The Reading
The Gospel
John 14:15-21
Jesus said, ”If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.
”I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”
The Sermon
Jesus said, “If you love me you will
keep my commandments and I will ask the Father and he will give you
another advocate and he will be with you forever. This is the spirit
of truth.” I see this as such a powerful statement. It is also a
comfort to know that the spirit is in me. It is in you as well.
Jesus also said, “I am in the Father
and you in Me and I in you.” Our spirits are all tied together.
We just need to keep this in mind as we live our lives. It should
guide us in all that we do. God is in All of us. We are a part of
God's creation and God does not separate himself from it.
I remember many years ago, my son Louie
was attending the Sunday service at a Presbyterian church in northern
Iowa. When it came time for the children's sermon, my son who was
six, dutifully walked with the other children to the front of the
church and sat at the feet of the minister. This minister began his
sermon by telling the children that some people in the world are
really bad. I think he was leading up to some advice that they
should not be like those kind of people. Unfortunately Louie didn't
let him get that far. He said, “my dad says there is a little bit
of God in everybody.” That happened almost forty years ago but I
still remember it very well. I am sure Louie's ounce of wisdom
completely threw the minister off but it is something we all need to
remember.
The spirit is in all of us and we need
to treat each other with the respect we all deserve. When I was in
India it was common to greet each other with a gesture called namaste
or namaskar. Rather than shake someone's hand the person would put
his hands together as in prayer and touch his forehead and heart.
The meaning behind this gesture was to greet and show respect to the
soul of the person being greeted.
It is often easy to forget that inside
the physical body is a soul. Let us never forget that. There was an
Irish blessing several of us used to sing together before we would
enter into meditation. It goes like this:
May the long time sun shine upon you.
All love surround you.
And the pure light within you
Guide your way home.
We are all on life's journey and
sometimes it can be a difficult one. Just remember that there is a
pure light within you and it will guide you home.
Amen
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