Surrounded By Love

This was shared with the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church. What are your thoughts?

Gospel: John 14:15-21

[Jesus said to the disciples:] ¹⁵“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. ¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. ¹⁷This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.
  ¹⁸“I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. ¹⁹In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. ²⁰On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. ²¹They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”

 

I’ve highlighted a few verses in Sunday’s gospel to visually demonstrate how this reading is completely bookended by love. Reread this text and as you do so, think about how everything Jesus is talking about is surrounded by love.

This is a continuation of last Sunday’s gospel text, with Jesus comforting his disciples in light of his upcoming crucifixion. Jesus promises that the presence of the Holy Spirit will be with us forever, unlike the physical Jesus who remained on this earth for only 33 years.

But does it sound a bit like a quid pro quo, “If you love me…keep my commandments…They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and…will be loved by my Father, and I will love them…”?  The thing is, God does in us and for us what we are unable to do ourselves. God’s Spirit works in us to love Jesus. Out of that love for Jesus, we will naturally keep Jesus’ commandments. What are they in John’s gospel? “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵ By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (13:34).

And it’s not just that the Spirit is with Jesus’ followers, but is in them—in us. It’s a great love fest that Jesus tells us about, just like that of the relationship of the Godhead—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is the relationship into which we are invited. Let us love one another as we have been loved by Christ. 

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