Grits and the Gospel - May 18, 2025

Hello friends and welcome to this week's episode of Gritz and the Gospel. My name is Reverend Katie Griffiths MDiv I have now graduated from Candler School of Theology that is really weird, but that on the end of my name and in my signatures on the computer, but It is there nonetheless and I'm so proud to have finished that and I thank everyone who is listening that helps with that journey as it continues So thankful for all of you who are here and listening today. I hope that as always that You will have your own Church community, but I'm thankful that you're here to listen to the words that I'm given each week So on this fifth Sunday of Easter, let us come together now in a time of worship the Lord be with you and also with you Today's song is the 148th song It is full of words of praise and love. So let's Here now the words of the Psalmist Praise the Lord, praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him from the heights, praise him all his angels, praise him all his post Praise him son and moon, praise him all you shining stars Praise him you highest heavens and you waters above the heavens Let them praise the name of the Lord for he commanded and they were created He established them forever and ever he fixed their bounds which cannot be passed Praise the Lord from the earth you see monsters and all depth deeps Fire and hail snow and frost stormy wind filling his kept fulfilling his command mountains and all hills fruit trees and all cedars wild animals and all cattle creeping things and flying birds kings of the earth and all peoples Princes and all rulers of the earth young men and women alike old and young together Let them praise the name of the Lord for his name alone is exalted His glory is above all earth and heaven He has raised up a horn for his people Praise for all his faithful for the people of Israel who are close to him praise the Lord The word of God for us the people of God. Thanks be to God Let us come together now and recite those familiar words that are the tenets of our faith Friends, what do we believe? I believe in God the Father Almighty maker of heaven and earth and in Jesus Christ is only Son our Lord Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit Born of the Virgin Mary Suffered under Pontius Pilate was crucified dead and buried the third day he rose from the dead He ascended into heaven and siteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty From then see shall come to judge the quick and the dead I believe in the Holy Spirit the Holy Catholic Church the communion of faith the forgiveness of sins the resurrection of the body and the life ever lasting Amen Let us pray dear Lord we come to you today humbled And working to love one another To embody to live out To shine brightly as people of faith and love And care and peace Help us to do that every day to show your Blossoms of love and to sow the seeds of faith wherever we go Here now the words of your son as he taught us to pray our Father who art in heaven Hello, it'd be thy name by kingdom come by will be done on earth as it is in heaven Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us Our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation But deliver us from evil for that is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever Amen Today's gospel lesson is from the gospel according to John the 13th chapter verses 31 through 35 here now the word of the Lord When he had gone out Jesus said now the son of man has been glorified and God has been glorified in him If God has been glorified in him God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once Little children I am with you only a little longer you will look for me and as I said to the Jews So now I say to you Where I am going you cannot come I Give you a new commandment that you love one another Just as I have loved you you also should love one another By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another The word of God for us the people of God Thanks be to God would you pray with me? Who orders we look for new and beautiful ways to think of these verses? Let the words that you gave me Sean Brightley for those all around Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable and thy sight oh Lord my strength and my redeemer Amen The poet Khalil Gabran puts words around love and relationships in a beautiful way He was born in modern day 11 on an 1883 and later became an American citizen as well Gabran was a poet a writer and a painter His prose and poems are some of the most profound and new moving imaginings of love and faith When I looked at the scripture today, I couldn't help but think of Gabran and his body of work I thought I would pull out some of my favorite ideas of his as they relate to love and life As a different lens to use for these words of Jesus And his book thoughts and meditations Gabran says this life without love Is like a tree without blossoms and fruit and love without beauty as like flowers without scent and fruits without seeds Life love Beauty our three persons and one who cannot be separated or changed What a beautiful way to see the world What a beautiful way to see the Trinity What a beautiful way to see how we should live our lives According to the new commandment of Jesus Jesus knew A life without love was not fruitful He knew faith without love would never continue The seeds that he planted in his time on earth were vital to the early believers But also part of what would help belief in salvation and Christ and the church that was formed in his name continue Love one another We're getting close to peach season here in the fertile ground of south orja I know this because just a few weeks ago I saw the beautiful paint blossoms of the peach trees Rose and rose of gorgeous flowers Spread all across this part of the world The soil and the temperatures I am told in south orja Make it perfect fertile ground for growing peach trees But before we can get to the fruit We get to see the glory of the flowers When we love people when we live a life that reflects the life that Jesus led here on earth People can see the beauty of our love before they can see anything else That inner beauty that we cannot hide just like the flowers that fruit trees show off before they bear fruit Are also a way that they spread and share the love they have It's how they beckon people in It's how we should beckon people in not just to church but to friendship and safety and care love one another Is when we show off our blossoms That we can begin to bear the fruits of love That sweetness and kindness that we act upon is the fruit that we bear We spent a lot of time growing up at the summer in the summer at Lake Sinclair Gogi didn't get in the lake at all during my lifetime And when she rode in the boat we couldn't go too fast because it would net it would mess her hair up and you never Messed up Gogi's hair The way she showed us love Was by feeding us And on top of the refrigerator she had a wooden tray with a brass handle in the middle And every summer that tray was loaded down with fresh Peaches from the farmer's market Those peaches were the representation of the way she shared her love with us Every meal they were peaches for us to eat Lovingly peeled and sliced up for us to have on our cereal in the mornings Or on our ice cream at night The fruit that she had for us Was the embodiment of the love she was giving us Love one another The beauty of that love that she had for us and the love that we are called to show those around us is reflected in the second part of what Gabran said Without beauty and love together there are no seeds to pass along the fruit of love We cannot show people love we cannot pass along the love we are called to show and are shown by Jesus over and over again throughout his ministry Without the beauty of our actions Without the flowers of the way we live there is no fruit Without the fruit there is not a seed to sow for the next generation of plants It is not just one act but a life cycle of love and kindness If you've never read Khalil Gabran I strongly encourage you to give seed Jill at the library and read some of his books The prophet is the most well-known, but all of them you will find are wonderful And the prophet the character al-Mustafa is called to leave his home and travel by sea to orphalies And there he answers questions about various subjects He speaks of friendship and faith of love and marriage One of my favorite quotes in the book comes from his answer about the idea of love When you love you should not say God is in my heart, but rather I am in the heart of God It's not a beautiful idea Love does not mean just that God is with us. It does not mean simply that we are taking God with us out into the world The idea that Gabran gives us so beautifully is that love is shown When we are living and dwelling and existing in the heart of God Love happens when we are in the heart of God We see it in the flowers of the trees before the fruit grows We see it in the plates of peaches and the kitchens of our grandmothers We see it in the faces of the children that received their first book that is all their own We see it in the love and the bags of food handed out the food pantry I see it every week as I watch you interact before worship and as I preach the good news of the gospel How are you bearing fruit? How are you showing love in the world? Our life beauty and love radiating out from you as you live in the heart of God Love one another It is not always easy to do, but it is all We are called to do This world needs a lot of beauty and love these days It needs people to love one another Gabran in his book Jesus the Son of Man looks and reimagines the New Testament scriptures in a beautiful way In his writing on Peter called on the neighbor He shows us a new way of thinking not just of how we love but who we love He shows us a way of thinking about people The about the people we should be showing beauty and love to and life to Your neighbor he says is your other self dwelling behind a wall and understanding all walls shall fall down Who knows But that your neighbor is your better self wearing another body See that you love him as you love yourself He too is a manifestation of the most high whom you do not know Love one another Take down walls so beauty can be seen by all Life can be shared more abundantly when we see our neighbors As a manifestation of God who we just have not met What beautiful ideas and ways to see the phrase love one another If we see all of those around us as the same being As we are just in a different body it's easy to live out that command We're a lot more alike than we are different I can't say it enough We can't live it enough we can't show it enough love one another He plates up peaches out for the ones you love Bring light and life with flowers and the fruit that you bear See everyone that is your neighbor as someone who is made in God's image just as much as you are No matter how different they may seem from the outside The seeds of love can spread when our walls come down All beautiful words and sentiments based in scripture and imagined by poets and caregivers One of my favorite prayers I've ever come across Is from the Jewish book of prayer You will hear me quoted every so often in sermons I pray these words a lot in my own prayer life The same commandment to love one another is seen in these words in a beautiful way I hope you see your own faith in this prayer as much as I do I hope it blesses you and can fix you and calls you to a life That is fully immersed in this new commandment of Jesus to love one another In the evenings our Jewish brothers and sisters often prayer the pray these words love God with all the power of your heart with its yearnings and passions with all you hold dear in life And with the fullness of the what the world gives you Wrap these words around your deeds as a holy garment And let them shape your home into a dwelling place of peace Wherever you go scatter the words like seeds Let them be drops of water on the thirsty earth Seal these words upon your heart That their sacredness may permeate our being coursing through your veins melding body into soul Amen As we go throughout this week Let us not just love one another But let us seek out places to blossom Places to spread the seeds of love and hope so that the fertile ground may grow Faith and belief in others Because in life In death and life beyond death God is with us We are not alone Thanks be to God Amen