6 Easter A John 14:15-21 5 May 2002
Rev. Roger Haugen
“You in me – I in you”, repeat with me. (several times)
This is Jesus message of good news for us today. “You in me – I in you.” No matter what the future holds, we will not be alone. “You in me – I in you”. We are the body of Christ, we are not alone. “You in me – I in you”. We have purpose and meaning to life because we are loved by God. “You in me – I in you”. We have purpose and meaning to life because God loves us and the natural outcome is that we would love God and love one another. “If you love me you will keep my commandments.” “You in me – I in you”.
I spent Tuesday at the Seminary Study Conference listening to academics talking about Islam. One told of how Islam became such a political force in the Middle East. He told of the dictatorships in the 1950’s who had promised economic growth and jobs for the young people if they were to move to the cities. People moved to the cities and the jobs did not happen. They were angry and felt betrayed. The 1967 War was also an important factor because the entire Arab world was humiliated. That part of the world was faced with millions of people without work, feeling betrayed, looking for meaning to life and wanting to find a way to make a difference in their world. Islam filled the gap, providing purpose and expectations, leadership, a place of community, purpose beyond their meager lives. Here was a structure around to build their lives, a cause to die for.
In many ways this is also a picture of our society today. We have masses of young people congregating in our cities without much hope of satisfying work, seeing little meaning to their lives yet yearning to belong to something beyond themselves, somewhere to put their passion and energy. We were horrified when we discovered a young man from middle class America fighting with the Taliban in Afghanistan. Wanting somehow to make a difference. Young people wanting to be noticed, so they dye their hair green and pierce their bodies. People everywhere are looking for community.
We are told that this is the most spiritual time the world has ever seen. People are looking everywhere for a spiritual connection, to be connected to some power greater than themselves. Our bookstores are full with the latest best seller that promise to connect you to something beyond yourself. People are willing to buy books that expect the most bizarre of discipline in the hope of finding spiritual meaning, a connection beyond their paltry existence. We can buy crystals that will help to channel energy, we read if we drink our own urine daily we will achieve a greater consciousness. Millionares are beingdreative by such claims. People are hungry.
People everywhere are looking for ways to be connected in community in a world that is so isolating. People looking for something meaningful to be a part of, the desire to make a difference in their world. People looking for something worth dying for. Where are they to look, where are they to find the meaning, the hope they crave?
Into such a world comes today’s text. “You in me – I in you.” This is what the world is looking for, this is what the world so desperately seeks. An unbelievable intimate connection with God. Jesus who we believe to be “the Way, the Truth and the Life” comes to us and promises us that we will not be alone, that we will know God, that we will find purpose in sharing the love that we have experienced. A mission worth dying for. “You in me – I in you”.
The tragedy is that the Christian Church as we know it is not even on the radar screen. We sing in our liturgy, “Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words to eternal life. Alleluia!” Where does the message get lost? We are sent out into the world to proclaim that in Jesus Christ, we are to find life in all abundance -- love, hope and a future. Why is the message not getting to those who need it the most? Are we having trouble believing it ourselves? Do we need to rediscover, “You in me – I in you”.
When we know that we are loved we will look upon others with grace and acceptance. When we know community, we will want others to know the same community. When we experience God who loves us as we are, the grace that is showered upon us, we will want to share the same with those desperate for the same acceptance.
When we pray “thy kingdom come” with “You in me – I in you” running through our minds, we can pray, “help me spread your joy and kindness and shine your light in the lives of my family, friends and everyone I meet today.” A friend of mine says that his goal is to make one person happy each day, that is a faith being lived out.
The sinner in each of us wants us to dwell on the negative, to get caught up in our own little world with little concern for others. The sinner in us sees the gospel as something to be kept inside these walls without any need to take the message of hope to the world in which we live. It is the sin within the church that has kept the gospel the well-kept secret that it has become. We get so caught up in our way of doing things that we forget that our task is to share God’s love with everyone in need of love.
I sometimes need to remember that all people are a gift from God, created for a purpose. I need to remember “You in me – I in you”. To think, “You in me – I in you”, in the presence of someone with green hair and piercings, changes how I relate to that person. Here is a person created by God who wants to be noticed and loved. Sin makes the love of God seem common-place and something that we earn, and therefore not to be shared. It is taken for granted rather than treasured.
Mike Slaughter says it this way, “Can you imagine a people who live in an environment of grace and unconditional love? A safe-space environment like that would encourage us to be honest enough to work on our stuff. It would give us the freedom to tell the truth of who we really are inside.” This is what the church is to be. Imagine if we could come here without the forced smile that keeps our pain locked inside because we do not dare to let it out. Imagine if the people around us were to see our church as such a safe place. That is who we are called to be. That is whom we are created and empowered to be because of the love of God in Christ Jesus. “You in me – I in you”.
We have the gift of being a part of the Kingdom of God happening around and among us. We are given basically one command: to go as we have been sent, just as Jesus came as he was sent, and to make the Father known. It can be frightening and seem an insurmountable task. Jesus assures us of his love and his presence. We will not be left orphaned. He has sent us the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us, to help name the sin that creeps in and hinders us from being the people we are created to be, hinders our ability to clearly point others to the love of God. To help us recognize the negativity that hinders us from seeing the love of God lived out in our lives.
“You in me – I in you”. Let that be your mantra. Let it run through your mind this next week. Let it run through your thoughts as you deal with that particular difficult person this week, and see how it changes your perception, and your relationship. You may be the person he or she needs to have the love of God opened to them. Remember that many of the people you will meet are looking for a purpose in life, that they desperately seek others with whom to share their life. Remember that we all, deep down, want something worthy of dying for. Remember that Jesus cared enough about us that he would die for us. Remember that the love of God is God’s gift to us, and can power our lives and give us meaning in life worth dying for.
It will change your life, and just maybe will allow God to change someone else’s life as well. “You in me – I in you”.
