I have slowly begun paying attention to the news again. I do like to have awareness of what is going on in the world. Without that connection, while I am blissfully unaware of all the devastation in the world, the barrage of mass shootings, and I have the perfect way to ignore rambling political shouted diatribes, I am also out of touch with the world and feel I cannot engage. As terrible as news can be, it is also the thread that connects us with each other, whether we believe the news or not. The topic that has had me slowly reengaging with the wider world is our current Kent State happening on so many college campuses.
Into this mix is the scripture reading assigned to this week in the revised common lectionary: John 15: 9-17
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.
I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.
You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.
I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.
This passage is from Jesus’ farewell discourse to the disciples at the Last Supper. There are several chapters of his final instructions, and this excerpt is a small piece. I was inspired to use this option of the four assigned for this Sunday in light of the bravery of the students and professors standing up for people being obliterated by war and greed. My heart weeps for the students accused of being antisemitic, as that label is factually untrue - Arabic and Hebrew are both Semitic languages, Palestinians and Israeli’s share common ancestry.
These students, brought up to stand up and fight for the rights of victims of injustice, are learning there are different standards of justice depending on your label. While history has a record of proving student who protest injustice being justified, often it is too late to help the students.
I hope we do better by these students, we listen to their wisdom, and act accordingly.
Read below for my sermon for Sunday.
Language is fascinating. I love to compare old languages, the roots of words, because so many times you will have the same combination of sounds in one culture with another, but these combinations mean different things depending on if you are speaking Japanese, Hebrew, or Spanish. For example, I was being a word nerd the other day, making a joke with some of Justin’s friends, and we used the word “Yoshi” as the backbone of the joke. In Japanese, this word can mean luck or lucky, or righteous, or good, virtuous, and respectable, and more, depending on the kanji (character). In Hebrew, Yoshi, which is found in the name Yoshiyahu, means support, but the same consonants are also found in Yeshua, where it brings the meaning of saving or salvation.
One set of sounds, many meanings.
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