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 his d
This is the sermon I preached Sunday at St. Timothy Lutheran Church , Bemus Point, NY. The gospel was John 10:22-30 . Many of you know that I lived in Bethlehem, the Holy Land in the 1980s with my then-husband and children. One of the delights of Bethlehem life was the view we had from our upstairs aa. We often saw a herd of sheep filling the street below; led by a young boy. He would occasionally say something to them in Arabic. Did you know that sheep understand Arabic? He rarely looked back to check to see if they were all following him. He didn’t need to. He knew his sheep. Today’s gospel demonstrates such a relationship. Jesus’ followers are likened to sheep, highlighting their relationship to the Father and the Son. Additionally, there are benefits because of that relationship: protection and eternal life. Life is a major theme of John’s gospel. Relationship punctuates the conclusion of today’s gospel—that between the Father and the Son that we have the privilege of entering in