knittin'

Preached at Saint David of Wales, May 29, 2011

Acts 17:22-31
Psalm 66:7-18
1 Peter 3:13-22
John 14:15-21

God, let us fall deeper and deeper in love with your son and with you-
Amen

I am not much of a knitter. I had a good run of baby hats when I was pregnant none of which Adin ever wore, and I have puled off a scarf or two, but I don’t seem to have the true gift of knitting. However I love to watch other people knit taking essentially a piece of string and two sticks and watching woven cloth that can keep people warm come out the other end.

I am not a part of the Village Building Convergence, but I have watched them over the the past two years as they take little more than a piece of string, two sticks and a whole lot of hope knit a village that brings people together.

I can so easily imagine Paul wandering through the VBC, as he wandered through Athens, speaking with People, being so deeply impressed with what they are doing here. I see how faithful you are, he would say to them. this entire gathering is an altar to an unknown god. You might call this god, community or place, neighborhood, justice, peace, but what you worship, I proclaim to you. this spirit which so obviously fills you, this same spirit of truth and Love is God who made the world. I have seen that same spirit of truth incarnate in the person Jesus. This spirit which you are clearly moved by as you build community and honor one another’s gifts, and in your reverence for creation this spirit of love has a name and that name changed everything for me.

Paul, I think if he were here, would be well able to defend the hope that is in him. I have always loved that line from Peter, Always be ready to defend the hope that is in you. Of all the things we have seen Christians defend in the public sphere, I don’t feel like I have seen enough defence of Hope. and it needs defending. what after all is more absurd than hope. look around you, read the paper, turn on the radio,
the last thing any sane well informed person should be feeling is hope. but here in this place right now we have the privilege of being surrounded by people who are living hope in a way that puts most Christian communities to shame.

Paul was willing to see and acknowledge the value of the spiritual experiences of the people of Athens, he quotes their own poets to them when he speaks of the God in whom they live and move and have their being. can we follow Paul's example this week and witness the spirit of truth and hope that fuels this work,

it is our same spirit of hope that we are called to defend.. yes we may have vastly different ways of speaking to that hope but if this place making is not the part of the kingdom of God they are working for I don't know what is.

When Jesus says he is not leaving us alone, that an advocate, that a comforter will be coming why do we assume so many things about what that comforter will be like. why do we assume that the advocate will be like us.
I will not leave you orphaned says Jesus. this passage today and the one from last week come from Jesus’ farewell in the gospel of John. in this reading he is preparing his disciples for his death and its implications. he is trying to get them ready to loose him.

we are hearing a pre-crucifixion speech after Easter and 2 weeks before Pentecost. Why? because in 2 weeks we are going to celebrate the coming of this advocate this comforter that Jesus is promising.
when we look around this place and see the spirit of hope that is alive in our building

Jesus tells us in the lyrical language of John that this is what the reality of the kingdom looks like. He explains the trinity perhaps as clearly as it can be

I am in my father and you in me and I in you.

those who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me.

this tangled web of language is as clear as an intricately knitted unity and Jesus is weaving us into it. we are being knit into the family of God and the only condition. is that we love. the commandant we must keep in order to be a part of this promise?
that we love,
that we love god that we love our neighbor
that we devote ourselves to love.
last week when Jesus said I am the way and no one gets to the father but through me he is not setting up a barrier but explaining the truth of love. I believe that Jesus is love incarnate. I believe that Jesus is love walking and there is no way to grasp the reality of God except through love. we cannot argue our way into it, we cant earn our way into it, we cant impress or flatter God into accepting us, the only way in is through love and some days that sounds impossible. If you keep my commandments Jesus says, if you give yourselves over to love then you will be knit into my family, I in you and you in me and we in the father and the father in us and the spirit knitting us all together
we are part of the love that is the foundation of reality
and I pray that that will give us more than enough hope worth defending.