Angie’s Sermon on Sunday 5 May, enlightening the words from John 15:9-17
“You did not choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you to go and bear fruit.”
“You did not choose me,” Jesus said to his disciples in today’s gospel reading, “but I chose you.”
It’s true – Jesus chose his disciples. When he did, he was continuing a long tradition that we see throughout scripture, and throughout the history of the church, of God choosing unlikely people to accomplish surprising tasks.
I want to share a few examples of this with you this morning. I want you to be thinking about how God has chosen you, too; and of what that might mean for your life of faith.
Chosen by God: Joseph
Let’s start at Genesis. There are many examples of people being chosen by God for surprising tasks, people like Noah, Abraham and Joseph. Joseph, one of Jacob’s twelve sons, and the one that Jacob loved most. The one with the coat of many colours. The one the other brothers hated so much that they sold him to some people going to Egypt. Joseph unexpectedly became quite successful in Egypt, and after a long time with many eventful twists and turns, Joseph became second only to Pharaoh, and helped Egypt prepare for a great famine.
Why? Well, God had a plan for Joseph. Joseph was chosen by God to preserve God’s chosen people.
Chosen by God: Moses
Move forward to the time of Moses, whom God also chose to preserve God’s chosen people, and to free them from slavery in Egypt. Moses, of course, should have died as a baby. However, his mother placed him in a papyrus basket and entrusted him to God by sending the basket down the river. Pharaoh’s daughter spotted the basket, rescued the baby, and he grew up in Pharaoh’s household. As a grown up, he saw his people being beaten and he retaliated by killing an Egyptian. He fled to Midian, got married and became a shepherd. Until that is God chose him to confront Pharaoh and lead God’s people to freedom. An unlikely choice, but who turned out to be the perfect choice, because God made it that way.
Chosen by God: David
Then there’s David, the youngest of Jesse’s sons, and the least likely to be anointed king by Samuel. He was a small, mighty warrior who killed lions and bears defending his sheep, and who would kill Goliath, too. A poet and musician who became a great leader; but most of all, a man after God’s own heart. Chosen by God to be king.
Chosen by God: Mary
But let’s not forget people like Mary, the young virgin from the small town of Nazareth, that no one would have expected to become the mother of God’s son. Such an unexpected choice. Mary had a remarkable faith, an open heart, and a willingness to do whatever God asked of her. She turned out to be the perfect choice, but only God could have known that.
Chosen by God: Jesus’ Disciples
Jesus was continuing a long tradition, started by his heavenly Father, of making surprising choices to do God’s work. The disciples were no different. Fishermen, tax collectors, not a religious leader among them. No experts in God’s teachings, no scholars. They only had one thing going for them: Jesus chose them. There in that upper room, right before Jesus is arrested, I think that Jesus could see that they needed to be reminded of this. That he chose them. They were all scared, anxious, confused. They knew that one of their own had just left to betray Jesus. They heard Jesus say that their leader, Peter, would soon deny even knowing Jesus.
Jesus had commanded them to love one another, reminded them to abide in him, told them that he would be leaving soon, to prepare a place for them. They really didn’t know what to think of any of this. They needed to remember that Jesus chose them, to continue to bring Jesus into this world, and to bear his fruit, fruit that will last. They may not have felt particularly qualified to do this, or very confident that they could pull it off. Except for one very important thing: Jesus chose them.
How many times, I wonder, would they come back to that assurance? When they were ignored or laughed at? When they were hated and persecuted? Imprisoned? When some of them were even killed? Jesus chose them and entrusted them with his mission, to go and bear the fruit of the kingdom. And he promised that as long as they would abide in him, they would do just that.
Chosen by God: Us
Those disciples were chosen by God’s Son for a particular purpose in this world. But they’re not the only ones. In fact, if scripture tells us anything, it is that each and every one of us has also been chosen by God for a particular purpose in this world.
We all have our moments, of doubt, of course. Moments when we wonder what in the world we are doing with our lives; what on earth we are really here for. If we dig down far enough, if we ask these questions persistently enough, we eventually get to the bottom, which is the very words that we heard in this reading, the words that God’s people heard throughout scripture and throughout history. Joseph, Moses, David, Mary, Peter, you, me. Told by God over and over again that we have been chosen: “You did not choose me but I chose you.” We have been chosen to bear the fruit of God’s love in this world, and to bear it in a way that no one else can.
For Such a Time As This
And what a time to bear this fruit. What an important time for us, as God’s chosen, to bear the fruit of God’s love in this world. It has been a tough time recently. Economic challenges, political division, a rise in mental health issues, and a decrease in hope for our future. Perhaps you and I have been chosen by Jesus, to be his disciples, for just such a time as this. Our world needs healing. Our world needs hope. Our world needs to be reminded of God’s love for us all. Perhaps we have been chosen for just such a time as this. If ever there was a time for the church to be the church, it is now. We are the church. We are the ones that, for whatever reason, God has chosen for this task. We are God’s surprising choices to accomplish this unexpected task, of bringing healing and hope to our post-pandemic world.
The words that Jesus spoke to those first disciples, he speaks to every one of us today: “You did not choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you to go and bear fruit.
May God help you to bring the light of Jesus into our world, and to bear the fruit of his love. Amen
