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19 April 1998
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In a few moments we will stand and renew our Baptismal Covenant. Among other questions, we will be asked, "Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?" Our response: "I will, with God's help." I will proclaim the Good News of God in Christ. I will proclaim the Good News by word and example—with God's help. And the Good News of God, revealed in Jesus Christ is this: God is love, God has always loved the world, God has always loved us, God will always love us, no matter what. It's that simple.
From the very beginning God loved the world, God loved all he had created. It was very good. It was blessed. After we sinned, turned our back on God, followed our own wisdom and counsel, God loved the world. God loved us. With each new episode, recounted lovingly in scriptures, of our turning away from God, of our dismissal of the prophet's words, God loved the world, God loved us.
But somewhere in that long love affair it became acceptable to hold the view that God, the creator and sustainer, must be caused (given reason) to love the world, caused (given reason) to love us. Rules and the keeping of rules became quite important. The more perfectly a person could keep the rules, the more surely God would love that person. If a whole nation could perfectly keep the rules, God would surely love that nation.
If there were failure of any sort, God would withdraw his love. God would perhaps curse the one, curse the nation, who tried to keep the rules perfectly and failed. Perfection, would win God's heart, God's love, nothing less would do it.
As Jesus took flesh, born of Mary, the prevailing view was as I described: the individual and the nation must be perfect to win God's love, God's blessing, God's Shalom (the Peace that passes all understanding). Nothing less would do. And the countryside, unfortunately, was strewn with the imperfect of every description. Those striving to win God's love by keeping the rules perfectly were mocked at every turn. There would be no winning of God's love in their generation.
What a hopeless situation Jesus was born into. The Roman army of occupation was clearly God's punishment for imperfection. The widow, the orphan, the blind, the lame, the deaf, the leper, the tax collector, the prostitute, the Samaritan were all constant reminders that the nation was far from perfect, there would be no winning of God's love in this generation. But the rule keepers would try to win converts, nonetheless. Perhaps in the next generation there would be enough perfection to gain God's love, God's notice. God's shalom.
As Jesus began his ministry, with each word, each touch, each blessing, each miracle, he sought to reveal the real truth: God is love, God has always loved the world, God loves the world now, God will never stop loving the world. There is room in God's love for the Roman soldier, the widow, the orphan, the blind, the lame, the deaf, the leper, the tax collector, the prostitute, the Samaritan, even the rule keeper. And still God's love is not exhausted. In as many ways as he could Jesus sought to reveal that God's love need not be earned, could not be earned, it was offered freely, fully, and always to everyone. Such a simple, hope-filled message. And there was a time when the disciples thought they understood what he was saying.
And yet, in today's gospel story, we encounter the disciples locked away in fear and darkness. They were no longer sure that God loved them. What had been so plain in the voice and touch of Jesus had been ripped away from them. It certainly appeared that the rule keepers were right and that God's unconditional and unquenchable love for them and all creation was not true in the least. The hopelessness must have been crushing, the burden intolerable.
Into this darkness—with a quiet stillness like the rising of the sun in the morning—Jesus stood in their midst. Our evangelist, John, doesn't say how this came to be, but he is quite clear that Jesus stood among them. Like the sun that first lightens the sky in the east and then bursts forth in brilliance as it comes over the horizon, Jesus comes into their darkness and fear. And, in the glory of the resurrection he finally gets his message across to them: God is love, God has always loved you, God will always love you, Shalom! You don't need to earn God's love, you don't need to do the right things to make God love you. Shalom.
Instead of reprimand, or reproach, or curse, God's peace, that passes all understanding, God's gift of wholeness, of life, of love, was given to this group that fled into the night when Jesus was arrested. Will God love us any less, even when we choose to flee into the darkness, abandoning God for some illusory safety? Of course not.
Instead of condemnation, God's Shalom was given to Peter who denied any knowledge of Jesus. Will God's gift of love and peace be withheld from us, even when we join Peter in disavowing any association with this same Jesus? Of course not.
Instead of scorn and harsh words, God's Shalom was given to this group who hid as far from the cross as one could go. Is it possible that God's love will be denied us even when we flee pain and suffering and seek comfort in averting our eyes from the distress of others? Of course not.
Instead of contempt, God's Shalom was given to this group of fearful, defeated, hopeless men who had fallen away from the knowledge of God's love given freely and fully to all and accepted the more popular belief that God's love had to be earned by keeping the rules perfectly. Do you suppose that God's Shalom will be retained, never to be given to us, even if we, too, succumb to the still popular belief that God must be manipulated somehow in order to love us? Of course not.
As we celebrate baptism today, as we gather on the Second Sunday of Easter, let us absorb the beauty of the music, the wonder of the words of blessing over the water, the sight of a child being baptized, and let us understand that what Jesus proclaimed by his life, death, and resurrection is that God loves us, God has always loved us, God will always love us—no matter what. It is a simple message that comes as quietly as the rising of the sun and is as equally brilliant. Shine in our hearts, Lord Jesus. Amen.
The Rev. Daniel Rondeau
drondeau@stmargarets.org
19 April 1998