Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me

 

 "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.  And where I go you know, and the way you know."  

 

Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"  Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."  

 

Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."  Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?  He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?  Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?  The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.  Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.

 

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.  And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.   If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

 

"If you love Me, keep My commandments.  And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever -- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you."

 

- John 14:1-17 

 

This week the lectionary focuses on Jesus' final discourse to the apostles at the Last Supper, known as the Farewell Discourse.  He has given the disciples one final, new commandment.  He said to them, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:34-35).  This is the foundation for His Church going forward. 

 

  "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.  And where I go you know, and the way you know."   My study Bible comments that many mansions is a word-picture, a kind of parable, of an abundance of living accommodations around a central courtyard.  "Mansions" also speaks of the multitude of blessings that await those who enter the Kingdom of God.  In the ancient world, it was typical that extended families formed clans in which living accommodations were spaced together, and extended as family expanded.  Hence, "many mansions" conjures a picture of a very large extended family.  See Mark 3:32-35.

 

 Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"  Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."   Jesus defines Himself here as the way, the truth, and the life.  My study Bible remarks that the way we reach the Father is forever established in the Person and work of the Son.  The Son is the truth because He is the unique revelation of the Father.  Additionally, Christ is the life who became Man so that we may have life, and as He is our life, not even death can stop us from coming to Him.  Furthermore, only in Christ can we come to know the Father, because only in Christ is the way of all truth and all life found.  The word in Greek translated as "way" is also used to mean road or path.

 

 Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."  Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?  He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?"  My study Bible explains that our response to Christ determines our relationship with God the Father.  It says that if we reject Christ then we will never find the Father; but if we believe in Christ and follow Him, then we ourselves will become "children of God," who live eternally in the love of the Father (John 1:12).  

 

"Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?  The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.  Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves."  While human beings are made in God's image (Genesis 1:26), my study Bible reminds us, the Incarnate Son is Himself the exact image of the Father (Colossians 1:15).  Jesus did not say, "I am the Father," for He isn't the Father.  Instead, here He declares that He and the Father are one in essence, and undivided in nature, while being distinct Persons of the Godhead, the Holy Trinity.  

 

 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father."  My study Bible comments that the greater works indicate that Christ's working through mere humans after Pentecost is greater than His performing signs and wonders directly.  These works find testimony in the Book of Acts.  They include spreading the gospel throughout the world, miraculous healings, and raising the dead.  

 

"And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.   If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."  According to my study Bible, to pray in Christ's name does not mean to simply attach the phrase "in Jesus' name we pray" to the end of prayers.  To pray in Christ's name means to pray according to His will.  Just as an emissary of a king can only be said to be speaking in the king's name if he says what the king would want him to say, my study Bible explains, so also we can only be said to be praying in the name of Christ when we pray according to what He wants.  The purpose here is not to get God to do our will (that would be akin to practicing magic), but for us to learn to pray properly, according to God's will (Matthew 6:10).  

 

"If you love Me, keep My commandments.  And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever -- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you."  Helper (in the Greek,  Παρακλητος/Parakletos, often rendered "Paraklete") is a reference to the Holy Spirit.  This title, my study Bible explains, also means "Comforter," "Counselor," and "Advocate."  The Spirit of truth is in every believer, my study Bible notes here, and we are called to know Him.  Moreover, the Holy Spirit prays in us and for us when we do not know how to pray, thereby enabling us to pray in Christ's name (John 14:3-14; Romans 8:26) and giving us words of witness when we speak the gospel (Mark 13:11).

 

Let us consider what it means to pray -- and indeed, to live -- in the name of Christ.  For one thing, as we read in Jesus' words here, where Christ is, so the Father is also.  This means, additionally, the presence of the Holy Spirit, for where One of the Holy Trinity is, there the others are also.  The word used most often for the Holy Trinity, in describing the essence of God, is consubstantial.  This means that although Father, Son, and Spirit are three distinct Persons, they are one in their essence or substance.  So, therefore, Jesus can say, in His Incarnation as the Christ, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father."  Whatever we see Christ do, whatever we read that He said, the commandments He has given, and all the ways in which He has instructed the disciples from the beginning of His ministry right through this moment recorded at the Last Supper, He has reflected God the Father.  When, for example, He taught, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:34-35), this commandment also reflects to us the Father, and indeed, the Holy Spirit.  St. John, the author of this Gospel, is also the one who wrote in one of his Epistles, "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love" (1 John 4:8).  As followers of Christ, so we are also called to participate in His life, and share in this nature; that is, to grow in "image and likeness" as we are able and through cooperation with the Holy Spirit, the Helper Christ names in today's reading.  In seeking to guide us regarding praying "in His name" we should consider that Christ Himself has said, as cited above, "For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother" (Mark 3:35).  This is about a lived reality, a participation in the life of Christ.  This understanding is particularly embodied in the Eucharist, which Jesus will introduce to His disciples at this Last Supper, taking place just prior to His betrayal and arrest, shortly before His death and Resurrection.  This lived reality is so essential to the understanding of Christ's faith that we receive Christ as a gift from the Father, Incarnate as the human Jesus, so that we understand what it is to be "embodied" in His name:  just as He explains that those who see Him see the Father, and so we are meant also to grow -- through God's grace and our acceptance and participation in it -- in the same image and likeness.  Thus, His final commandment that we love one another as He has loved us -- and that by so doing, all will know that we are His disciples.  In the same sense, our prayer, if we truly pray in His name, is to reflect our "embodiment" of our faith, our participation to the greatest extent possible for us at any time, in His life and the life He offers to us.  Let us endeavor to find His way, and truth, and life for us.  Jesus begins, "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me."  In the Greek, to "believe" is translated from a word whose root is to trust.  Let us commit ourselves to this trust, for this is the way we learn how to live.

 

 

 

This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you

 

 "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than that, than to lay down one's life for his friends.  You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.  No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.  You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.  These things I command you, that you love one another.

"If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love its own.  Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.  Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.'  If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.  If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.  But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.  If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.  He who hates Me hates My Father also.  If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father.  But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, 'They hated Me without a cause.'

"But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.  And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning."

 

- John 15:12-27 

 

In our current readings, Jesus and the disciples have just completed the Last Supper, the Passover Supper before His Crucifixion.  He has begun what is called the Farewell Discourse to the disciples (beginning with this reading).  In yesterday's reading, Jesus said, "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.  You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.  Abide in Me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.  I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.  If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.  By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.  As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.  If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.  These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full." 

 

"This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than that, than to lay down one's life for his friends."  Jesus repeats His new commandment.  My study bible comments that many religions and philosophies teach people to love one another.  But what makes Christ's commandment new is that it gives us a measure of love required, an example:  to love as Christ loved us.  Here He states the measure of that love, to lay down one's life for his friends.  

"You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.  No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.  You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.  These things I command you, that you love one another."   My study bible notes that friendship is higher than servanthood.  Servants obey their masters out of fear or a sense of duty.  But friends obey out of love, and an internal desire to do what is good and right.  Abraham was called "a friend of God" (James 2:23) because he obeyed God out of the belief of his heart.  The disciples, and truly all the saints, are honored as friends of Christ because they freely obey His commandments out of love.  Those who have this spirit of loving obedience are open to receive and understand the revelations of the Father.  

"If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love its own.  Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.  Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.'  If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.  If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.  But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.  If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.  He who hates Me hates My Father also.  If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father.  But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, 'They hated Me without a cause.'"   According to my study bible, the term world is used in several distinct ways in Scripture.  In some cases, "world" refers to all that is glorious, beautiful, and redeemable in God's creation (John 3:16).   Other times, "world" refers to that which is finite in contrast to that which is eternal (John 11:9, 18:36).  In yet other instances, however, as here, the term indicates all that is in rebellion against God (see also John 8:23).  In this latter case it is connected with the power and influence of the "ruler of this world" (John 12:31).   "They hated Me without a cause" --  see Psalm 69:4.

 

 "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.  And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning."  My study bible explains God's working salvation in the world:  the Son sends the Holy Spirit from the Father.  In terms of the divine nature, the Holy Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father alone.  Thus, the Holy Spirit receives His eternal existence only from the Father.  The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed confesses believe "in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father."  My study bible explains that while the Son is begotten of the Father alone, the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father alone according to Christ's words here.  The Father is the source, the Fountainhead of both Son and Holy Spirit.

 

In today's reading, Jesus speaks of both love and of hate.  Of love, He teaches us a new commandment.  When He specifically offers this new commandment, it is something we simply must pay attention to.  There are no two ways about it.  This language, "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you," and, "These things I command you, that you love one another," are meant to emphatically give this commandment to us.  In this Farewell Discourse, this is not the first place this command occurs either.  Earlier, Jesus taught the disciples, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:34-35).   Let's note that this commandment doesn't just go one way, but speaks to us corporately, as a group.  We are to love one another.  It is so important as a command, that this is the one way He states that all people will know that we are His disciples.  This love of one another is meant to distinguish Christians from those of other faiths and philosophies.  Well, how good are we at loving one another?  Do we put the proper emphasis on this in our Churches and communities, in our families?  Let us note that the command to love one another comes in the midst of another setting Jesus proclaims here, that of the world that will hate His followers.  We are taught to expect persecution from those who do not love God.  Let us note this is not about those who declare themselves openly opposed to God, or non-worshipers, or atheists.  It is about those who cannot internally accept a depth of message of love, a commandment to love one another.  It is a comment on those who may profess faith, but do not have the love of God the Father in their hearts.  It is also a comment on the influence of the "ruler of this world."  That is, the spirit of the one who hates truth, the opposition to the Spirit of truth.  So once again, we are presented with an image of life as in the arena, a struggle, a contest.  But note here once more that the real emphasis is on the distinction of Christ's followers as those who love one another.  More specifically, on those who seek to love one another as Christ has loved us.  We are, in that sense, our own sort of sanctuary within a hostile world that does not love the truth of Christ's commandments.  But in this picture, we are faced with one sort of problem that most people don't seem to think of as a problem.  What does love look like?  How do we know what it is, and how to practice it?  We may have a depth of feeling or understanding when someone loves us, a sense of trust.  But practicing love is sometimes a difficult road.  It doesn't come without strings, or values attached.  Love is often confused with indulgence of passions or desires, but this is far from the truth of what love will teach, just as a good parent gives their child guidance as to what is destructive and what is healthful and life-giving.  Hence, we have the commandments of Christ, and the life of Christ, to show us what love is.  Finally, we have the Helper, the Holy Spirit, to testify of Christ, to teach us what is good, to illuminate the word we're given.  With these things, Jesus presents us with a full picture of our place in the world as His disciples, His followers.  I doubt that He expected perfection, but He arms us with help in the midst of a hostile world.  He teaches us about love.  His example is one of tremendous strength and courage, coupled with the willingness to sacrifice for love, and the gentle kindness of One who knows both knows our problems, and will be firm in what is needed of us.   Therefore, as Christ's disciples, our call still remains the same.  We are commanded to love one another as He has loved us.  Our constant companion should be the question and reminder that we need to do this.  How do we love one another as He has loved us?  How will the world know that we are His disciples?  This is our primary calling, even in a world that will hate us for doing so.

I am the way, the truth, and the life

 

 "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father's house there are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.  And where I go you know, and the way you know."  Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"  Jesus aid to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.

"If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."  Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."  Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?  He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?  Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?  The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.  Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. 

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to the My Father.  And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."

 

- John 14:1–14 

 

In our previous reading and commentary, Jesus spoke of the light and the darkness in this world, as He approached the certainty that the religious leaders would have Him put to death.  He said, "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say?  'Father, save Me from this hour'?  But for this purpose I came to this hour.  Father, glorify Your name."  Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again."  Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered.  Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him."  Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.  Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.  And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."  This He said, signifying by what death He would die.  The people answered Him, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'?  Who is this Son of Man?"  Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you.  Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.  While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."  These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.    

  "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father's house there are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you."  Our lectionary readings today begin at chapter 14.  The setting is the Last Supper.  The lectionary has skipped over John 12:37-50, and John 13, which included the washing of the disciples' feet by Christ, the revelation of His betrayer, and His prediction that St. Peter would deny Him three times before the rooster crowed.  Jesus also taught the disciples, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."    This commandment of love is new because of the standard it sets:  the love Christ shows.  He will die not only for His friends, but even those enemies who might be saved by His death.  My study bible comments regarding the image of many mansions that this is a word-picture of an abundance of living accommodations around a central courtyard.  "Mansions" also speaks of the multitude of blessings that await those who enter the Kingdom of God.  

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.  And where I go you know, and the way you know."  Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"  Jesus aid to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me."  Similarly to the way He spoke of Himself as the light of the world, here Jesus speaks of Himself as the way, the truth, and the life -- the One by whom all may come to the Father.  My study bible comments that the way we reach the Father is forever established in the Person and work of the Son.  The Son is the truth because He is the unique revelation of the Father.  Christ is the life who became Man so that we might have life, and as He is our life, not even death can hinder us from coming to Him.  It says that only in Christ can one come to know the Father, for only in Christ is the way of all truth and all life found.  The way is a translation of a Greek word that also means "path" or "road."

"If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."  Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."  Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?  He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?"   On the statement, he who has seen Me has seen the Father, my study bible observes that our response to Christ determines our relationship with the Father.  It notes that if we reject Christ then we will never find the Father; but if we believe in Christ and follow Him, then we ourselves will become "children of God," living eternally in the love of the Father (John 1:12).  

"Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?  The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.  Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves."  My study bible explains that while human beings are made "in" God's image (Genesis 1:26), the Incarnate Son "is" Himself the exact image of the Father (Colossians 1:15).  Christ doesn't say, "I am the Father," for He is not the First Person of the Trinity.  But He declares that He and the Father are one in essence and undivided in nature, while being distinct Persons of the Godhead.

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to the My Father."  My study bible elaborates that the greater works indicate Christ's working through mere humans after Pentecost is greater than His performing signs and wonders directly.  These works, which are attested to in the Book of Acts, will include spreading the gospel throughout the world, miraculous healings, and even raising the dead.

"And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."   To pray in Christ's name, my study bible says, doesn't mean simply to attach the phrase "in Jesus' name we pray" to the end of prayers.  Instead, to pray in Christ's name means to pray according to His will.  Just as an emissary of a king could only be said to be speaking in the king's name if he says what the king would want him to say, so also we can only be said to be praying in the name of Christ if we pray according to what He wants.  The purpose here, it says, is not to get God to do our will, but for us to learn to pray properly, according to God's will (Matthew 6:10).

As we go through our days, our thinking is mostly centered around ourselves.  This is natural to human beings.  What would I like to do? What are my goals?  What do I need to do right now, or what are my needs?  We are, in some sense, self-directed beings.  But Christ calls on us to augment our thinking.  Rather than being merely self-centered, we are asked to become God-centered.  As Christians, we are asked to become Christ-centered, informing our lives, and thereby living our lives, "in His name."  This is an important, essential concept to Christianity.  This does not mean merely asking ourselves, in some sort of intellectual capacity, "What would Jesus do?"  To have faith in Christ is something deeper than an intellectual decision.  Prayer involves something much deeper than a rational discourse about what I want and how I might justify it and that I desire God to do something for me.   To live as Christ is the way, the truth, and the life is to live in a much deeper kind of participation in the life of Christ.  To truly pray in Christ's name involves a mystical kind of closeness that is much deeper than the intellect can fathom.  It is not that the intellect is left out of anything in our relationship with Christ, but that the whole of the person becomes a part of this participation, not simply a part of us.  To pray in Christ's name, and to live with Christ as the way, the truth, and the life is to involve ourselves in a mystical participation in which our focus in life becomes centered around Christ in a deep way within ourselves, within the heart.  Prayer can come as close as the breath, an abiding sense in which prayer stays with us throughout the day, and we have a silent sort of assent within asking for guidance, and for the light of Christ to illuminate the way for us, our path in life, even in the smallest choices.  This is not simply a negotiation of rules or principles, or a philosophical disposition toward something.  It's not about following political or social slogans, things that sound good and virtuous just because they make us look good socially, or even in our own eyes.  The depth of conscience is much more than an embedded pattern of social participation, what is acceptable and what is not.  Rather it involves an orientation not simply to "self" alone, but orientated to Christ as the One closer to us than a breath, made closer by Christ's love and spiritual adoption.  This is what it is to live and pray "in Christ's name."   This is not even something we can do or achieve by ourselves, but as we will read in the following verses, Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit, the Helper, who will help bring us into this awareness and understanding.  It is our assent we give in a kind of mystical union with Christ, a growing closer and deeper through time, in which we find ourselves changing internally, by discarding accepted behaviors of understanding that conflict with the path Christ asks us to walk.   It is a way of living life face-to-face with Christ, who gives us a perspective on ourselves not possible otherwise.  As Christians, this is the way to find "true self" -- our image as given by Creator.  We are meant to negotiate an imperfect world with the light of Christ, and find ourselves in so doing.  In this perspective, identity -- the true sense of ourselves -- is a dynamic journey, a way of discovering, while building faith.   We find a growing dependency on God, wherein we become part of not simply our family home once upon a time, or our chosen society, but a much bigger house:  the house of Christ.  This is what it is to seek His way and live what is, in effect, a life of prayer "in His name."  People often speak of repentance as a reorientation toward God.  But a life in which we seek to "remember God" is a constant such reorientation, a reminder that we do not live to ourselves alone.  When Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life," He is offering to us an open hand, a journey of faith, the way to find our truth and meaning.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another

 So, when he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him.  If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately.  Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer.  You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, 'Where I am going, you cannot come,' so now I say to you.  A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, where are You going?"  Jesus answered him, "Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward."  Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You now?  I will lay down my life for Your sake."  Jesus answered him, "Will you lay down your life for My sake?  Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times."

- John 13:31-38

In our recent readings, it is the Passover feast, and Jesus has been in the temple.  Yesterday we read that although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke:  "Lord, who has believed our report?  And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?"  Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again:  "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them."  These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.  Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.   Then Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me.  And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.  I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.  And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.  He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him -- the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.  For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.  And I know that His command is everlasting life.  Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak."

So, when he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him.  If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately.  Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer.  You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, 'Where I am going, you cannot come,' so now I say to you."   As it is Holy Week in the West (for the Orthodox and other Eastern Churches, Holy Week is next week), the lectionary skips various passages.  I have chosen for today to include the earlier verses 13:31-35 (the lectionary includes only vv. 36-38).  What has happened in the verses between yesterday's reading and today's is found in 13:1-30, which includes the washing of the feet of the disciples and also the identification of Judas as Jesus' betrayer.   The present reading is set at the Passover Supper of Jesus and His disciples, known as the Last Supper.  My study bible comments that the Feast of Passover commemorated God's passing over the Israelites when God killed the firstborn of the Egyptians (Exodus 12).  It is also linked with Israel's crossing over the Red Sea (Exodus 14) to escape from slavery to freedom.  In Christ, it notes, we escape death and pass over from this world, which is enslaved to sin, and into the Kingdom of God.   After Judas had gone out from the Passover Supper to betray Christ, the Lord presents the final teachings of His earthly ministry.  This is frequently called the "Farewell Discourse."  The discourse continues through chapters 14-17, and includes Jesus' High Priestly Prayer (chapter 17).  Here Jesus calls his death "glorification."   My study bible comments that He does not fear death, and He accepts it willingly.   It notes that the Father and the Son are glorified through the death of Christ, because His death destroys all powers of darkness.  Jesus references His dialogue with the leadership in the temple (specifically, 8:21; see this reading).

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."   My study bible notes that while many religions and philosophies teach people to love one another, Christ's new commandment does something more.  It adds the measure that is asked of our love; we have Christ as our example.  This depth of love for one another is the sign of His disciples, how all will know that they are of such.

Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, where are You going?"  Jesus answered him, "Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward."  Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You now?  I will lay down my life for Your sake."  Jesus answered him, "Will you lay down your life for My sake?  Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times." Amidst the new and final commandment, there are our own shortcomings, our failed resolutions, and our abiding need to learn to rely on Christ and the strength that is not of ourselves.   Jesus predicts Peter's betrayal, but also, my study bible notes, He prophecies the martyrdom of Simon Peter as well, which Peter will suffer for the sake of Christ by being crucified upside down in Rome in about AD 67 (see 21:18-19).  Thus, Peter will also serve Christ's new command to "love one another as I have loved you."

Spiritual battle, for enemies -- study bible comment

What is a spiritual battle?  This may seem like a strange question to ask at this time, as we prepare for Easter, but in effect Good Friday is the right time to ask this question (for the Eastern Orthodox, that is next week).  Jesus prepares the disciples with His Farewell Discourse, giving them a new command that would seem to have nothing at all to do with a spiritual battle.  Jesus tells the disciples, and all those who will follow in the future, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."  We are to be characterized by love for one another.  How often do we fall short of that commandment, Christ's "new" commandment?  But, in effect, Christ will not only declare this commandment, He will also live it.  He will go to His death in enacting His love for His friends.  We are given Simon Peter's declaration to Jesus, "I will lay down my life for Your sake."  And then there is Jesus' response to him: "Will you lay down your life for My sake?  Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times."  The great contradiction between the love that Jesus professes is a new commandment for all of them, and the prophecy of Peter's denial (despite his declaration that he would lay down his life for Christ's sake) give us a juxtaposition of our souls and hearts, and the constant battle that we wage to move forward into our faith.  My study bible also says that Christ's commandment is proven out by the measure of His love, that not only did He lay down His life for His friends, but even those who are His enemies.  That is, not for their error or their sin, but for their salvation.  In the Revelation, Christ says, "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent" (Revelation 3:19).  Everything we do in the context of our faith, and in the love that Jesus commands us to practice, is for the salvation of the whole world.  It is not so that evil triumphs, or so that we support evil or heinous behavior.   We do not pray for others so that they will continue to abuse us, or practice unloving behavior.  But a spiritual battle exists in the world for the salvation of all, for the triumph of the Light.  May our Easter which awaits us triumph in that light, that whatever darkness has been exposed through our Lent make way for a greater and deeper understanding, a more perfect love, and a true reconciliation in the glory of Christ our God and our hope.

Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward

"Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer.  You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, 'Where I am going, you cannot come,' so now I say to you.  A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, where are You going?"  Jesus answered him, "Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward."  Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You now?  I will lay down my life for Your sake."  Jesus answered him, "Will you lay down your life for My sake?  Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times."

- John 13:36-38

On Tuesday, we read that Jesus said,  "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say?  'Father, save Me from this hour'?  But for this purpose I came to this hour.  Father, glorify Your name."  Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again."  Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered.  Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him."  Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.  Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.  And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."  This He said signifying by what death He would die.  The people answered Him, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'?  Who is this Son of Man?"  Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you.  Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.  While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."  These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.

 "Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer.  You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, 'Where I am going, you cannot come,' so now I say to you.  A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."   As it is Holy Week (in the Western Churches and the Armenian Apostolic Church; Eastern Orthodox and Coptic Orthodox celebrate Easter 2015 on April 12th), the lectionary varies in the passages we read.  As I enjoy blogging the Gospels in the same order as the verses appear in the text, I have chosen the reading that fits between chapter 12 (Tuesday) and chapter 14 which will will begin this Monday.  It is just two verses (John 13:36-38), but I have added these verses before them to include an essential teaching of Christ.  My study bible makes the point that many religions and philosophies teach people to love one another.  But what makes this particular commandment new, it says, is the measure required of our love:  we must love as Christ has loved us, laying down His life not only for His friends, but even for His enemies.  It is a significant sign of this mission that a great part of it is just that, to teach us what love is, does, looks like.   God manifest in human form can do that as no other teaching form can do.  Ultimately, with Christ, everything goes back to the Father and the relationship He has with the Father; from this we learn, too, what love is, means, looks like -- and that we participate in this source of love ourselves.

Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, where are You going?"  Jesus answered him, "Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward."  Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You now?  I will lay down my life for Your sake."  Jesus answered him, "Will you lay down your life for My sake?  Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times."   My study bible tells us that Jesus gives a prophecy here of the martyrdom of Simon Peter, which he wold suffer for the sake of Christ by being crucified upside down in Rome in about AD 67 ("you shall follow Me afterward").  

In today's reading we're given not only Jesus' prophecy of the future death of Peter as martyr, but also, of course, the prophesy of Peter's denials which will follow more immediately.  We know our human weakness.  It's as if today's reading is juxtaposing for us the great standard of Christ, as well as our very human tendencies.  And really, maybe that is in some sense what Holy Week is all about.  It invites us to think about the standards (of love, for example, in loving one another as He has loved us) set for us.  Christ knows the eventual work of Peter as a great apostle and leader of apostles, a pillar of the Church.  He knows Peter's eventual martyrdom for the love of Christ and for His sheep.  And yet, He knows Peter as the one who will deny Him three times that very night, despite Peter's plea to follow and lay down his life for Christ's sake.  Part of loving us means that Christ knows our natures and our weaknesses, but He sees things we can't necessarily see -- or, if we do, we see by God's grace:  who are the sheep who also hold His kind of love (John 10:14).  As we've observed most particularly through the chapters we've read in John's Gospel, Jesus always goes back to the Father.  If you want to understand anything, you must go to the First Source, the Father.  Christ showing, living, and being love in the world is a reflection of the Father to us; where He is, there the Father is also.  Everything is teaching in this mission.  But maybe most importantly, we are to love one another as Christ has loved us, and we have to think about what that really means.  Has He ceased to tell about the Father and the love for the Father that is not only in Himself but must also be in us?  This is one key to understanding what Christ's love is all about, that it's not a philosophy and it's not a theory.  It's about relationship between persons/Persons.  Ultimately, love is a personal reality, because it is a living part of what it means to be a person, to have personhood.  Love is the expression of ourselves as persons, just as it is given for us to know from a Person.  Our faith is not in mere intellectual concepts, it's not only in philosophies, although all things that convey truth are a part of that faith.  In this Monday's reading, we will read Jesus' statement that He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).  Thereby for us as followers of Christ, truth takes on many powerful meanings and great significance.  It's not only that we need and respect truth in all things, but that we understand that our faith is in the Person who is Truth, and perhaps the deepest part of that truth is the love that He teaches in this great commandment He adds and leaves with all of His disciples.  He teaches us truth that sets us free, that which liberates us from a slavery of sin.  He teaches us to reach for that standard of love which belongs to us, too, and which He has brought by example into the world.  He teaches us to share His light.  All of this, in the end, is about the kind of love He teaches by example; it is a love that takes us further, that gives us new standards, that helps us to truly see and to illuminate the world for others as well.  Despite Peter's weakness and denials, Peter will go on to be a martyr for this particular love.  And so, it's important that we remember today that Christ teaches us who we are, and most especially that means what we're capable of being and doing.  We can love like He loves, too.  We can love His truth, we can bring it to others, we can be set free from a kind of slavery to lies, and false truth, and demagoguery that says that life can't get any better than a flawed system of willful blindness to love.  Christ gives us a measuring stick, Himself, but most of all He gives us His love and grace, which is always "on call" for us when we have doubts about how to proceed, how to decide, and what love is in any particular situation.  Oh, we're not expected to be perfect in the sense that we don't have a long ways to go.  Look at Peter, the denial we start from today, and the martyrdom that will come later on as the powerful apostle meets his death at Rome.  But we are on a road.  And we are on a road with Him, the Good Shepherd, the Teacher, the One who loves us, lays down His life for us as His friends, and teaches us how to be like Him.  And that's the important thing -- that we are on that road, and we start today, with His love which He shares with us and teaches us to share with others.  It is love inside of us that teaches us to follow Him.

This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you

"This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. These things I command you, that you love one another.

"If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father. But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, 'They hated Me without a cause.' But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning."

- John 15:12-27

We continue with the Eastertide readings in John's Gospel. Jesus is giving His farewell discourse to the Apostles at the Last Supper, teaching them all the things they will need to know and remember after His Passion and Crucifixion.

"This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." This is a repetition of what Jesus has already told them at the beginning of this discourse, just after telling them that one of them would betray Him (see John 13:34-35). We must assume that it is a repetition for emphasis. But there is also more; He will explain further His love.

"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you." He is the One who calls us His friends, and He explains to them why and how they are His friends. He leaves with them His new commandment, and He has taught of the Comforter, He has taught that He will manifest Himself to them, but not to the world. He has said, "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me." He has shared all with them, He will lay His life down for them. My study bible says, "Friendship is higher than servanthood. A servant obeys his master out of fear; a friend is a servant who obeys out of love."

"You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. These things I command you, that you love one another." He is entrusting them with His mission for them, as friends. He is investing Himself fully in them, so that the fruit they bear will not be passing but eternal. Beyond all this, He promises that whatever they ask the Father in His name should be given. But all of it is tied up in this friendship that obeys His commandments, a friendship of love -- and bound in the command that they love one another. It is, in effect, a Commission of love. I think that if we do not understand love, then we will never understand Christ. Perhaps to come to know Christ is also to learn love.

"If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." Here is the great contrast, between the ways of the world and the ways of Christ's love. He has set them apart, taken them out of the world, as holiness is something different from "the world" and the ways of the world. As Christians, as those who seek to know and to do His love, we can expect persecution from that which does not understand this Way.

"Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me." Here is a paradox: the world doesn't know its Creator. A "worldly" way of thinking is outside of the connection to this love, to this Way. He promises, in this sense, persecution. A servant is not greater his master. He has led the way so that we may understand, and follow Him. The world will not understand this Way of love, because it does not know the Father who sent Him.

"If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father. But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, 'They hated Me without a cause.'" Here is another powerful teaching: because He has revealed the Father among them, their sin remains. There is no ignorance here, but true rejection. A gift has been offered, revealed, made manifest. To reject this gift, this grace, is to bear responsibility for that rejection.

"But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning." And here is the great promise again, of the Helper, the Paraclete, in the Greek. John calls Him the Spirit of truth. He is also called Comforter, Advocate, Counselor. Parakletos, in the Greek, is one who comes close when you call, an advocate or advisor -- one who helps with discernment, especially of a legal understanding. Mingled with Christ's love, we must come to understand His justice and truth; all are inseparable. Jesus has promised that He wills that their fruit should remain; the Advocate or Paraclete is tied in to that which remains -- to testimony that is true and will stand the test of justice, that will remain standing. The truth to which which they will testify will remain -- and will be helped through the work of the Spirit of truth, the Paraclete.

Jesus' promises here are directly made to His Apostles: "You have been with me from the beginning." But they are also made implicitly for us, to us. We have the Helper, who will help us to discernment, to truth (as the Spirit of truth). And the implication is also that the Helper will guide us into His love and the fulfillment of His commandments. Over and over again in this farewell discourse, Jesus repeats for emphasis what are His commandments, and what is His new commandment that He leaves with us: that we love one another. As He has loved us, so we must love one another. How often do we live up to that? How often do we fail? If there is anything more to understand in this commandment, it is that love and truth and judgment are all wrapped up in one another. In God's love and God's law and God's truth they are inseparable. We will show that we are His by the love we show to one another. How powerful is that?