5th Sunday in Easter

I’ve been selfishly looking forward to this week for a long time.
Because today, we read some of my TOP favorite readings in the entire Bible.
My ALL time favorites.
I just can’t get enough of ALL of the Good stuff today.

In the reading from Acts:
We see the Ethiopian Eunuch:
Who gets baptized:
And longs for those living waters to rush over him.
We see that God’s love has no boundaries:
That the waters of baptism are offered to everyone:
Even one who was considered the lowest of the low.

In 1 st John: My favorite book of the Bible:
We hear today: My absolute favorite verse:
Which is: “We love, because he first loved us.”

And then: my second favorite verse:
“Love is from God: everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”

Our ability to love:

Is that divine part within us:
God’s very self:
Dwelling inside us:
Giving us the capacity to do the same.

In the Gospel of John:
We hear Jesus’ famous words about the vine and the branches:
Which is: My favorite “camp Gospel”
When I was a church camp director:
I would always read this lesson when we hiked up the mountain to pray and have
communion together.
We would look at the trees:
With all of the branches:
Each branch important, significant, beautiful, and alive.
Each branch: a part of what makes the tree the tree.

There’s SO much good stuff this week.
Stuff about love.
Stuff about community.
Stuff about belonging.
Stuff about knowing:
Stuff about God knowing us:
And us knowing God:
Stuff about God loving us:
And us loving God and each other.

Yet all of this stuff:
All of it: is deeply connected.

Because without love:
You can’t have community.
Without community:
You can’t have belonging.
Without community:
You can’t have baptism.

Without love:
You can’t know someone.
You can’t care for someone.
You can’t be a branch on the vine.
Without love….
There would be nothing…
We would be nothing…

But really:
Have you ever thought about that?
About life without love?
And ALL kinds of love:

Without your children?
Without your spouse?
Without your parents?
Without your friends?
Even without your pets? (as we noted last week!)

There’s a really wonderful song:
That was on the top pop charts almost a decade ago.

It’s Called: “Nothing without love.”
And its lyrics speak of this deep, deep truth.
Of the pain of love:
Of the joy of love:
Of the necessity of love:
How love keeps us alive.

The song is on the pop charts:
But it’s actually a pretty Christian song:
Which to me:
Is yet more proof that God is indeed real:
That such truth would be portrayed in popular music and media.
That God can work:
And be present both inside and outside the church:
Just like the in the conversion of the Ethiopian Eunuch.

The song begins with these words:
“I am nothing without love
I'm but a ship stuck in the sand
Some would say that I'm all alone
But I am, I'm nothing without love”

This song:
Like our readings today,
Points to the fact that:
A life without love: Is no life at all.
And Love is who God is.

God is Love:
And those who abide in love abide in God:
And God abides in them.

Abide:
As in: Live within:
Through God loving us:
Through God BEING love:
We become love:
Not because we’re good at it:
But because God Loves US.

And only because of God’s love:
Are WE able to love:
And able to abide in God and each other:
To live within each other.
To live for each other:
To be the branches on the vine.

And that’s the other thing that I love about this Gospel reading:
Jesus says: “I am the vine, you are the branches.”
BranchES: It’s Plural.
Not:
I am the vine: you are the branch.
The branches.

If one branch is cut off:
The vine is never again the same.

And if there’s more than one branch:
That means:
That it’s not just about you.
It’s about the health of the whole vine.

It takes all of the branches:

And it takes Love:
as those on the vine Mutually abide in each other:
Living within each other:
Truly loving one another.
And that’s not as sweet as it sounds.
One of my all-time most stood by phrases is that:
Love is the work of the relationship.

Love IS work.
It’s not easy.
It’s messy, it’s dirty:
Sometimes it hurts.

The whole vine:
All of the branches:
Have to cooperate:
In order to stay alive.

But thank God:
For teaching us how to love:
For showing us what love is:
For reminding us that love means caring for the whole vine:
Not just for ourselves.

Thank God:
For showing us:
For teaching us:
For reminding us, as First John says:
That “There is no fear in love:
But perfect love casts out fear:
For fear has to do with punishment.”

Perfect love:
In community:
Casts out fear:
Where there’s no fear of judgment.
Because God’s love in Christ has replaced the fear of Judgement.

And in that perfect love:
Replacing fear,
Replacing judgment:
The vine and the branches remain alive.

Notice:
The image in this Gospel reading is not of some “thing”
Some object:
Like a statue, or a chair:
But a LIVING thing:

The vine and the branches.

This is the truth of Easter:
This is the truth of the whole Christian project:
That we are Nothing without love.
That Love overcomes death:
Love overcomes the grave:
Love is life.
Life forever:
In mutual abiding:
Living within God’s love:
As just one branch on the larger vine.

Amen.