Tag Archives: John

Jesus is the Son of G*d

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on May 15, 2015
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Unity – Rev. David J. Schreffler

May 15, 2015 – “U” is for Unity

“I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.” John 17:20 – 24

One of the most difficult tasks of any Christian Community is to maintain the “unity” of the faithful. This is the prayer of Jesus in John 17 – it should be called “The Lord’s Prayer” and what we call “The Lord’s Prayer” should be called “The Disciple’s Prayer”, because it is the disciples who ask Jesus “How should we pray?” From the beginning of Christianity we have wondered how to pray. Jesus models the attempt of an active prayer life by getting away (which always proves so difficult for him) so he can be in prayer. Jesus prays for the unity of the believers for all time and place in this 17th chapter of John. He realizes that “being in the world but not of the world” is going to be a struggle. He knows that ego and power and coveting will always get in the way of relationships.

Since the time of the Reformation, we have seen the Christian church fragment in many different denominations. I believe these divisions, the fact that we identify more with what denomination we belong to rather than to the fact that we are all Christians has been to the detriment of the church. It has certainly not helped us find unity. We have to work very hard at finding ways to be united as Christians, while still being able to celebrate our individual traditions, theologies, and worship practices. But the divisions are not just between churches — they also thrive within each church. When the church, or a club, or any human endeavor is filled with people, there is the chance for divisiveness. We all do not think alike, plan alike, and see ministry the same (neither did the apostles of the early church — read the first 10 chapters of Acts if you don’t believe me). And it is when we become more invested in “keeping things the same”, or “rejecting other ideas because they do not fit our view of ministry”, then we are in danger of driving a wedge between rather than finding unity with our brothers and sisters in the congregation.

Christ prayed for us to be united – we need to continue that prayer so we can work united as Christians, inside the church and in the church universal.

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on May 10, 2015
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I Chose You – Rev. David J. Schreffler

May 10, 2015
Sunday

“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.” John 15:16 – 17

“One of the most unnerving parts of this passage is Jesus’ assertion that he has chosen the disciples to do the work of God, to bear fruit. He is clear about this: “you did not choose me but I chose you”. There is a giftedness about this verse. We received something we did not create, go searching for, or earn on our own. It resembles the glorious feeling of being asked to be someone’s spouse, best friend, beloved; the chosen-above-all-others. If we ask, “Whose name is on this gift?,” the answer is, “mine!” But there is also responsibility attached to this election of the works of fruit bearing. Not only are we to do it, but we are to bear “fruit that will last.”

What does that mean? Obviously, some ‘fruit’ does not last. Short-sightedness, impetuosity, selfish interests masked as the work of the Church, raw ambition disguised as false humility in the service of God: the list is long and everyone can knowingly add to it through observation of the fruits that rot rather than last.”
Susan Hedahl (commentary on John 15 — Workingpreacher.org)

“Fruit that rots rather than lasts.” Can you imagine that there is fruit in the church that stinks? Could people actually look to do things in the church that are not really fruity, but rots from the inside out – rotten from the core? I have seen and smelled the good things of the church, I have seen and smelled the rotten. And just like one rotten apple can spoil the whole barrel, so can one member, who is rotting because of disbelief, pride, anger, revenge, or coveting………. can cause their own rot, and pass that rot onto others. I have spoken of the relationship that Paul speaks to that the followers of Christ must function – as the body of Christ. If one part of the body has become sick, or dysfunctional, it will affect the entire body. We can use the barrel of fruit and one rotten one in the same analogy. There is nothing we can do to be fruity – the fruits of the spirit come in the relationship we have in Christ. But there is a lot we can do to become rotten to the core.

Through Jesus Christ, by being baptized into Christ, G*d has chosen us – we have not chosen Christ — and just knowing that we have such a gift should bring us joy. Therefore, the fruit that we have is not our own as well – they are gifts from G*d. When this reality becomes fully known, then we strive to live in the manner of the state of Grace that defines our lives – sharing that fruit with others — and that, as Jesus says, will make our joy complete.

Pastor Dave