One day a chaplain was taking a stroll through a cemetery when he noticed a man laying flat out on a grave pounding the earth in great despair. He overheard the distraught man wailing aloud, "It is so unfair that you died so young. If you had not died my life would not be so full of misery and hardship. I am at the end of my rope." Immediately the chaplain's pastoral instincts came into play so he went over to the distraught man to console him. He said to him, "Sir, this grave must be of someone you loved very much for you to be in such anguish ." The man picked himself up, looked at the chaplain and said, "Well no, I didn't love this person, in fact we never metl" Perplexed the chaplain asked, "Well who, then, is buried here?" The distraught man replied, "This is the grave of my wife's first husband!"

This story is in complete contrast to the stories about Jesus in the New Testament. Indeed, I cannot think of a single passage in the gospels in which the disciples of Jesus use any other language than the language of love, and admiration. Yes, there are some words of consternation, complaint, and even reproach, none of which are not uncommon in loving relationships. But there are no words of deprecation.

And so it is with the language of worship. We don`t proclaim, "Alleluia, Christ is risen, maybe risen, or some say risen." No, the language of worship is the language of love and as such it is without qualification.

The language of reasoned argument may be found in sermons and is appropriate in study sessions and in statements of doctrine such as the creeds, but it is not the language we use to proclaim or to worship.

The language of love is exaggerated from a rational point of view. A group of us were discussing themes in the Gospel of John at last Thursday's Eucharist. John's gospel is rich in the language of love, devotion, and obedience- three virtues which easily go hand in hand.

At that time Pat Love told the story- and I trust it was not a personal story, Pat- of a woman and her husband who went to a cocktail party. When they arrived the man surveyed the large room filled with people all dressed in their finest and then turned to his wife and said, "Dear, I just want to tell you that you are the second most beautiful woman in this room."

Such is not the language of love. There is no room for seconds in a declaration of love. From a reasoned point of view it may be true that the wife is the second, or third, or least beautiful woman in the room. It really doesn't matter because when you hear words of love you really don't care whom else is in the room, or what might be objectively true, you only care that for your partner you are the most important person.

When the gospels refer to Jesus as:

the true vine, the light of the world
the Way, the truth, and the life
the Only Begotten Son of God
the good shepherd, the gate to the sheepfold.

They are using the language of love-not the language of philosophy or factual analysis.

Such language is full of imagery, effusive, maybe even exaggerated. Often these declarations seem exclusivist. If we interpret these statements as philosophical statements rather than love statements we might easily come to the conclusion that the New Testament is claiming that there are no other authentic paths to God. Unfortunately there are Christians who believe that. To my mind such an interpretation is not only a distortion of the intention of the New Testament but also an unpalatable and indefensible position for Christians to hold if we want a world where all people can live together in harmony.

Christians are amongst the worst offenders when it comes to using God`s word to beat people up. Last week Gordon showed me a letter signed by the Bishop of California for distribution to visitors and newcomers in Grace Cathedral in San Francisco in which the cathedral describes its self as "A Place of Immunity" - and I quote a passage from this letter, "If you are passing by and feel intimidated or angry because of religion, please know that there is immunity granted when you enter Grace Cathedral. Immunity from the ravages of religion and misuse of Divine Revelation. You know from the past about inquisitions and crusades and witch hunts. You live in a time of religious military zealots, abortion clinic bombings, and TV evangelists attempting to take power in our land...Immunity from religious control is granted you upon entry. Grace offers "sanctuary" to everyone and promises this glorious freedom of God as the climate to explore the healthiest living that religion affords"

I hope it can be said of St John's Church that we too are a place of immunity in this sense. I hope that St John's will always be a place where people will hear not the mantras of exclusivist zealots but the first language of God, the language of love.

The language of today's reading portrays Jesus as the good shepherd just as God is portrayed in the Hebrew Bible. Shepherd's are all about caring and protection so it is an image which Christians cherish. It is an image which reassures us in times of trouble and when we face death. For the sheep, the Shepherd is home. Home is where the shepherd is. In real life, shepherd and sheep do not remain in one place but move from pasture to pasture. So it is with our spiritual home, home is not a location but rather a relationship. Home is where we know we are save, will be cared for, and protected..

In the spiritual world none of us is ever homeless. Not even death robs us of our home with God. But homes, spiritual or otherwise, are not built on sentiment and declarations of love only. Homes are built on discipline, dependability, and loyalty.

And because that is so it is important for believers to acknowledge the other dimension to the sheep and shepherd imagery. The image of the sheep is also an image of sacrifice. One of the first and most important biblical images of Jesus is as the Lamb of God. Jesus is the lamb of God who willingly allowed his own blood to be shed for humanity. Jesus self offering was an act of discipline and obedience. Peter's letter counsels believers about the necessity for discipline for all spiritual battle:

Therefore, prepare yourselves for action, discipline yourselves, set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed....You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish." (1Peter 1:13ff)

At St John's every year on Maundy Thursday eve we re-enact part of the ancient Jewish meal celebrated at Passover. Passover celebrates the deliverance of the Hebrews from death because the blood of the lamb was place over the entrance of every Hebrew home protecting them from the angel of death which descended upon Egypt. For Christians, Jesus becomes that Pascal Lamb whose blood likewise saves us from the angel of eternal death. And so a Christian Passover feast moves naturally into a celebration of the Eucharist.

It was because the early Christians knew that love means discipline and obedience that the church grew. There can be no love without discipline. In today's reading from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles we get a glimpse of the spiritual strength of the church which drove its growth.

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers...Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the good will of all people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42ff)

We seriously misread the life of the early church if we think believing was somehow easier then. That church, like the present day church, faced conflicts and disagreements. Those believers, like we ourselves, questioned why they bothered trying to be loyal to the church. But then, discipline is not really discipline if it requires nothing of us. Discipline is not really discipline if we only want the nice things and slack off when we are faced with trials.

The apostles' teaching and fellowship, the breaking of bread, the prayers, the sharing of resources, these define what it means to be a believer, to be church. The is the age-old formula which keeps us together and enables the church to be strong and grow to this day. All that we do as a church should be a means of bringing ourselves and others into these fundamental disciplines.

These are the spiritual disciplines are the gifts we have to offer the world and which put flesh on our declarations of love.