Moving on
Commentary
One of John's contributions is his writing from the viewpoint of a later early Christian. Writers of the synoptic gospels would have been too close to the time and overwhelming emotion of Jesus' death and the first weeks and months of going it alone to offer guidelines to others who attempted to live as Christians without the physical presence of Jesus.
The apostle of love lifts up the broader faith concepts of love and of oneness as only one can who has moved beyond the immediate sting of loss. Writing slightly removed from the story, secondhand enough to add interpretation and a bit of philosophy, John nevertheless neither dilutes the faith nor does he bring it to readers as an echo of the first story. The faith story continues to be vivid. The telling is crisp and filled with imagery. Christianity did not die with its founder; it lives because of those who take on the message as their own. This message transcends any one person who is limited by time or by space.
For a pastor, one of the hardest things about moving on is wondering --worrying --if and how the church will carry on. Has the congregation heard and understood the message? Will the content of the pastor's time of service be lost? Did the pastor transmit enough strength to fortify the congregation for change? These are all the wrong kinds of concern because they make the pastor the central focus, instead of an instrument in a church.
For a congregation, letting go of a pastor can be equally difficult particularly if the pastor was charismatic or significantly shepherded members through difficult times.
Until the handclasp loosens, a paralysis of pulling prevents any progress. The stronger partner pulls backward the weaker partner. To let go of the hand requires taking on for oneself the responsibility of being the church and of becoming a conduit for God's action.
By turning to offer an open hand to love one another --toward the new or rediscovering the newness in ourselves and in others of long acquaintance, we begin to move forward again. We dare to reach toward the new without knowing yet its definition.
The one who has gone from us lives on through us because of what that person offered and because of what we heard and assimilated. When we are ready, when the timing is right, we can move on to a new book or to a new chapter in the book of relationships.
John directs our attention to the work at hand. John is the artisan of new things. His gift reflects the art of moving into the future.
OUTLINE I
Readiness
Acts 14:8-18
A. vv. 8-9. There must be a readiness to grow, change and even to heal before we can undertake life-changing projects. Paul sensed that the lame man had the capacity to heal and approached him forthwith. A mysterious communication exists between two people which speaks of another's enduring faith. Something causes us to give another the benefit of a doubt.
B. v. 10. The man was ready --past ready --and waiting to heal. As immediately, Paul read his intentions and commanded the healing. The man leaped to his feet. What an image for our eagerness to be about the business of living when some impediment is cleared from the path. This passage suggests that beyond all of our wanting, we are at times incapable of being the catalyst for our own change. God or a spokesperson for God must cut through the hobbles. Our part is to become ready.
C. vv. 14-15. We misinterpret. We like our heroes. We make idols out of non-deities. However, believers are instruments of God. God uses the human tools of creation to enable instead of privately stringing us along on some puppet thread.
D. vv. 16-17. Miracles remind us that God still is, still cares and ultimately is in charge.
OUTLINE II
Leaving
John 13:31-35
A. v. 33. Anticipating both the void and the feelings of having been deserted, Jesus prepared the disciples as tenderly as possible for his death. As with any recent separation, the one who is left forgets and turns to speak to the one who once was there. The one who has left is gone.
B. v. 34. Jesus points to the truths of his life. His followers' taking the name of Christians would have been a strange incongruity for Jesus. His focus was on God or on someone other than himself. The great commandments do not say to love Jesus but to love God and to live out that love by loving one another. Jesus was the teacher and guide. He did not leave the disciples empty-handed; he gave them the sum of his teachings in these commandments. Further, he told the disciples to love one another. Whenever the disciples were in doubt, they could return to these benchmarks of the faith. Jesus' task among the disciples was done. He had given to his followers all that he could give to them. Now it would be up to them to carry on. Jesus trusted his disciples to continue his teaching.
C. v. 35. John concentrates on love. They will know we are Christians by our love. Again, God leaves a sign that God is with us.
OUTLINE III
Continuing
Revelation 21:1-6
A. v. 1. The final book of the Bible weaves a fabric of encouragement from the thread of hope Jesus offered his disciples. John uses the imagery of newness in the springtime of a living religion that has managed for nearly 21 centuries to revive the spirits of those who greet it.
B. v. 3. Revelation resounds with affirmations of connectedness between God and human beings. God provides a way to be among us.
C. v. 5. To make things new is the promise of possibility. One prerequisite for making things new is conceiving of an ever-emerging design, proceeding from a sense of creativity and expectancy. Another requirement is having enough regard for the one who receives the new to realize that this creation is an ongoing goal, the gift of love by a caring God and a God who takes delight in this creation.
D. v. 6. In this last book of the canon, John reminds us of the whole picture. God encompasses all space and time. It is the spirit of John's writing that carries hope forward. Always, no matter who else comes and goes and no matter what events drain the vitality from us, we still will find in God a constant, the source of water for life.
Dallas Brauninger, West Point, Nebraska, is a United Church of Christ pastor. She is also the writer for the June 21 Charting The Course column.
The apostle of love lifts up the broader faith concepts of love and of oneness as only one can who has moved beyond the immediate sting of loss. Writing slightly removed from the story, secondhand enough to add interpretation and a bit of philosophy, John nevertheless neither dilutes the faith nor does he bring it to readers as an echo of the first story. The faith story continues to be vivid. The telling is crisp and filled with imagery. Christianity did not die with its founder; it lives because of those who take on the message as their own. This message transcends any one person who is limited by time or by space.
For a pastor, one of the hardest things about moving on is wondering --worrying --if and how the church will carry on. Has the congregation heard and understood the message? Will the content of the pastor's time of service be lost? Did the pastor transmit enough strength to fortify the congregation for change? These are all the wrong kinds of concern because they make the pastor the central focus, instead of an instrument in a church.
For a congregation, letting go of a pastor can be equally difficult particularly if the pastor was charismatic or significantly shepherded members through difficult times.
Until the handclasp loosens, a paralysis of pulling prevents any progress. The stronger partner pulls backward the weaker partner. To let go of the hand requires taking on for oneself the responsibility of being the church and of becoming a conduit for God's action.
By turning to offer an open hand to love one another --toward the new or rediscovering the newness in ourselves and in others of long acquaintance, we begin to move forward again. We dare to reach toward the new without knowing yet its definition.
The one who has gone from us lives on through us because of what that person offered and because of what we heard and assimilated. When we are ready, when the timing is right, we can move on to a new book or to a new chapter in the book of relationships.
John directs our attention to the work at hand. John is the artisan of new things. His gift reflects the art of moving into the future.
OUTLINE I
Readiness
Acts 14:8-18
A. vv. 8-9. There must be a readiness to grow, change and even to heal before we can undertake life-changing projects. Paul sensed that the lame man had the capacity to heal and approached him forthwith. A mysterious communication exists between two people which speaks of another's enduring faith. Something causes us to give another the benefit of a doubt.
B. v. 10. The man was ready --past ready --and waiting to heal. As immediately, Paul read his intentions and commanded the healing. The man leaped to his feet. What an image for our eagerness to be about the business of living when some impediment is cleared from the path. This passage suggests that beyond all of our wanting, we are at times incapable of being the catalyst for our own change. God or a spokesperson for God must cut through the hobbles. Our part is to become ready.
C. vv. 14-15. We misinterpret. We like our heroes. We make idols out of non-deities. However, believers are instruments of God. God uses the human tools of creation to enable instead of privately stringing us along on some puppet thread.
D. vv. 16-17. Miracles remind us that God still is, still cares and ultimately is in charge.
OUTLINE II
Leaving
John 13:31-35
A. v. 33. Anticipating both the void and the feelings of having been deserted, Jesus prepared the disciples as tenderly as possible for his death. As with any recent separation, the one who is left forgets and turns to speak to the one who once was there. The one who has left is gone.
B. v. 34. Jesus points to the truths of his life. His followers' taking the name of Christians would have been a strange incongruity for Jesus. His focus was on God or on someone other than himself. The great commandments do not say to love Jesus but to love God and to live out that love by loving one another. Jesus was the teacher and guide. He did not leave the disciples empty-handed; he gave them the sum of his teachings in these commandments. Further, he told the disciples to love one another. Whenever the disciples were in doubt, they could return to these benchmarks of the faith. Jesus' task among the disciples was done. He had given to his followers all that he could give to them. Now it would be up to them to carry on. Jesus trusted his disciples to continue his teaching.
C. v. 35. John concentrates on love. They will know we are Christians by our love. Again, God leaves a sign that God is with us.
OUTLINE III
Continuing
Revelation 21:1-6
A. v. 1. The final book of the Bible weaves a fabric of encouragement from the thread of hope Jesus offered his disciples. John uses the imagery of newness in the springtime of a living religion that has managed for nearly 21 centuries to revive the spirits of those who greet it.
B. v. 3. Revelation resounds with affirmations of connectedness between God and human beings. God provides a way to be among us.
C. v. 5. To make things new is the promise of possibility. One prerequisite for making things new is conceiving of an ever-emerging design, proceeding from a sense of creativity and expectancy. Another requirement is having enough regard for the one who receives the new to realize that this creation is an ongoing goal, the gift of love by a caring God and a God who takes delight in this creation.
D. v. 6. In this last book of the canon, John reminds us of the whole picture. God encompasses all space and time. It is the spirit of John's writing that carries hope forward. Always, no matter who else comes and goes and no matter what events drain the vitality from us, we still will find in God a constant, the source of water for life.
Dallas Brauninger, West Point, Nebraska, is a United Church of Christ pastor. She is also the writer for the June 21 Charting The Course column.
