John 13:31-35
Before we begin proper, a practical demonstration to start with…
Have three large jugs to hand...two thirds full.
1 – two thirds full with water
2. Some juice
3. Some icing sugar.
Leave in the table on the front and centre.
Ok, let’s leave that there for the moment.
Today we are going to have to navigate some treacherous and deep theological waters if we are to get to the paradise island that is the last verse of our reading today. There’s a huge temptation to ignore the first three verses of today’s reading, and jump straight to the lovely bit. But we shouldn’t do that really. We should do a bit of hard graft. We ought to earn our Sunday lunch. So let’s look at today’s reading together.
We’re back in Maundy Thursday territory, as Jesus has just given the piece of bread to Judas; announcing him as the one who will betray him in the coming hours. And so Judas ups and leaves, and we are left with Jesus and the 11….
And then Jesus says this….
“Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.
What? Confusing eh? What’s Jesus talking about? Well, He’s referring to the coming suffering that He will experience on the cross. In John’s gospel particularly, Jesus’s death on the cross is referred to as a thing worthy of glory.
Now this is odd because being crucified was about as undignified as you could get. There was no glory in being crucified. There was no glory in being paraded through the streets, being abused and beaten, only to be lifted high upon a cross and left there to die.
And yet Jesus says that He will be glorified, and that through that impending act, God will also receive glory too.
It’s not a giant ‘cop out’ to say that we don’t always understand how the relationship between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit works. Be very wary of a preacher who says they’ve got it all sown up and can explain it neatly for you.
Thankfully you’ve come to know me and my lack of abilities quite well over the last two years. And, no doubt, my painful honesty.
But, despite our confusion, one thing that we do know is that The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are inseparable.
Somehow, in the workings out of the Trinity, we have One God in Three Persons. But they are not three separate Gods and therefore, seeing as they are One God, they are inseparable.
You cannot have God the Father without the Son.
You cannot have the Son without the Father
You cannot have the Holy Spirit without either of the other two.
And how do we know this? Well, simply because Jesus tells us this.
Just as He is in the Father and the Father is in the Son, so Jesus prays for us all to be united with one another just as He and the Father are united (No mention of the Holy Spirit yet, but we’ll be getting on to that over the next few weeks.)
And so, just as they are completely inseparable, so it is with the actions that happen to them. When Jesus is crucified, it brings glory not only to The Son, but also to the Father too.
Because you can’t have one without the other.
*Points to the ribena…..pours ribena into water and then adds sugar.
Now, you try separating this lot. Three separate persons, each distinctive and yet now, totally inseparable.
You can’t have one without the other two…..
Are you with me so far?
Good, the waters get a little less choppy from here, trust me.
The Jesus goes on to say this…
“A new command I give you: Love one another.
As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Perhaps one of the most challenging things about the message that Jesus gives us today is that we so often take it for granted. The central message of Christianity throughout the world that you can never have enough love.
We are to love God with everything we have...with our hearts and our souls and our minds and our strength.
We are to love our neighbours just like we love ourselves
We cannot be separated from the love that God has for us. Nothing can do that….we know the list, don’t we.
Not death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
It’s important that we remind ourselves of these things every now and then because Jesus tells us in today’s reading that it is our love for others which will set us apart.
Make us recognisable, make us distinctive in our world.
And I would argue that it’s very, very difficult to be a Christian without demonstrating love.
Now, God knows, lots of Christians seem work very hard at acting out their faith without demonstrating love, but it’s very, very difficult.
How can you take on board the message of God’s love for each of us, and then not be moved by the suffering of the people of Ukraine, for example.
How can you accept God’s creation in each one of us; how we are uniquely made, and yet not weep at the state of the mental well-being of our young people.
How can you treasure the Kingdom of God in which Lord washes our stinky, smelly feet, and then not want to help the people who are having to choose between heating their homes or eating three meals a day.
To be a Christian is to love, because God is love. And He is in us and we are in Him.
*Once again, points to the jugs with Ribena, water and sugar.
Just as the Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit are inseparable, so it is with Us and God, and His great love for us.
Those three things are……Well, shall we say they are inseparable. You can’t do God without being filled with His love. You can be full of love without being with God, even if you don’t recognise it at the time.
This week, as you go about your business remember yourselves as one of our three parts here. And when the opportunity arises, which’ll probably be quite often if you’re looking out for it, why not demonstrate love for your fellow humans on planet Earth…
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, says Jesus, if you love one another.”
Amen
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