Psalm 133 - Sing Psalms - How excellent a thing it is… (sung to the tune Winchester Old - While shepherds watched their flocks by night)

Click below to listen to the Psalm being sung to the tune Bishopthorpe - well worth a listen:

Reading - St John 15. 12-17

Reflection -

What better place to explore this reading, as we gather for worship in the University’s Memorial Chapel, built to commemorate the sacrifice made by the sons of this University who fought and fell during the Great War, then adapted to commemorate those who fell during the Second World War.

And how sad it is that the Great War, known as ‘The War to End All Wars’, was soon followed on by the Second World War - those who fell between 1914-18 were told that they were fighting the last war to blight mankind, but within two decades there were again stormclouds gathering over Europe.

And, of course, in the decades that followed, the world has not been short of warfare - with Korea, Afghanistan, Libya, and now Palestine/Israel, to name just a few. So many millions of people around the world are suffering as a result of warfare. Yesterday this Chapel again held a vigil for peace - praying for peace in the Middle East. Last year a similar vigil was held for Russia and Ukraine.

And the sad thing is, friends, that this Scripture passage we’ve just heard has often been used to justify those wars. After all, who has not heard of a ‘just war’

But what was Jesus really saying here? What can we learn from this passage of Scripture - this declaration by the Lord Jesus? Is He pro war? Does He take sides? Who can forget the Bob Dylan song, mocking the notion that ‘God is on our side’ when it comes to warfare. How many nations have declared this over the years? It is worth noting that, during the Great War, both Britain and Germany separately declared that God was on their side - was He indecisive? Was He hedging His bets? Or were the nations mishearing?

I was listening to a Songs of Praise interview with Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister, a week or so ago, where he was asked about his faith journey. Amongst other things, he commented that politicians often declare that God is on their side, but should really be asking whether they are on God’s.

So who is God on the side of?

Well, we can consider Scriptures that show God to be on the side of the weak, the suffering, the oppressed, the vulnerable, the marginalised, the downtrodden. We can remember how our Lord Jesus broke down so many barriers in associating with, and loving, those who society did not. We can consider the group of followers He called to be with Him, fishermen, taxmen, prostitutes (although that last one is slightly more complex).

But God is also very much on the side of those who are ready to give things up, to sacrifice, for the sake of others. Now, of course, Jesus was likely describing Himself in this passage - He knew what was to come, knew that He would “lay down His life for his friends” on the Cross, and thereby overcome the barrier of sin and death, and suffer the punishment we deserved - but that is not where the sacrifice ends. Throughout the centuries that have followed, we have seen so many brave acts of folk doing just this, giving up some or all that they have for the sake of others; and in this case, there is no greatre sacrifice than death. Consider, as an example, Eric Liddell, the Olympian (of Chariots of Fire fame) who left his fame success behind and became a missionary in China. He died in an internment camp just days before it was liberated by the Allies, having given up his food, his clothes, everything, for those who were alongside him in the camp. And Liddell is not alone in this. Consider also Maximilian Kolbe. Kolbe was in a concentration camp, and a fellow prisoner was condemned to death for some trivial infraction of the rules. The man cried out, ‘My family, my family’, and Kolbe offered the Germans an exchange, his life for the other prisoner’s. Kolbe went to the gallows, and the prisoner lived, one day being reunited with his family.

Today Jesus may not ask you to lay down your life in His service. To misquote David Mitchell (the TV comedian), ‘today you might not die’! But that doesn’t mean you won’t be led to sacrifice something. It is our duty, as Christians, to be ready for this call that Christ may place on our lives, to hear it and respond to it, knowing that when God calls you to put something down, He is preparing us to take up something far greater still - eternal life at His side, where there is joy forevermore.

So let us remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, but not forget that it was Christ who made the greatest sacrifice the world has ever known, and encourages us to lay down our lives and take up our crosses, that we may follow Him into glory.