“As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.”

What choices did you make this morning? You chose what time to get up. You chose whether to shower or not. You chose whether to come to church or not. You chose your outfit, you shoes, your accessories. You chose whether to eat breakfast, and what to eat. You chose which route would get you here the fastest, or without so much traffic. You chose which pew to sit in.

Choices – there are so many choices.

Isn’t it good to know that Jesus does not wait for us to choose him? After all, how can we trust our choices – out ability to choose? One day we decide to get up early, the next we are sleeping in. We might change our outfits two or three times before we leave the house. We get tired of taking one route, so we switch it up, two or even three times in a month. We are finicky people, aren’t we?

Choosing – it seems – is really hard.

Have you known someone who just cannot make up their minds at a restaurant – there are just too many choices? They ask you your opinion about what to order – they ask the waiter or waitress what they would recommend – and they still cannot choose. And, don’t get me started with all of the choices to make at the grocery store. I remember a time when I had two, maybe three kinds of toothpaste to choose from. Now, if I want to buy a box of “Cheezits”, it takes me five minutes to find regular “Cheezits” – taking me time to wade through the “Gluten-Free, olive infused Starwars shaped” Cheezits.

Choosing – it seems – can be really hard.

Many have trouble choosing what to believe about their faith. One pastor will preach that we have to choose Jesus – we have to make a conscious choice in accepting Jesus into our hearts – while another will say that Jesus chooses us in our baptisms – what we need to choose is how we will respond to Jesus choosing us first. Some will choose to believe difficult points of faith like the Resurrection or the Virgin Birth or the Shroud of Turin without proof – others will say they just cannot choose to believe those things without scientific evidence – like the Shroud of Turin.

Let me ask you – do you wish sometimes you had fewer choices?

We are a chosen people, because G-d chooses us. We do not need to worry if G-d loves us – G-d loves us because he first chose us. And G-d appoints us to bear fruit – and how we bear that fruit is up to us – both individually and as a Christian Community. And our choices we make as a congregation should last for years to come – or better said, should bear fruit for years to come. Repointing the brown stone will last into the future. New doors will last into the future. New paint in the Nave will last into the future. But so will our ministry to the poor, the youth, the homeless, the neglected in our neighborhood. And look, we have time to make our choice. I just want to get the conversation going – and I want you to begin to pray on it – to discern upon it – because a choice like this requires the assistance of the Holy Spirit. If we are going to increase the chances that our choices will be working toward G-d’s victory in the world, then we need to lead with faith. It will be the Holy Spirit which will build and bolster our faith – which drives our choices. Choosing can be hard – but choosing without the Holy Spirit is like building a house without nails.

Pastor Dave