Claimed, gathered and sent

Gospel: John 14:23-29 23 Jesus answered [Judas (not Iscariot),] “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.   24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.   25 “I have said these things to you while I am still with you.   26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.   27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.   28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I.   29 And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe.”   ...

This is the sermon I preached this Sunday at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The gospel text is John 13:31-35.  We hear these words every Maundy Thursday in Holy Week. Jesus has just washed his disciples’ feet, including Judas’. Judas has departed from the others so he could betray Jesus. On the heels of this, Jesus says NOW he’s been glorified. We have again one of those circuitous, seemingly convoluted statements about Jesus being glorified, the Father being glorified in him and so on. Now to the crux of today’s message. What does Jesus mean by “a new commandment?” Elsewhere, we hear about the need to love one another and others in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. What’s new about that? There’s an additional piece Jesus brings into this commandment; a further lens through which to view love. “…as I have loved you…love one another” (v. 34). The newness is a “new” understanding. What does Jesus’ love toward his disciples look like? We see a small piece of it in the way Jesus addresses h...