Sunday Sermon - Rev. Adelyn Tyler-Williams (May 10, 2026)

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Sam. [00:00:47] Speaker B: The Holy Gospel of our Savior Jesus Christ According to John Glory to you, Lord Christ Jesus said, if you love me, you will keep my commandments and I will ask the Father and He will give you another advocate to be with you forever. This is the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows Him. You know him because he abides in you and he abides with you, and he will be in you. I will not leave you orphaned. I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me because I live. You also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me, and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them. The Gospel of the Lord. [00:02:35] Speaker A: Children ages 3 through 10 are invited to go with Katie for a time of story through the written word and the spoken word. God help us to hear your living Word, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. A few weeks ago, I went to the Sweetest Book Talk and Mini Concert. There are about 25 of us in a cute indie bookstore to hear a few songs and a delightful children's book. Grace Semler Baldrich, known by many as Semler, is a preacher's kid who has used music as a means of processing religious harm that so many have experienced in the church. Their music explores queer identity, early religious experiences, the ways the church can be everything from weird to harmful to beautiful, and their new journeys in parenting. In addition to Semler's music, they recently wrote a book, the Love that Made you, which speaks of our loving Creator who delights in each little babe. Semmler normally plays rock shows, but in this moment, with singing wheels on the bus for kiddos and reading a sweet story for toddlers, we were all brought together in a space of love and care by a musician who offers a narrative in contrast to much of contemporary Christian music that is part of the fundamentalist church. This gathering wasn't church. It wasn't worship, but I would argue that it was a living of the gospel. It was a demonstration of how love brings us together in mutual support, affirmation and just some really good vibes. In a somewhat similar gathering of community, Jesus reminds his followers, if you love me, you will keep my commandments, while offering assurance of the Holy Spirit advocate. It bears noting that shortly prior in John's Gospel, Jesus is with his disciples at the Last Supper offering a new commandment for them. I give you a new commandment that you love one another just as I have loved you. You also should love one another. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples. If you have love for one another. Jesus loves. Thus we should follow his example of love. Jesus calls us to love him and to love one another. In this love, we will keep his commandments. And that love will show the world that we are disciples of Jesus. Love is the primary motivator here. In the days leading to his death, one of the messages Jesus is most inclined to give is a reminder of love and encouragement to continue God's will. I'm struck by this for many reasons, but especially because for so many Christians, fear is a primary motivator. Fear of God or fear of hell and torment, or fear of the rejection of the church. These can all be powerful motivators, but they can also be easily distorted in human relationships. We would be concerned if fear was the only or the primary motivator for the relationship. It is troublesome if a relationship is held together only by fear. Yet much of the church teaches even very young children to fear hell and damnation. They must pray and obey to avoid the wrath of elders and of God. There is a narrow realm of acceptability, and stepping beyond that could mean punishment in this life and the next. Fear can be a very strong motivator, but it can also be defeating, exhausting and entrapping. Our nervous systems cannot handle constant fear. Love, I would argue, is a much stronger motivator. It might not cause the immediate reaction that fear can. It might create more space for toeing the line. But I think love is stronger because it motivates while also being encouraging, life giving and sustaining. I'm painting this in rather binary terms, and I know that there is a wide spectrum of ways that we can be drawn into following God. There are also a wide spectrum of theologies taught by the church. My point is to say that feeling loved by God and in getting to love God in return, that is how I feel most encouraged to live a good life seeking to follow Jesus in word and example. It is in the life giving, liberating love of Jesus that I am called to live a Christian life. That love calls me to seek liberation and flourishing for my neighbor. That love challenges me to love even my enemies. That love reminds me to cherish and live for community. Believing that God loves me as a woman who preaches and shares the word of God helps me to be more Christian. Believing that God loves me as a gay person loving and building a family with another woman helps me to be more Christian. These parts of me that might scandalize some Christians are the same parts of me that God created, loved and called. I wonder if there are parts of yourself that the world or the church has told you to diminish or to hide. Might these be the same gifts that God created in you that God loves and that God calls? Learning or learning? To believe that God loves me in the fullness of who I am draws me deeper into the Jesus movement. In the Jesus movement, we are held in the deep love of our Creator who willingly lived among us and gave us a model for healing and restoration, for living in mutual care and concern, for navigating the challenges of the imperial world. Feeling God's love for the fullness of who I am makes me want to share love freely, just as Jesus did. It makes me want to assure others of God's immense love for them. It draws me to share a Christian narrative that is wide enough, generous enough, life giving enough to reflect even a small glimpse of God among us. Love will always be stronger than fear. It will carry us further in our life of faith and will allow us to be authentically ourselves as we go about sharing the love of Jesus. That love helps us to know the abundance and the encouragement of God, which empowers us to live God's commandments in word and in deed. Knowing that we are held by God can give us the power to follow God's call, even when it feels scary or hard. Because I believe that children's books are good for people of all ages, I want to close by sharing some of Semler's the Love that Made you. I know you won't all be able to see these pictures well, so I'll have it available afterwards. And there's always room in the front row if you'd like a better view. I hope you know this love has been named, but all throughout history its title has changed. Some call it religion, faith or divine, a God from above as eternal as time. All over the world, people find their own way to connect with this love. Many folks like to pray. I hope that you know you are never too small to pray for yourself or for the needs of us all. A lot of this life won't make the most sense. Tough times are ahead. Some days will be tense, Other days will be filled with a joy very huge. Because the love you give finds its way back to you. So be kind to your neighbor, treat friends with respect, lend a hand or a favor, share a laugh and break bread. Whatever you learn and however you believe. I hope that you know that true love is just free. You can't ever lose what's been yours since birth. A big love that made you and each soul on earth. Love links us together. So above all, remember I love you right now. And I'll love you forever. Amen.