The senior sermon of Jody J. Harrison, from the Diocese of Texas, given in Christ Chapel on March 28, 2007

John 8:31 -42

Opening Prayer: Holy, Loving God, we thank you for the many gifts you continue to give us each day, especially for our close friends. Amen.

Close friends. Sometimes they are blood related family. Sometimes they are friends so close they are our family. These are people who know us best. These are people who encourage us. We celebrate memorable achievements together. We are there for a special anniversary, a milestone birthday, a high school, college or a seminary graduation.

These people know us well. They stand beside us when we mess up. They make tough phone calls for us when a loved one dies; when our voice is not stable for conversation. They attend a child or grandchild’s birthday party and stay to clean up. We know exactly when it is time to back off when we differ to maintain our friendship. These relationships are precious to us.

In the 1960s in a small town near Dallas, Texas, three teenagers: all sisters; stair steps in ages are also very close friends. Holly is the oldest and a gentle leader, soft spoken with a soothing southern drawl that makes the words, “aahssed teayah and Jaysus” bring a smile, even to a native Texan, as she tosses her short brown curls, with sass.

Anne is a blonde with wide blue eyes, bossy and an expert flirt who gets what she wants. Many southern girls are skilled in flirtation even as toddlers. Beth is the youngest, a dark haired beauty, flashing dark eyes, independent; feisty. She bristles under Anne’s bossiness. Fireworks often erupt between the two. It is Holly who keeps the peace.

Their mother is Faith. Faith, like Holly is a soft spoken southern lady; fixes ladies’ hair at home, raises her girls, and tries to keep them, like their home, in order. It is not easy. Her husband Dylan drinks and is often violent. The family knows the warning signs of his temper.

They protect one another during his outbursts. The girls fiercely protect each other and their mother. Yet, as in any group of close friends, each knows which button pushes the other into a heated discussion.

It is the same with many families and in many circles of friends, those who form close bonds at work, at church or school. Even while relationships are close, there is conflict sometimes. Close relationships are like that: often contentious, mostly loving and always complicated. Holly, Anne and Beth stay friends until one day something changes it forever.

In today’s Gospel of John, we are told Jesus confronts the very people who have been his supporters, his friends. He directly engages them, tells them point blank, “I know you are out to kill me.” Jesus is right in their faces.

This is not a meek Jesus. This is a Jesus who confronts evil and addresses it: head on. He does not mince words. This time he does not use a veiled parable for his message. He confronts these supporters who are out to kill him; face to face. Still, he confronts with love.

Face to face confrontations. We avoid them at all costs. They change a relationship forever. Something in a relationship dies when confrontations happen. People who participate in an intervention understand this very well.

During the recent media coverage of President Gerald Ford’s funeral, his family talked about their intervention with Betty Ford. They confront her with love. They try to make her understand how her drinking is destroying each relationship. They are blessed. Lives and relationships are saved.

Jesus speaks to these former friends with tough love. He seeks to transform their turning away from God’s love back to God; that killing him is not something the God of Abraham would support.

Author and spiritual director Martin Smith in his book, Reconciliation, speaks of how we sometimes misuse God’s gifts and turn them into sins. He says, “Our sins are powered by misdirected instinctual energies which are essentially good gifts from God. For example, I may use my anger to crush, humiliate and manipulate others, or I may turn it against myself in corrosive resentment; these ways have to die. The power for passionate response is a gift of God. God seeks to transfigure it, convert it into an energy for protest and action in the service of life and justice – the kind of anger that blazed in Jesus when he cleansed the temple, confronted the Pharisees or challenged his closest friends when they were on the wrong track.”

Sometimes confrontations are necessary in order to move forward. As Jesus does here, it is time to bite the bullet and cut to the chase. It is during these confrontations, we may be gently reminded, that while we think we are acting righteously and in God’s name, we are not on the right track. If we are honest, we are not acting out of love. Instead, we hurt others with our judging and we hurt ourselves.

Jesus is a straight shooter. He says, I am from God and this God is a God of love. He reminds his friends the God of Abraham is Jesus’ God too; and their job is to love, not destroy.

As Christians, we know love takes many forms. Couples protect their love for each other, in fidelity, in kindness, in gentle laughter. Parents take great joy in love with a toddler’s toothless grin covered in chocolate.

Sometimes though, parents must exercise tough love, especially if their child turns away from God to worship drugs, alcohol or popularity. Face to face confrontations are utilized to show how their actions do not reflect God’s love for themselves or for others.

Couples rejoice in the physical love for each other, but sometimes must gently confront when one partner spends too much time, yes, even in God’s work, that their god is now -- their work. They can unknowingly hurt their partner, their children, and neglect themselves, hurting their love.

Like Jesus’ former friends, we too lose sight that our God is one who loves, when we are not loving. This God personifies in Christ tells us over and over again that we are to love one another and ourselves.

Yeah, yeah we say, we know. We’re supposed to love God, love ourselves and all that stuff. We sometimes forget God loves us all.

All.

We are called to do the same.

God loves Jesus’ supporters who turned on him. Does this mean we should always like each other? No; we struggle liking ourselves and what we do, much less like othersall the time!

Do we love each other when we put another down; when we criticize another Christian’s beliefs if different from our own? Do we say to other Christians, you are not from the father, we are!? Recently a group of Christians in a small group talked about what they thought was the easiest commandment to keep: Thou shalt not kill. I wonder. Are words a killing weapon when we humiliate another if their opinion is vastly different from our own?

God works through others to make a point. Jesus explains that Abraham, who loved God, would love Jesus.

They don’t want to hear it. We are God’s chosen. We worship “ THE God! Jesus is clear. I know you are out to kill me.

They never dispute this.

Yet, Jesus still speaks in love to them. This Christian practice we vow to uphold and preach and teach is NOT easy. It is tough to love the one who undercuts us. It is a struggle to love people who put us down, to our face or behind our back.

This is one of many things we learn at ETSS. We are taught to love; to be there for people, in good times and bad, to be there, the way God is there for us; the way Jesus is there for his former supporters.

Regardless whether WE agree with people or not; and sometimes, that means not persuading, just listening; meeting people where they are; NOT where we are.

This is not easy stuff; for anyone, even Christians. It is not easy to love someone who undermines us at work. It is hard to love a brother or sister, hooked on drugs, alcohol or lies to us. So what DO we do?

We look for common ground when we are at opposite poles. Our common ground is the love of God. Our common ground is we have grace from God from the oh, SO many times you and I mess up; you and I hurt someone, we are thoughtless, we are too judgmental. We are also taught to forgive; ourselves and others.

We are reminded in this Lenten season of God’s grace, God’s amazing gift to us. No matter what we do, when we repent, we are forgiven. Thank God!

Remember the three sisters: Holly, Anne and Beth and mother, Faith? Faith leaves husband Dylan. Beth the youngest, turns to drugs. Her family has an intervention with her, when a police officer dating her mother points out Beth’s collection of very healthy plants really is marijuana. Beth, after going through rehab for the umpteenth time, sells her infant daughter for drugs. And, it is Anne; Anne, the notorious flirt, who rescues her niece and raises Beth’s daughter as her own. Holly and Anne grow closer in love. They still squabble; but their relationship is deeper and they often visit over a glass of aahssed teayah. In love they confront Beth: again. They will always love Beth. God does love the Beths in this world. And, we are called to love one another. Amen.