessarily have to be still.  We can learn to slow down and be with God in our daily chores such as doing laundry, washing dishes, mowing the grass and cleaning the bathroom.  However since these activities are so mundane and our minds tend to wander during them at least mine does; consider beginning your contemplative practice with one of your hobbies such as walking, gardening, baking bread or taking pictures.  If you are not used to silence and normally listen to music or have a   friend with you during these activities; try doing it by yourself one day and spend at least 3-5 minutes of your activity being silent.  Focus on the present and on offering yourself as a prayer to God.  Thank God for this opportunity to do one of your favorite activities and allow the Holy Spirit to dwell within you.  When spending time with God doing something I love which for me more often than not is doing some kind of art or walking outside; I notice that I feel more rested and renewed.  Move towards spending your entire hobby time in silence and then try it with one of your household chores.  Notice how you begin to recognize that there is no separation between the secular and the sacred.   I have observed that even things I don’t like to do like folding laundry become effortless when I give them to God. 

The fruit of practicing gratitude, simplicity and contemplation is peace.  Jesus says to us, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid.”   The world views peace as the absence of conflict and stress.  However, if this is our only definition, then peace does not occur very often.  We can easily turn on the TV or the radio and become bogged down by the constant stories of war and terrorism.  As Christians, however, we  can give all of the conflicts present in the world and in our lives over to Jesus.  In our giving thanks, living simply and contemplating Jesus’ love on a moment by moment basis; we can experience the peace that passes all understanding in all times and places. 

This day let us practice moving in God’s breath and accept the peace Jesus has given us.  In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen. 

¹  “One of the transitions that Quadratos invites is to move from Jesus as a static reality to one that is a dynamic presence leading us on a never ending journey of growth, love and transformation.  In the Quadratos metaphor-Jesus the Christ is The Way – and The Way is four particular yet universal paths in an every on-going journey.  To Know Jesus is to live-ever deeper-The Way of the Four Paths.”  - Alexander Shaia- for more information visit - http://www.quadratos.com/