Reflections on the Propers for the Sixth Sunday of Easter / May 17, 2020May 14, 2020 • The Rt. Rev. Gregory O. Brewer
• BISHOP'S SERMONS
Acts 17:22-31
1 Peter 3:13-22
John 14:15-21
Psalm 66:7-18
The Collect
O God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as surpass our understanding: Pour into our hearts such love towards you, that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
This Sunday’s Gospel passage (John 14:15-21) and Collect (BCP, p. 225) present us with a dilemma. Both instruct us that if we love Jesus, then we will receive blessings beyond measure. While I admit that many days it is easy to love Jesus and to feel his love in return, there are certainly also times when I feel unloved and bereft. It is at these low times that even Christ’s invitation to “come unto me, all you that are weary and heavy laden” makes me wonder what the appeal of that is if all I will get is more of the same feeling of being downtrodden.
Jesus understands firsthand abandonment and betrayal and yet it is Jesus who promises us that “I will not leave you orphaned (John 14:18)”. Jesus loves those who love him as well as those who need his love. Once claimed by him, Jesus will never let us go. Feeling orphaned is part of our human experience but we can live with the knowledge and assurance that Jesus will never leave our side. We need only say “yes” to the invitation from his nail-scarred hand to enter into a place of rest.