I want to say "Thank you" again to Rev. Bob Spears and all of you who took charge of

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1 1 SERMON TITLE: "Transitions: Do Not Be Troubled" SERMON TEXT: John 14:23-29 PREACHER: Rev. Kim James OCCASION: May 5, 2013, at Wesley UMC & Pueblo Regent INTRODUCTION I want to say "Thank you" again to Rev. Bob Spears and all of you who took charge of things last Sunday while I was away. Steve, Oscar, and I went to Ogden, Utah, to close on our house. The papers were signed, the down payment was wired, and even the utilities are now put in our name. That--along with today's announcement about Wesley's new minister--makes the transition we are about to experience all the more real. I counted up the Sundays I have left with you here at Wesley. There are seven. One of those is our May 19th "Change the World Day," in which we will express our worship in action. So I won't be preaching that day. My final Sunday with you will be June 16, which is our annual Music Sunday. So I won't be preaching that day either. That means I have only five more Sundays to tell you what I think you need to know. There's a lot I could try to pack into these last five preaching opportunities. But you've heard a lot from me already in these 14 years we've been together. So, I've decided that the best thing I can do with these final sermons is help us all make the pastoral transition go as smoothly as possible. So, I'm going to preach a series of sermons that focus on biblical folks who were going through big transitions. We'll learn from their words and examples about how we can best cope with both loss and grief and new opportunities and leaders. Today we start with the Gospel of John, chapter 14, where Jesus tells the disciples, "Do not be troubled." Jesus is giving his disciples this advice because he knows they will miss him deeply. They had been living, traveling, and doing ministry together up close and personal for three years. Jesus had been their constant teacher. What would they now do without his guidance, forgiveness, and power? How would they face the future without him? How could they not be troubled?

2 2 1. SHOW LOVE THROUGH OBEDIENCE The disciples would be less troubled in this transition, said Jesus, if they would do a few particular things. The first of those was to show their love through obedience. In verse 23, Jesus said, "If anyone loves me, that person will obey my teaching." Notice that Jesus didn't say, "If anyone loves me, that person will refuse to talk about their grief." Jesus didn't say, "If anyone loves me, that person will stop attending worship after I'm gone." Jesus didn't say, "If anyone loves me, that person will drop out of church leadership when I'm not here anymore." Jesus didn't even say, "If anyone loves me, that person will show their loyalty to me by rejecting or criticizing other teachers or preachers who come after me." No, Jesus didn't say those things. Jesus said, "If anyone loves me, that person will obey my teaching." And what was Jesus' teaching? Jesus instructed the disciples to go and do the ministry just as he had taught them by his example and his words. In John 14:12, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing." In fact, said Jesus, that person of faith "will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." The disciples wouldn't show love to Jesus by putting him up on a pedestal that no one else could reach. The way they would demonstrate their love for Jesus was by caring about people with the same kind of compassion that Jesus had. They would show love for Jesus by being inclusive of women, children, the poor, the sick, and anyone else who was different or outcast. They would show their love for Jesus by challenging corrupt and abusive religious and political powers. They would show their love for Jesus by declaring with their words and their actions that God's kingdom of peace was near. They would show their love for Jesus by being faithful witnesses that death is never the end--that God always has the power to raise up new, and even better, opportunities for goodness and hope.

3 3 Yes, Jesus was leaving them, and, yes, the disciples would miss Jesus greatly. But they didn't have to be so troubled and fearful. In one sense their relationship was over. But by obeying Jesus' teaching, the disciples could demonstrate their love for him even after he was gone. 2. TRUST IN HOLY SPIRIT John 14:26 tells us a second piece of advice Jesus gave his disciples. You'll be less troubled if you trust in the Holy Spirit. Jesus had been with the disciples nearly 24/7, and now he was going away. Of course, that would cause the disciples anxiety. Of course, they were worried that things would go wrong. Of course, they feared for the future of their ministry. They had given up so much to follow Jesus, and now what would they do? Calm down, said Jesus. Don't be afraid. You won't be left alone. You won't be without a guide and leader. God is going to send you the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will remind you of the things I taught you. The Holy Spirit will comfort you with compassion and counsel you with wisdom. The Holy Spirit will be your constant companion. We twenty-first century Christians have never known Jesus in a human body, so we don't expect him that way. But we do get attached to other people who demonstrate the love and faith of Jesus to us--whether that's a pastor, members of the congregation, or our family members. Because we get so attached and dependent on them, sometimes it's hard for us to let them go. That's why we need to trust that God will send us the Holy Spirit and use the Holy Spirit that's already in and among us to keep us strong and spiritually healthy. The Holy Spirit is the glue that holds us together in spiritual community. The Holy Spirit is the inner peace that takes us by the hand and assures us that all will be well. The Holy Spirit is the spirit of Jesus and God that can come to us in new relationships just as well as, and maybe even better than, in old relationships.

4 4 Jesus was speaking truth here, my friends. This transition that we're all going through will be a whole lot easier if we open our hearts and trust in the Holy Spirit. 3. BELIEVE THAT GOD IS GREATER Closely related to that advice is the third thing Jesus said to his disciples: Believe that God is greater. Jesus was a pretty impressive fellow. He walked on water, healed the sick, and fed the multitude. Consequently, he acquired titles like Rabbi, Teacher, Messiah, and Son of God. He was someone whose shoes seemed impossible to fill. But as great as Jesus was, even Jesus died. Even Jesus left behind his family and his friends, causing them to feel loss and grief. That's why Jesus wanted to redirect his disciples' attention away from his own limitations and toward God, who was greater. Now was the time to understand how essential God is. Recently, someone told me that he'd been experiencing a crisis of faith. Over the past several years, he'd lost at least four members of his family to death. He couldn't understand why God let all that pain happen to him. Obviously, I sympathized with the man's sorrow. But I also tried to point him in a new way of thinking about God. When we're suffering the pain of loss and abandonment, that's not the time to give up on God. That's the time when we need all the more to believe that God is with us, loving us, helping us, supporting us, giving us hope, giving us light and life. When we're hurting because of the transitory nature of human life and relationships, that's when we need all the more to believe in God, who is eternal. When we lose someone that we love, we need to believe in God, who will never leave us or forsake us. When things change that are beyond our control, we need to believe in God, who will walk with us through the valley of the shadow of death and offer to us the resurrection power of new beginnings. When we are feeling weak because of losing someone, that's when we need to transfer our faith from finite ones to the One whose strength is infinite.

5 5 Do you remember the old song "Bridge over Troubled Waters"? God is like that. God is the sturdy bridge that helps us over the chaos of transition. As Jesus was trying to tell his disciples, just because we lose a beloved pastor, congregation, family member, or community doesn't mean we have to lose our faith. If we believe in the ever-present, strong, and eternal greatness of God, we'll be a lot less troubled. CONCLUSION A few nights ago, I watched the movie Up with my son Oscar. I've seen that movie many times and am always amazed at how what looks like an animated children's movie is actually a very touching adult story about life's joys and sorrows, disappointments and victories. If you've seen the movie, you know that it's about Carl, who loved Ellie his whole life. Now that he is mourning her death, Carl is faced with the dilemma of how to get on in his last years without Ellie by his side. Carl can remain a grouchy, grieving, negative old man, or he can become a nurturing, adventuresome senior citizen. Fortunately, through the course of the movie, Carl undergoes a positive transition. He obeys Ellie's dream to take their house to Paradise Falls. He allows her spirit of adventure to comfort and guide him. And, finally, Carl realizes that there is something that goes beyond Ellie's dream--something greater that he needs to be a part of. That's when Carl turns from being a disappointed and troubled soul into a happy and fulfilled human being, enjoying his new relationship with his young friend Russell. Transitions are tricky. Loss and grief are painful. When we have shared together deeply, we have a lot to miss. But, if we show love through obedience, if we trust in the Holy Spirit, and if we believe that God is greater, our transitions can be a lot less troubled.