Peace Sunday
Donna Joy

John 15:9-17

When Desmond Tutu was asked by the BBC to identify what he might consider a defining moment in his life he spoke of the day he (as a nine year old child) and his mother were walking down the street, and a tall white man dressed in a black suit came towards them. In the days of apartheid in South Africa, when a black person and a white person met while walking on a footpath, the black person was expected to step into the gutter to allow the white person to pass and nod their head as a gesture of respect. But that day, before the young Archbishop Tutu and his mother could step off the sidewalk as required, the white man stepped off the sidewalk and, as they passed, he tipped his hat as a gesture of respect toward them!

The white man was Trevor Huddleston, an Anglican priest who was strongly opposed to apartheid, and his gesture of counter-cultural respect changed that young boy’s life. When his mother told him that Trevor Huddleston had stepped off the sidewalk because he was a ‘man of God,’ Tutu knew that he wanted to become that same kind of man. Huddleston later became a mentor to Desmond Tutu, and his commitment to the equality of all human beings became a key motivator in Tutu’s opposition to apartheid.

Huddleston believed that all – ALL – human beings are created equal, because all human beings are created in God’s image. It is heartening to imagine that all those decades ago, he would have been firmly behind today’s growing acknowledgement that Black Lives Matter. Huddleston’s gesture that day was courageous and selfless in the extreme (he could have easily been shunned – or worse – by apartheid supporters observing him make this unorthodox, counter-cultural move).

This is precisely the quality of love that Jesus is talking about in this morning’s Gospel, where Jesus says, “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.” Huddleston’s circle of friends was vast, and he was prepared to make sacrifices in order to respect the dignity of every human being. He was, indeed, an anti-apartheid activist.

Earlier in this chapter in John’s Gospel, Jesus refers to himself as the true vine. This kind of sacrificial love IS the fruit that Jesus came to produce, and we are co-partners with Jesus in the bearing of this fruit. Understanding Jesus as the true vine and his disciples (that is, us) as the branches I think offers a helpful backdrop for this morning’s reading. Any Christian acts of selfless love come from Jesus the true vine, and are also the fruits produced on the branches (that is, us). Imagine a branch when it falls from a tree. It withers and dies. But the branch that remains connected to the vine, when well fed and cared for, produces succulent fruit.

So, this backdrop sets the tone for this morning’s reading, where Jesus urges his followers to offer this brand of selfless love, and where he refers to us as his friends. As his friends, we are as intimately connected to him, as a branch is to the vine.

I think that with this morning’s reading there are three primary implications. One is the nature of Christian love, that is, the love of God made known in Jesus was then shared with his disciples so they (we) could show it to each other and the wider world. When we love in this way, our love becomes impregnated with divine qualities. It is not just an emotional, cozy feeling, but a conscious decision to put ourselves on the line and risk everything for the other. This kind of love WILL make sure that justice is done, in the church, and in the world. Cornel West has said that justice is the shape loves takes in society.

Another implication has to do with the meaning of Jesus’ death. According to this passage, Jesus died as a statement of proof of God’s love toward humanity. (Interesting to note: the institution of the Lord’s Supper is missing from John and it is replaced with the washing of the disciples’ feet, a clear sign of Jesus’ sacrificial love for them, and the quality of love they (we) are called to offer others.

A third implication is the meaning of being Jesus’ friends. This, in and of itself, could be the theme for an entire sermon, but – for today – suffice it to say that Jesus is their/our friend, but he is not our equal. In John, Jesus maintains his place of authority because he models this brand of friendship. And, at the same time, he is the source of all friendship allowing/empowering us to exercise this quality of selfless love with others.

So, today, on Peace Sunday as we prepare for Remembrance Day, we are reminded that we are called to this brand of love. Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.

Think, for a minute, of the monumental consequences of a white man – a man of God – in a position of authority within the context of apartheid, stepping aside – as a gesture of respect - for a black skinned little boy and his mother. That, right there, is the true vine bearing the very best kind of fruit. Modeling the love of Jesus, Trevor Huddleston offered a courageous and selfless gesture of love, and that one, tiny gesture has literally changed the world. Of course, as we have been reminded repeatedly this past year, there is MUCH work yet to be done, but that one tiny gesture became a giant step for humankind.

So, with this in mind, I leave you with two things to think about in anticipation of Remembrance Day: First, who are the people you may want to acknowledge who have offered or currently offer – such selfless and courageous expressions of love. We may think of Dietrich Bonhoeffer who was executed for his resistance to the Hitler regime, or Sophie Scholl a young university student who was executed for the same, or Miep who made such a sacrificial attempt to keep the Frank family alive during the 2nd World War. It may be doctors, and nurses, and all front line workers in the midst of this COVID crisis. I think this is a week to sit with this question, and see who springs to mind. Second, who are the people you/we may overlook as we walk down our city streets.

My prayer on this Peace Sunday is that we may all strive to be "people of God" who are willing to love as Jesus calls us to love; to "step off the sidewalk" and "tip our hat" to our sisters and brothers, particularly those on the margins.

Some of you have had an opportunity to read my weekly message, which encourages you to keep your lights on tomorrow, throughout the night, as a symbol of light and hope against the backdrop of rising anti-Semitism, racism, hatred, and the shadow of Covid-19. May this be a symbol of the selfless love and light of Christ – the True Vine - made known through each of us in the midst of a hurting world.