John 14:15-21 September 28, 2001

"If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

CCI: Jesus will fill the loneliness of our hearts if we will come to him.

Alone. A word whose haunting hollowness can break spirits and open wounds. Innocent children can be hurled into this world in a moment.

Children are plagued with loneliness

And Adults are as well

Perhaps it is through divorce that loneliness has pulled you into it's stranglehold. (Loneliness and Divorce)

Maybe it is the loneliness of an empty relationship. Psychologist Dan Kiley has coined the term LTL (Living Together Loneliness) to describe this phenomenon. Though living with someone we care deeply about, there is no depth in the relationship and even in bed with a partner, we are alone.

Whether child, or college student, or young adult or senior adult, loneliness and isolation from the people around us are realities we all face at one time or another.

Since 9-11 the epidemic has dramatically increased. Suspicion and fear have built even larger walls intended to keep people out of our lives. (Travel stories.)

But none of this is unique to our age. The disciples were facing the very same emotions. At dinner that evening Jesus had told them one of their group would betray him to the enemy. He told Peter he would deny ever knowing him. He told the others they would desert him. He told them he was going away. He told them they would not see him again. He told them they knew all they needed to know, despite what they thought.

The disciples were afraid. The fear is evident when later that night they all run away. The fear is clear when after hearing about the resurrection they hide behind locked doors for fear of the authorities. They had been betrayed by the One they thought would be their savior. Their trust had proved futile because he was going away. Can you imagine the mood in that group as Jesus spoke?

That evening, the disciples did not hear promises, they heard betrayal. And before the events of the crucifixion were completed, even Jesus felt the haunting hollowness of loneliness. First, as he prayed in the garden, he came back to his friends and with sorrow found them asleep as he had been in agony. And then, as he hung on the cross, Jesus came to understand completely the reality of loneliness when he cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?!" Alone.

But that is not the end of the story. Jesus has offered us his gifts.

In this passage, Jesus has promised that he will love us and show himself to us. His love was revealed throughout his ministry as he reached out to those who were rejected by the world. The disciple Matthew was a tax-gatherer, he was hated by his countrymen as a traitor and a thief. And Jesus called him as one of his closest friends. The disciple Simon, not Peter, was a Zealot, that meant he had devoted his life to getting rid of Roman rule and any who supported Rome. And Jesus called Simon to be one of his closest friends. Jesus found lepers who were untouchable, who had been totally rejected by society and embraced them as he healed them. He engaged a woman rejected by 4 husbands and her whole community in a conversation that gave her hope.

The love of Jesus reached across the chasm of loneliness and opened new doors for everyone he met.

But giving his love was not the end. He also gave his life. When Jesus was arrested, Peter pulled out a sword to defend him. But Jesus told him to put the sword away because if he chose, he could call 12 legions of angels to come to his defense. Jesus did not have to die. The Romans did not drive him to his death. Judas was not responsible for Jesus' death. Rather Jesus gave up his life as a gift to us. Jesus' death is our life. Paul said, "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless, I live, but it is not me, but Christ who lives in me, and the life that I now live in the flesh, I live the grace of Him who have his life for me." He has given us the gift of his Life.

And He has given us His spirit. Jesus said, "I will not leave you as orphans." The orphan throughout time is the ultimate picture of the lonely person. No parents, no one to care for them, no hope, no future. Jesus promised, I will not leave you as orphans, I will send the Spirit of Truth and I will come." The Holy Spirit has been misunderstood, abused, ignored, feared and trivialized over the years. In the weeks to come we will be looking at this blessed promise of the Holy Spirit, but today, I want you to know that Jesus has promised you need not be alone because he is sending one who is called alongside you, to teach you and to comfort you.

These are His promises. When loneliness raises its head, Jesus has said, "I will not leave you, or forsake you."

So how do we experience this? How can our loneliness be filled?

First, accept God's great gift. Jesus said, "I have come that you may have life and have life in all abundance." That offer has been made, but unless we accept it, we will never experience it.

Imagine leaving church this morning and when you arrive at your car, you find under the windshield wiper a lottery ticket, not just any ticket, but a Big Game ticket, and with the ticket is a print out of yesterday's winning numbers and on the ticket are those numbers. Probably you will wonder if it could possibly be true. Then you would try to verify it. And then you would go home and put the ticked in a picture frame and hang it on the wall so anyone who enters your house will know about your good fortune. Right?

That's not what you would do? Of course not, though the ticket would be yours, it would be worthless unless it was redeemed. The same is true of the gift that Jesus offers. We can have freedom from our loneliness and our guilt only if we accept the gift of abundant life he offers. That means we must admit we can not fill the haunting hollowness of our lives with things or even with people. It means we agree with God that we have disobeyed him and wandered far from His path. And it means we invite Jesus to live his life through us. And when we do that, he promises that he will send the comforter, the spirit of truth to be with us, and to lead us, and to comfort us.

Then, when we have accepted that gift, Jesus has an expectation for us. That is that we will obey him. "If you love me," Jesus said, "you will do what I say." And this is his command, "that you love one another as I have loved you." The New Commandment is revolutionary. It is a commandment that calls us to give away all we have and all we are. It is a commandment that will lead us to full life, but only if we let go of those things we hold so dear. What are the things you are clinging to today? (Enumerate) The tighter you hold them, the tighter you will be held by them. To know freedom, to have your loneliness filled, let go of the things of this life and trust Jesus to keep his word and to give you abundant life.

That's not easy. We work a lifetime to be able to hold on. But holding tightly is a prison of it's own and the things we cling to will never satisfy.

Jesus' invitation today is: "Come to me and you will never be alone."