18 May Sermon – Sunday, May 18, 2025
In today’s gospel reading, Jesus delivers the ancient equivalent of a vision and mission statement. We’ll talk more about what that means momentarily.
To start with, Jesus addresses what has already been accomplished: that God and the Son of Man have been glorified through each other. He speaks of what’s about to happen: His departure to a place where no one may follow.
The Book of John, Chapter thirteen began by saying, “Jesus knew that his hour had come. It was time to depart out of this world and return to the Father. He had loved his own who were in the world and loved them to the end.”
At the point where Jesus knew that the Father had given all things into his hands, that he had come from God and was going back to God, he was empowered to do what came next: to wash his disciples’ feet, face betrayal, cruel trial proceedings, crucifixion and death in order to establish a new covenant in his own blood which would guarantee forgiveness of sin for all.
He’s established a reputation of service for the good of humankind, the earth and its living creatures. With incomparable success, he has delivered powerful healing in the realms of body, mind and spirit. And everything has been offered freely with great humility. Jesus has modeled the corporate motto and chosen his successors (John 13:18b). Now it’s time they become known for what he stands for and that for which he’ll lose his life.
A vision statement looks toward the future and describes long-term aspirations, in other words, what Jesus hopes will happen once he’s gone. A vision statement inspires, motivates, and communicates goals to future generations of stakeholders. The example he gives is that his followers shall be known among all people as Jesus’ disciples.
Like any successful visionary/entrepreneur, Jesus desires consistent brand recognition. His disciples shall be known among all people. Jesus sought to revolutionize religion and market it as a free product with all profits strictly benefiting the consumer and indirectly lending great satisfaction to its founder.
The mission statement refers to how the vision will be achieved: All people will know that you are Jesus’ disciples. How? By the love you have for one another. The phrase, “By the love you have for one another” defines the organization’s purpose, values and goals, how it is meant to serve its customers, so to speak.
“I, Jesus, a resident of the Roman province of Galilee, born in Bethlehem, from the city of Nazareth, being of sound mind, not acting under duress or undue influence, and fully understanding the nature and extent of this disposition thereof, do hereby declare this to be my Last Commandment.
“Love one another, just as I have loved you. By loving one another in this way, everyone will know that you are my disciples.” Jesus has no personal property or real estate to bequeath. He can only pass on his way of living and loving.
Before Jesus came to earth, God’s love had never been so real or tangible. Never before had God’s love been demonstrated through the touch of human hands or feelings of full cleansing and forgiveness. According to Peter, people and animals are no longer separated by design, outward signs or symbols of acceptability.
One evening last week, Steve and I watched a guy trying to cast a fishing line from the steps of the Susquehanna on Front Street. He would throw the rod over his shoulder behind himself again and again. Each time, his bait and bobber would only go so far, about ten feet out, I’d guess.
He’d reel in the line so it hung just a few feet in length, then throw it over his shoulder once again for it to only travel into the water at a distance of about ten feet. He repeated these steps over and over without success.
It seemed as though he just didn’t know how to let her fly and he couldn’t figure out how to release the line off the wound up spool. This man’s way of fishing is analogous to how many Christians attempt to love others. We struggle, even though we make preparations, obtain things needed and go to places where success might be possible, even highly probable.
We travel to venues where we’re likely to encounter a catch. We go to places where we volunteer or worship, places where we know that hunger and need exist. We equip ourselves with the proper tools and bait.
The only thing we’re missing is knowing how to release the love wound up neatly and evenly, bound up in layers onto the surface of our hearts and minds like a spool which won’t release yards of fishing line of a certain tested weight.
Without receiving what we need from Christ, there’s no hope of catching anything or fooling observers. It becomes clear that we haven’t read the manual or been shown how to fish. It appears that we’ve only watched how it’s done and tried to imitate the basics.
Is there a mismatch between your spool, bait or fishing line? Is there too much tension somewhere? Perhaps your line is too heavy for the spool. In other words, does the love you offer match the rod Jesus has placed in your hands?
Can you release love freely so that it unwinds, travels on the wind, and goes some distance? Will the love you cast find people in their natural habitat where need is the greatest? How might we learn to entice a good catch using love for bait rather than an artificial lure convincingly designed to perform like the real thing?
Now let’s focus on grace and God’s provision so we can love each other just as Jesus loves us. In Peter’s vision, we are assured that God makes a way for that to happen which makes no sense to us. What is an affront to our sensibility is to be considered not only doable, but acceptable.
God brings several parties together: a mixed group, as it were, of believers who identify themselves with symbols of ritual purity like altering one’s body in a particular kind of way or by choosing to only eat certain kinds of foods. In these ways, one may become clean or maintain clean status.
But God reminds Peter (and us) that only God can make people, animals or things clean and that once God deems them as such, no one else has the right to argue that they are otherwise. In other words, what a person does or doesn’t do doesn’t make them acceptable, only God does that.
In the same way, when Jesus tells his disciples to love one another just as he has loved them, he means that loving one another is impossible any other way than in the way he loves us, by receiving his love and extending it outward, casting it freely from the source.
Rather than using our own strength to hurl or fling love far and wide like the guy standing on the steps of the Susquehanna, we will succeed not so much through trial and error, but by learning to rely on the system designed to accommodate love, the rigging meant to house and release it, the grace and love of Christ freely given so that we may show grace, give and receive love toward each other as Jesus intends.
This isn’t to imply that there’s no value in doing something incorrectly. That we try counts for something, it’s just not likely to be so successful as when we learn by firsthand experience and guided instruction.
Be encouraged knowing that the Holy Spirit is at work and is a gift that comes through baptism and/or believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. Be encouraged knowing that everytime we acknowledge failure, ask for help or repent of stubbornly persisting in ignorance, that these realizations and ways of following through will eventually lead to success.
One of my favorite realizations from today’s readings is that God’s ultimate goal is to dwell among mortals so they will be his and God will be with them/us. Of course we also love to hear, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death, mourning, crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.”
And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” The one seated on the throne did not say, “I am making all new things.” Even though John’s vision makes mention of “a new heaven and a new earth” and says that the first heaven and the first earth have passed away, the one seated on the throne did not say, “I am making a new heaven and earth.” The one seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.”
Do you see the difference? How many of you have ever experienced the joy of making a thing new again? Have you refinished a piece of furniture, mended a favorite item of clothing, or made something last by refurbishing it rather than having to replace it?
If so, you know that there is great satisfaction in the heart of one who prefers to revitalize a thing because you cherish its inherent value. Don’t get me wrong. I realize that most people find greater satisfaction in having new things, in having the freedom to procure a new and improved version of a thing that may not have been all that great to begin with.
But God is about redemption, making all things new rather than making all new things. You see, that makes you and I valuable as we are. We are not considered disposable or to be discarded for some new replacement. The earth and heavens will be made new as a dwelling place for God among mortals.
I can’t think of anything more awesome than the idea of living on a planet designed specifically for us by a God whose preference it is to envision an eternal future living here among us. Let us pray.
Dear Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Your word is trustworthy and true. You are the beginning and end of all things. To the thirsty you give water as a gift of life. So we look to you for everything we need in this life and the next. In your holy name we pray, Amen.