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Christ Church

Eureka California
Fifth Sunday of Easter
Acts 16:9-15, Psalm 67, Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5
John 14:23-29
May 9, 2010
The Rev. Ron W. Griffin
“Fare well”

O God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as surpass our
understanding: Pour into our hearts such love towards you, that we, loving you in all things
and above all things, may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever. Amen.

John 14:23-29

Jesus said to Judas (not Iscariot), "Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father
will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does
not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from
the Father who sent me.

"I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy
Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you
of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give
to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.
You heard me say to you, `I am going away, and I am coming to you.' If you loved me,
you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. And
now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe."

Good morning! A husband asked his wife what she'd like for Mother's Day. "I'd
love to be six again," she replied. So to celebrate Mother's Day, he got up early, made her a
nice big bowl of Lucky Charms, and then took her off to Six Flags.
They went on every ride: the Death Slide, the Wall of Fear, and the Screaming
Monster Roller Coaster. Five hours later she staggered out of the theme park, her head was
reeling and her stomach felt upside down.
Right away, the husband drove to a McDonald's and ordered for his wife a Happy
Meal with extra fries and a chocolate shake. Then they were off to the latest Imax 3D
movie, a hot dog, popcorn, a mountain Dew, and her favorite candy, M&M's.
Finally she wobbled home with her husband and collapsed into bed exhausted. He
leaned over to his precious wife, the mother of their children and said with a big smile
thinking he had really done it this time and lovingly asked, "Well, Dear, what was it like
being six again?" Her eyes slowly opened and her expression suddenly changed. I meant
my dress size!"
Today is Mothers day. Nearly three-quarters of the nation's 122 million women
aged 15 and older are mothers. There's no such thing as a nonworking mother. The busiest
day of the year at car washes is the Saturday before Mother's Day. You see, what mom
thinks still matters. Whether your mom was a "rock of Gibraltar"-type, or a "Balm in
Gilead"-type, mothers have helped create who we are and how we see the world.
Growing up in a preacher’s home, my dad had the title out in public, but inside the
walls of our house my mom delivered all of the "momilies" as well as most of the homilies.
I trust if your mother is still living, you will speak with her today .If your mother has said
farewell to this world I trust you will recall a memory, and share a story about your
mother. We honor all mothers today on this second Sunday in May.

Easter is almost completed, we are just two weeks from Pentecost Sunday;
Thursday of this week is Ascension Day. The prayer book places Ascension day with the
principle feasts, Christmas, Easter, Day of Pentecost, The Epiphany, Trinity Sunday and
All Saints. Ascension Day is celebrated 40 days after Easter, on Thursday. There will be a
service at noon and then again at 7pm in the chapel. It will be a quiet service, with time for
reflection and listening, we will have Communion. I hope you will come.
Our gospel today is taken from the section of John’s gospel known as Jesus
Farewell Discourse. Jesus is saying goodbye. We all say the word, goodbye many times a
week, sometimes followed by, “See you soon, or call me, or come again.” These aren’t
necessarily sad departures just recognizing time and activities completed and measuring
when we will connect again. It is an inevitable time.
However some of my most powerful memories of my entire life however have been
in saying goodbye or farewell. Those memories don’t include, see you soon, or I’m
looking forward to the next visit. It is closing a connection once held. These farewells can
paralyze us with the past completed and the future unknown.
Many of you knew Fay Judy, some of you didn’t. Fay lived in the same house on E
for 42 years, she and her husband John were well known in this community. But Fay knew
they needed to d move to Portland to be closer to family. So we said Farewell to Fay back
in December at our Advent open house.
After the New Year began I wrote to Fay to check on her and John. In my note I
wrote “Life is short, friends are few, and the joy from both is life giving and sustaining,
and a precious gift not to be deferred or underappreciated. I am blessed to know you, Fare
well Fay. These goodbye’s are tough, what was, is no more, and what has been, is replaced
with different, and unknown.
This short section from the Farewell discourse today is not part of a speech or a
public pronouncement, nor was these first hearers the crowds of curious bystanders that
had followed Jesus from time to time. Jesus was saying farewell to his friends, it was a
privileged conversation, and it leaves the disciples feeling just like we feel, when we hear
or say Farewell. Empty, abandoned; and where is the hope of a future we can not see or
measure.
Marian Evans who wrote under the pen name of George Eliot wrote “Only in the
agony of parting do we look into the depths of love.” Even though Jesus has been saying
goodbye for several chapters, each time a little different, each way restating his leaving yet
the disciples don’t seem to want to accept what they can not see or measure a horizon of
faith without Jesus. But Jesus knows only in the agony of parting will they really be able to
look into the depths of the love Jesus is speaking of, and fully understand what Jesus is
offering, as he says Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
The worldly definition of peace is most often framed in a negative, it is normally
defined as "the absence of conflict." Someone accepts defeat, someone rules in conquest.
Peace is "won" or "declared" or "established." As agreements are signed they are almost
always regarded as "hard won" and "fragile." The price of peace seems to be unending
vigilance. When nations send troops into a conflict, they are called "peacekeepers."
As Christ bids fare well and offers in its place peace, no longer is peace the absence
of something; peace now becomes the living presence of God in our lives.

The presence of all the creative forces and fulfilled freedoms of the gospel, this
peace is given to us, not "as the world gives," that is, with hedges and hold-outs and half-
truths. Christ's peace is the unwavering assurance that God who breathed life into Jesus,
wants to breathe life into us.
In our worship today, and in nearly every service we share the peace. It normally
occurs after the prayer we say together, The Prayer of Confession. I close our communal
offering with words that remind us where sin is forgiven; and a new community of peace is
not only possible but becomes reality. The gift of peace becomes an opening for love,
forgiveness, reconciliation and thanksgiving.
Jesus offers a different understanding of peace and he connects it to an expanded
spiritual horizon. As Jesus is united with God, the community will be connected to the
Holy Spirit. What was God breathing in Jesus, will become the Holy Spirit breathing in
Christians. A time for God to be born again-not in one body but in a body of believers.

• Goodbye is a shortened form of "God be with you."


• Adios means 'to God' our lives are in his keeping.
• And vaya con dios means 'go with God.'
Each time we part from one another, God goes with us." Take Christ’s Peace as you go,
breathe in the Holy spirit as you go, and you will Fare well.

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