The Christ Abides

May 5, 2024 - John 15:9-17 ....

"The take-away is that to be Jesus' friend and to love Jesus are the same thing, they’re synonymous, because both are defined as keeping Jesus' commandments. Abide, on the other hand, means to "remain, stay; live, dwell; last, endure, continue." It's a word that denotes the connection between a branch and vine, between believers and Jesus, Jesus' word, or Jesus' love. You dig me? If not, relax. The Dude Abides... I think what the Gospel writer is trying to communicate is that the love of Jesus is always “abide worthy”—not because his love is intended to necessarily make us into better followers of him, but because Jesus intends his love to make us into better friends for him."

Thanks for listening! May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13) For more information about Keith visit www.authorkeithlong.com or St. Luke Lutheran Church visit www.stlukecg.org

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Welcome to the Pocket Pastor Podcast, Sermons on Demand, a show for those on the go, instant inspiration, questions for the quest, strength for the soul. I'm Keith Long, and this Pulpit to Your Pocket preaching comes to you from St. Luke Lutheran Church, a congregation of the ELCA in Cottage Grove, Minnesota. For more information about me, check out authorkeithlong.com. To see what we've got going on at St. Luke, visit us in person at the corner of 70th and Hinton in Cottage Grove, Sundays at 9 a.m., or check out Saint LukeCG.org for more information. Thanks for listening. I'm honored to be part of your spiritual journey. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. John chapter 15, verses 9 through 17. Right out of the gate, in the first two verses, we hear the same phrase repeated three times. Abide in my love. Abide in my love. When something is repeated in the Bible or in a sermon, you know it's probably really important, right? So what in the world does abide in my love mean? If you're in your forties, then you probably know the movie that comes to mind when I hear the word abide. Starring Jeff Bridges as The Dude, 1998's The Big Lebowski, about what else but mistaken identity and bowling became a quote machine for anyone in need of some good old fashioned chillin' out. The most popular quote in my opinion is Jeff Lebowski's mantra of The Dude Abides, which according to movie sleuths means to relax, enjoy life's simple pleasures, and be tolerant of others. The line suggests that the dude is like the earth, unfazed by the world's chaos and plots. You don't need to watch the movie to experience the dude. The dude is who you'll frequently hear through that chill brother or sister of yours, or ex hippie aunt or uncle, or that coworker you suspect grows things in his basement. Everyone knows at least one or two examples of the dude, as they constantly encourage you to abide by going with the flow and accepting life as it comes. And so it is the dude I hear coaching me when one of my confirmation students writes on a post-it note their question for the question box. Are we believing in the right faith of Jesus? What I have been trained to answer is that according to our Lutheran tradition, it's not about us or our beliefs or our anything. There is nothing we can or cannot do that will make God love us any more or any less. God's grace truly is just that amazing. And that is a perfectly sound answer theologically speaking. But how would the dude respond? First of all, the dude might address me by saying, Hey, well, you know, that's just like your opinion, man. Followed by something along the lines of a shoulder shrug and the dude abides. Because the dude doesn't stress or get hung up on such matters. For the dude being right isn't an existential conundrum. The dude abides. Life is more than who's right and who's wrong, so just relax. Trust that God doesn't live by our rules but is bigger and chooses love over judgment ten times out of ten times. Perhaps people like the dude only exist in the movies. But then again, isn't Jesus kind of saying the same thing to his disciples over and over? The Greek verb for love is agape, and it is used nine times in nine verses, and refers to three separate but equal actions God's love for Jesus, Jesus' love for his followers, and the disciples' love for one another. The noun form of agape is used six times in these nine verses, and refers to an additional three separate but equal things Jesus' love, the Father's love, and human Jesus' love that lays down one's life for another. You see, the fourth gospel uses two different Greek terms for love interchangeably. So when Jesus speaks of friends here, he is really saying those who are loved. The takeaway is that to be Jesus' friend and to love Jesus are the same thing. They're synonymous because both are defined as keeping Jesus' commandments. Abide, on the other hand, means to remain, stay, live, dwell, last, endure, continue. It's a word that denotes the connection between a branch and vine, between believers and Jesus, Jesus' word, or Jesus' love. You dig me? If not, relax, the dude abides. I think what the gospel writer is trying to communicate is that the love of Jesus is always abide worthy. Not because his love is intended to necessarily make us into better followers of him, but because Jesus intends his love to make us into better friends for him. Those two intentions may sound the same, but they are in fact very different. Gail O'Day. Jesus as a friend in the Gospel of John writes Abiding in Jesus' love is what it looks like to lay down one's life for one's friends. It means to be present for each other in times of threat and crisis. Note that Jesus does not say, Lay down your life for me, but for your friends. To be Jesus' friend is to be loved by him, and then to love as Jesus has loved. So that's the scholarly Greek approach. But there is a reason Jesus didn't teach like every other rabbi of his day. He preferred to use everyday language and metaphors to drive home his points because he desired for everybody to abide in his love. And so as I was racking my brain trying to think of a way to describe how Jesus embodied this all inclusive, non-judgmental, sustaining love, the answer literally walked right up to me in the form of my dog. As my favorite band Cloud Cult put it in their song Time Machine Invention, there's a reason God is dog backwards. My wife and kids do a fantastic job of helping a guy like me feel the love on a daily basis, but my dog? My dog goes above and beyond. When I see Kata, our British lab, and she sees me, her tail starts wagging so feverishly you'd think she was going to die of happiness she's so excited. Maybe dogs aren't your thing, but who wouldn't want such a head over heels welcome like that every single day, no matter what? That dog has filled a hole I've had for many years in ways only another pet lover will understand. Do all dogs go to heaven? There's not a doubt they certainly belong with us forever. For in Cada and so many of the other dogs in my life, I know Christ's love abides. Make no mistake, my Lutheran theology comes to mind whenever I hear this passage from John fifteen that God does the choosing, not us. It's why I read it at every baptism. God's never failing promises and presence are perfectly summed up in this passage and the one from Isaiah forty-three in my opinion. But there's something else that now comes to mind when I hear that verse. Puppy selection day. We were invited to come out and meet the puppies and choose the one our breeder would set aside for us until take home day. There were over a dozen or so in the litter and a handful handful left for us to choose from when we arrived. I know everybody isn't a puppy person, but oh my god. Puppy selection day? Are you kidding me? I thought I was going to die of happiness I was so excited. Talk about natural depressance. Watching those little fur babies trotting around, playing, crawling all over one another. We told ourselves we didn't have to get one if the fit wasn't right, but I knew I wasn't leaving there without picking a puppy for us. But was I ever wrong? As I sat on the floor looking all around, watching my kids and wife and puppies snuggling and feeling my heart melting, there she was, sitting right next to me. All her puppy brothers and sisters were scrambling and tumbling, and she was just waiting patiently with her little paw on my thigh, calmly taking in the scene until I realized she was the one for me. Or rather, I was the one for her. You didn't choose me, I chose you. In an age when most of us are frozen by decision paralysis, we can relax because the Christ abides. The Christ abides, so let's focus on loving one another. The Christ abides, so let's put aside stressing out uh about what right way to believe, and free ourselves to abide in Christ's love as Christ abides in the Father's love. Let us lay down our lives for the sake of all those God that places in our lives. Let us love one another with the same sustaining force that has always made possible our witness, the abiding love of Jesus the Christ, for you are the one for Him today, tomorrow, and beyond. So let us love and keep loving, for Christ's abiding love always, always, always chooses you and me and every single person whose love abides for their friends. Yes, the Christ abides for you, O child of God, for you have been sealed with the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever. Amen.