The Rev. Canon Jan Naylor Cope: God Still Loves and Gives
On this fourth Sunday in Lent, we’re a little over halfway through our Lenten journey. We have three more weeks until Easter. In my Ash Wednesday homily, I said that the essence of our Lenten journey is returning to God—looking forward—leaving behind those things that separate us from God and from one another. You don’t need me to tell you that there are so many divisions in our country and our world today, and there are so many things that can separate us from God and from one another: anger, fear, pride, envy, unforgiveness, and for many, a sense of unworthiness. The only thing that I know that is stronger and more enduring than all of those barriers is love. That’s what God promises to you and to me, if only we believe it and if only we will receive it.
Our gospel lesson today gives us one more bit of wisdom to carry with us during these next three weeks to be fully prepared for Easter and the greatest gift of all time. It contains one of the best known verses in the Bible. You know it: John 3:16. God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. If I leave you with nothing else today, I want to leave you with this: God didn’t just love us and give us a gift 2000 years ago. God still loves and God still gives. That’s the point. I think so often when we hear this passage, we think about it being judgmental and that if we don’t get it right in this life, we lose the promise of what is characterized as eternal life. Eternal life is a way of being—a better way—available to you and me today. It not only transforms our lives, but the lives of everyone around us, if we receive this gift that is so freely given.
I want to explore these ideas a little more deeply with you for a few minutes this morning. Listen to the words of two theologians, Gail O’Day and Susan Hylen, who are Johannine scholars.
“. . .the incarnation, the Word-made-flesh, is about the possibility of new life, not judgment. The presence of Jesus as incarnate Word confronts the world with the decision to believe or not, and making that decision is the moment of self-judgment. Belief is how people respond to God’s gift of Jesus; the community can respond to the gift of God with the gift of faith. Because God’s gift of Jesus is the gift of eternal life, to receive and welcome that gift is immediately to receive the life it offers. If one does not receive that gift, then one cannot receive the life it offers, and in John’s vocabulary, that means that one is condemned—not sharing in the gift of life that is offered. The language of condemnation needs to be read carefully. Eternal life and condemnation are the flip sides of the same experience. If one embraces the gift, one receives life; if not, one remains trapped in the realm of death and darkness.”1
God intends this gift for you and me now, tomorrow, the next day, and of course, for eternity. But it’s up to us to decide, to choose. God always lets us choose.
In her reflection this week, our Bishop Mariann Budde talked about a pastor she admires who asks his congregation from time to time, “What breaks your heart?” When asking that question, it’s not necessarily about what makes you sad or what you wish wasn’t true. It’s about what truly breaks your heart—breaks it wide open. Bishop Mariann says, “This is the pain that won’t let them go and seems to require something of them.” The pastor says, “Pay attention to what breaks your heart, for in the pain, there may be a call to action, something that God needs you to do.”2
Pay attention to what truly breaks your heart and let in that love of God that surpasses all understanding. That’s one of the ways that we return to God and live the abundant life that God intended for each one of us. In his poem “Anthem”, Leonard Cohen puts it this way:
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.3
There’s so much in the world today that truly breaks our heart. When we are empowered and transformed by the love of God, we are then empowered, emboldened, and compelled to respond. It doesn’t mean it has to be something great. God will put something right in front of you. Mother Teresa said, not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love. What has God put right in front of you?4
I was reminded of this by an article I read in the Washington Post.5 Perhaps some of you saw it as well. It tells the story of a school bus driver, Larry Farrish, Jr., in Louisville, Kentucky, whose morning job is taking elementary school students safely to school. He loves all the kids, but there’s one who’s really kind of his buddy. He’s a first grader named Levi. Whenever he pulls up in the bus Levi’s out there like an airport employee on the tarmac guiding in the bus. Well, one day when Larry pulled up, Levi had his hood over his head, and he was downcast in spirit. Larry knew immediately that something was terribly wrong. When Levi boarded the bus, he said, Hey buddy, what’s going on? And with tears in his eyes, Levi said, Today is pajama day at school, and I don’t have any pajamas.
Can you imagine the humiliation and shame felt by this first grader over something that’s meant to be joyful and fun, pajama day, because he couldn’t participate? All because he didn’t have a pair of pajamas to wear. It truly broke Larry’s heart. He kept an eye on him in the rear view mirror during the ride to school. Levi, with the hood still over his head, sat by himself away from his friends. But Larry knew in that moment what he was going to do. After dropping the children off at school, he went to the Family Dollar Store and bought two sets of pajamas. Then Larry went to the school and explained to the administration what had happened. So, Levi was called to the office and Larry was waiting for him in the hall. Levi ran to him because that’s his buddy. Larry held up two sets of pajamas and said, Levi, do you think you might like one of these? And Levi had tears in his eyes again. But this time it was a happy dance because he had been seen. Someone loved him enough to see him and to act because God had put that on Larry’s heart.
Small things done in love can make all the difference. Touching one person at a time, you never know the ripple effect that can happen. In this case, a local nonprofit heard the story and raised money so that Levi’s family would have the clothing and the necessities they needed. Levi has five siblings. I guarantee they all have pajamas now.
My friends, it doesn’t have to be big, but imagine what our world would look like if we did even the smallest things in love. In Deuteronomy, Moses is standing just on the edge of the Promised Land with the Israelites, with whom he has traveled in all sorts of conditions for forty years. They’re about to cross over into the Promised Land. Moses rehearses what the most important things are in life; how to be in right relationship with God and with one another; how to look after one another as community. He makes this point: “I’ve set before you today, life and prosperity, death and adversity. . . Choose life.” It’s always our choice.
My friends, God loved and gave. God continues to love and give. It’s our choice. Choose life! Amen.
1 Gail O’Day and Susan Hylen, “John” Westminster Bible Companion (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006), 46.
2 Mariann Edgar Budde, “Because God loved the world so much”, March 7, 2024, www.edow.org
3 Leonard Cohen – Anthem Lyrics | https://genius.com/Leonard-cohen-anthem-lyrics
4 Jose Luis Gonzalez-Balado, Mother Teresa In My Own Words (Liguori, Missouri: Liguori, 1996), 45.
5 Cathy Free, “A Child didn’t have pajamas for pajama day. His bus driver bought him some”, Washington Post, February 20, 2024.