“Mosaic: Relationships” John 15:15 Matt 27: 57-61

We are now in the final week of Lent, when we celebrate both Jesus’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem, being greeted by the waving of palms and shouts of triumphant and joy on Palm Sunday, through the final events of Jesus life throughout the week - eating the final meal with his disciples, being arrested in the garden, standing trial, and being sentenced to death. I hope that you will join us for the variety of worship services this week, as we focus on Christ in a way that leads us into the celebration of next Sunday. 

As we journey through this week, I cannot help but think about the relationships that Jesus had with those around him. The truth is Jesus was fully human and fully divine, and as humans we are created for relationships with one another. Jesus had relationships with his disciples - those who were like a family to him as he traveled around Galilee and beyond bringing the good news of the Kingdom of God. 

In the gospel of John, we find Jesus telling his disciples that they are no longer servants, but friends, because Jesus has shared teachings with them, shared life with them. While they may not feel that they understand everything that is about to happen, may not understand everything that Jesus has taught he has not hidden it from them,They are not left in the dark. They are welcomed as friends. 

Out of his disciples, some were gifted with an even deeper relationship with Jesus. Do you know that Peter is mentioned more in the Gospels then all of the other disciples combined? John is also mentioned quite frequently. They were with Jesus during some special and profound moments in his ministry such as the transfiguration. 

We don’t like to think about Jesus not treating all of the disciples as equals, yet, isn’t that true in our lives as well? Do we have the same relationship with every person that we meet? Or even the same relationship with every person we consider a friend? No. Each relationship we have is special, and has unique influence in our lives. 

Some relationships that we have are for a season. When I was in seminary I was close to the wonderful roommates I had, but as we scattered across the far reaches of the Northeast part of the United States, we are not as close as we once were. Other friendships are deep, lasting a lifetime. I have three such friends, who are as close as family, and we pour into one another through long conversations, texting throughout the week, and visiting as often as we can. We cannot be that close to everyone we meet, yet, we consider ourselves blessed when we are that close to a few. 

But even when we have such close relationships, they are not always perfect. We need to look no further then Jesus and his disciples to realize that this is true as well. When we find Peter with Jesus around the table in the upper room, Jesus tells Peter that before the cock crows three times, in other words, before the evening turns into day that he will deny even knowing him. Peter fiercly claims that this isn’t true, that he would do anything and go any where with Jesus, yet we know that what Jesus predicted did come to pass. 

We may have experienced a time of the imperfection of relationships in our lives as well - times when things seem to break down, and often when that happens, life seems to crumble as well. The disciples were not always friendly with one another - remember that argument that the had along the road one day, when they were weary and worn, about who would considered the greatest and sit beside Jesus when he ruled? They were not kind to each other that day.

Sometimes, even friends and family miss the point. Think about how we act even with those who are closest to us when we are tried from traveling as well? Is it always pretty? No. I think back to those dear friends I have - one I have traveled a lot with, and while we have had some amazing times on those trips, there have also been moments of tension and bickering, especially when we are tired. 

Of course, that wasn’t the only time in scripture that the disciples didn’t have model relationships. As we turn to Matthew’s text today, we find that it isn’t the twelve that take away Jesus’s body and tend to it for burial. Instead it is Joesph - someone who considered himself to be a follower of Jesus, but isn’t part of the twelve. There were many such people in Jesus’s life - those who offered him hospitality along the road, like Mary and Martha, those who offered financial support, those who looked to Jesus for wisdom and guidance, but who were not part of the those who traveled with him from place to place. Those who were closest to him, those who traveled from town to town, those who were together even when they were tired and had sore feet, those men abandoned him, out of fear, out of shame, for so many other reasons, and it is someone else who stuck around on the most horrific day of Jesus’s life, as he faced his death. 

Jesus had such folks as Joseph in his life, because his life and ministry was all about building relationships. With folks who were interested in hearing about the Kingdom. With those who were in need. With those who were seeking. With those who he called friends. With those who were simply attracted to the healing that he was doing. 

What about us? Are we also pouring into people? Are we also building relationships? I was talking to someone lately about relationships and we were saying how hard it is to have deep relationships in this world today, when our days are so full, and the time that we do have, we want to spend with our families, investing in them. But as the conversation continued I noted something very interesting - in this world today, we seem to act like if we cannot be best of friends, then it isn’t worth it. Oh friends, what a deep lie that the world is selling to us. The truth is that Jesus built relationships with anyone who was drawn to him - not just those who would be his closest friends. Are we building relationships with those with those who are seeking and those who are drawn to the Jesus-light shining within us?

At the gym earlier this year I received one of the most treasured comment that I have received - it was someone from another church who sat down next to me and said that she appreciated that I deeply loved the people in this community. Friends, are we known as people who deeply love this community? Yes, love this church, but love those folks who Jesus has placed on our path to interact with and share the love of God with? 

Are we invested in our relationships, or are we caught up in the tangled brokenness of relationships today that make us hesitant to invest in the lives of people? Let us take time today to lay down the burden of broken relationships at the foot of cross, know that Jesus understands. Let us confess those times that we have turned away from relationships with others because we are worried they aren’t worth our time. And let us pick up the grace to be in relationships that share Christ, relationships that Jesus has given us the gift of the opportunity to be a part of. Amen.