Easter, May 5, 2024 The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling Church of the Redeemer
“God or basketball? Which has a greater hold on my heart?” This was the title of an article written by Jonathan Tran, who teaches theological ethics at Baylor University, and it caught my eye. I was intrigued. Here was someone who might understand my love of basketball in general and the Celtics team in particular. Besides, your rector had commented recently to someone in line, as we were processing into the sanctuary, that he thought I loved basketball more than church. I beg to differ. I love God more than basketball. But church? That’s a jump ball!
Paul and I are season ticket holders for the Celtics basketball team, and along with a gazillion other fans, we’re hoping that they will hang banner 18 in TD Garden this year. It’s the playoff season right now and the intensity of the competition has increased immeasurably. So too has my anxiety. Understandably one might honestly question my spiritual allegiance at this time. Do I love basketball more than church? Which has a greater hold on my heart?
Mr. Tran asks some more questions. “Which has cost him more, following Jesus or playing basketball?” and “Which one has produced more friendships?” Now given the cost of our season tickets and the amount of money we’ve given to churches over our lifetime, the church wins that point. If you follow the money trail, the church has deeper pockets. Like Mr. Tran, I can say that “following Jesus has cost me a few things, but while I talk a big game about the cost of discipleship, I live a pretty cushy life.”
And given the number of friendships we’ve had in these various churches over the decades, once again the church wins the game hands down. But basketball is just a game, right? And following Jesus is not! So let’s get real. Jesus was not a hooper; he was a rabbi who taught people about the love of God. In fact basketball had not even been invented when Jesus was alive. And Jesus was talking about laying down one’s life for one’s friends. It’s not quite the same thing as when basketball players talk about sacrificing their bodies for the team.
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you,” Jesus told his disciples. Love is not easy. It’s complicated. And we toss around that word as if it’s a simple thing to understand and do. Furthermore, “the ambiguity of the word “love” is corroborated by the well-known fact that it translates several different Greek words: storge, philia, eros, and agape.” (Feasting in the Word, David C. Cunningham, p498)
Simply translated, we understand storge to be the love of family and philia as love that is shared between friends, or people who share common interests. Eros love is akin to sexual desire and agape love is known as God’s love for us. While the word eros does not appear in the New Testament, the other three Greek words do, and agape love is the most common, appearing more than 100 times in the New Testament.
Agape love or God’s love is different from the other kinds of love; for it is perfect and pure. It is unmerited, undeserved, and often unexpected. Agape love is love without an angle. It’s love that doesn’t ask for a reward. It doesn’t want to hang banner 18 in Heaven, claim a trophy for its success, or flex its muscles after a miracle. It seeks nothing for itself and expects nothing in return. It is constructive and creative. Agape love is Godly love. It loves like Jesus.
“As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love,” Jesus said to his disciples at his last supper. And now I am giving you a new commandment, “that you love one another as I have loved you.” Imitate me. Listen to me. Act like me, Jesus said.
“For Christians, the true archetype of love is found within the inner life of God, and this inner life of God gives us a sense of the proper pattern for Christian love. It is a disciplined habit of care and concern that, like all the virtues, can be perfected only over a lifetime” wrote David Cunningham.So Jesus encouraged his disciples to love others as He had loved them, showing them the pattern to follow.
Then he added, I will no longer call you servants but friends. And remember the context. Jesus had just fallen to his knees, having grabbed the towel around his waist, and washed his disciples feet. This is what slaves or servants of a household were expected to do. How is it, then, that their rabbi was doing such a menial task, demanded Peter of Jesus?
According to Thomas Troeger, the word servant is often translated as the word “slave” and yet it wasn’t always a denigrating word at that time. During these early first centuries, it wasn’t necessarily a bad position to have within a household, especially if the master was kind and good. “In ancient times, to be called a slave could even be a title of respect.” Even so, a “slave” was not on the same level as a friend because the slave’s status obligated him to support a master through difficult times, but a friend would do it freely.” (Feasting, p499)
True friendship is only possible among equals. So Jesus is in effect leveling the playing field with his disciples before his death. You are free, but not obligated, to love me or others through good times and bad. You are free to love and serve God in simple and sacrificial ways. And yet, beware, for sharing your love may also cause you to suffer, and it may even cost you your life. First responders, military personnel, the police, and health care providers are cases in point.
“I have called you friends, because I have made known
to you everything that I have heard from my Father,” Jesus told them. Friends
share not only their love but also their knowledge and experiences. According
to Aristotle, we have different kinds of friends for various reasons. “Some people are our friends because they are
useful to us; they allow us to make a business connection or get into a
particular social group. Other friendships are pleasurable; we cultivate these
because we enjoy them. But the third kind of friendship - the best kind - is
for the sake of the friendship itself.” (Feasting, p500)
“Yet the bot is, according to some enthusiasts, our future…..Gross. There is nothing more dissimilar to artificial intelligence than a congregation. A company of providential friends, abiding in the love of Jesus together.” (Xian Century, May 2024)
1 John 5:1-6 John 15:9-17
