{"id":511415,"date":"2001-05-13T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2001-05-13T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-07-16T08:15:51","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T12:15:51","slug":"love-you-forever-begins-easter-5-c-2001","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/sermons\/love-you-forever-begins-easter-5-c-2001\/","title":{"rendered":"Love You Forever Begins…, Easter 5 (C) – 2001"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

[The first part of this sermon talks about Love You Forever, by Robert Munsch, a celebrated author of children\u2019s books. This is one of those books that appeals to adults as well as children. If the preacher has this book available, it might be helpful to read it (it is short) before going on to connect it to the Gospel message.]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Love You Forever begins with a mother holding her new baby. She rocks him and sings a little song:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll love you forever,
I\u2019ll like you for always,
As long as I\u2019m living,
My baby you\u2019ll be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the years go by, of course, the baby grows. He becomes a toddler, and get into everything; and his mother says: This kid is driving me CRAZY! But at night she still sings him their special song:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll love you forever,
I\u2019ll like you for always,
As long as I\u2019m living,
My baby you\u2019ll be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The baby grows some more; he is nine years old, never wants to take a bath, and says bad words when his grandma visits. His mother feels like selling him to the Zoo. But still, at night, she sings their song:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll love you forever,
I\u2019ll like you for always,
As long as I\u2019m living,
My baby you\u2019ll be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The boy becomes a teenager, and, of course, that\u2019s the worst! He has strange friends and he wears strange clothes, and he listens to strange music. His mother feels like she lives in a Zoo! But guess what? At night, when he is safely asleep, she still sings to him:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll love you forever.
I\u2019ll like you for always,
As long as I\u2019m living,
My baby you\u2019ll be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, the boy is all grown up and moves into his own house. But sometimes, on dark nights, the mother drives across town to his house, creeps into his house, and sings\u2013well, you know what she sings:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll love you forever,
I\u2019ll like you for always,
As long as I\u2019m living,
My baby you\u2019ll be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At last, the mother is old and sick. She sings to her boy, but she isn\u2019t able to finish the song. Her son, however, has learned his lesson well. He knows what to do. Holding his mother close, he rocks her in his arms, and sings to her:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll love you forever,
I\u2019ll like you for always,
As long as I\u2019m living,
My Mommy you\u2019ll be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And when he returns home that night, he stands for a long time at the top of the stairs. Then, going into the room where his own new baby daughter is sleeping, he takes her in his arms and sings:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll love you forever,
I\u2019ll like you for always,
As long as I\u2019m living,
My baby you\u2019ll be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And we can see the cycle of love between parent and child beginning all over again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today\u2019s Gospel reading comes from the chapters of St. John\u2019s Gospel known as \u201cThe Last Discourse.\u201d It takes place at the Last Supper, on the night before Jesus went to the Cross. In these chapters, Jesus has urgent messages for his Apostles, and for us; things that he wants to tell us before he goes away. \u201cI am with you only a little longer,\u201d he says, and \u201cyou will look for me, \u201cbut where I am going you cannot come.\u201d And because the Apostles could not at that time follow where he was going, he gives them a new commandment: that they should love one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now what makes this a new commandment? It is certainly not the first time in Holy Scripture that we are told to love one another. We are to love, not just with natural, human love, but as a sign of divine love. And this commandment is so important, Jesus says, that it is the hallmark of being a Christian: \u201cBy this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus\u2019 commandment is that we must love one another. And he gives this commandment because he is going away, because we will look for him but cannot follow where he is going. But we will find him in the love that we share. We will find him whenever the love of our brothers and sisters becomes a sign of God\u2019s love for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, on this Fifth Sunday of Easter, we in the United States are also celebrating Mother\u2019s Day. We can find a deep connection between the kind of mother\u2019s love that is reflected in Robert Munsch\u2019s story and the new commandment that Jesus gives us in today\u2019s Gospel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of us first experienced love in the arms of our mothers\u2013of both of our parents. The effect of a parent\u2019s love on the growing child cannot be overestimated. Any priest or minister or rabbi can tell you that an adult who has experienced unconditional love as a child finds it much easier, even as an adult, to believe in and accept God\u2019s love. It is the adult who did not receive this kind of love who winds up in the priest\u2019s office saying, \u201cGod couldn\u2019t love ME, or, \u201cGod couldn\u2019t forgive ME.\u201d Or perhaps they never visit the priest at all, but just go through life feeling unloved and unworthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mothers, and fathers, are not perfect. Even the most loving of parents have no doubt made mistakes with their children. If we grew up in a loving environment, then we are fortunate. If we didn\u2019t receive the kind of love we needed when were young, it is never too late. God\u2019s love is always available. God does indeed say to us, \u201cI\u2019ll love you forever, for always\u2013my child you will be.\u201d And God calls us to be instruments of God\u2019s love for our brothers and sisters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At their recent meeting, the bishops of the Episcopal Church were joined by the Primates of Papua New Guinea and Central Africa. After participating in the Holy Eucharist, Archbishop Bernard Malango of Central Africa said that he was interested to see the way we in the American church pass the Peace: \u201cThe peace of the Lord be always with you.\u201d He found this meaningful, but also shared with the other bishops something that happens in his country. There, he told them, the custom is to take the hand of the person next to you, to look in that person\u2019s eyes and say, \u201cI love the face of Christ I see.\u201d I LOVE THE FACE OF CHRIST I SEE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On this Mother\u2019s Day, perhaps we call to mind the faces of our mothers, and our fathers, and others whose love has been a reflection of Christ\u2019s love for us. Let us thank God for them, and pray that God will also use us as icons, as windows, of God\u2019s love for others. And as we share the Peace today, let us look into the faces of our brothers and sisters and love the face if Christ we find there. For by this everyone will know that we are Christ\u2019s disciples, that we have love for one another. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This sermon was written by the Rev. Barbara Beam<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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