“Love for One Another Confirms That We Are Christ’s Disciples”
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
Dear fellow disciples of Jesus Christ, grace, mercy, and peace
from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord [Amen.]
“Love in Christ is strong and living,
Binding faithful hearts in one;
Love in Christ is true and giving.
May His will in us be done.”
(Lutheran Service Book, © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO.
706:1)
Gospel
Reading........................................................................................
St. John 13:34-35
34A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have
loved you, you also are to love one another. 35By this all people will know
that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Prologue: “May His will in us be done” concluded the first
stanza of the sermon hymn that we just sang. “May His will in us be done.”
Hmmm, that certainly raises the probing question: “Just what is God’s will?”
And, to perhaps complicate things a bit, “Is God’s will singular or plural;
that is, does God’s will for us consist of only one item or multiple items?”
Of course, the absolute truth that the entire Bible contains and
is taught in catechetical instruction informs us that The Ten Commandments
embody God’s will for us thereby telling us that His will consists of more
than one item. And yet, those Ten Commandments can be reduced to or
summarized by two statements: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (St Matt 22:37 ESV) and “You
shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (St Matt 22:39 ESV) But then Saint
Paul wrote: “[God] desires all people to be saved and to come to the
knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim 2:4 ESV)
We learn from this little exercise that God’s will is at the same
time both singular and plural; it consists of many items that can be
gathered together in one item. That one item is simply what Jesus told His
apostles at His ascension: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (St
Matt 28:19-20a ESV) And that brings us to today’s sermon theme, namely, …
“Love for One Another Confirms That We Are Christ’s Disciples.”
You know, “Our world desperately needs to be loved. At the close
of World War II an American soldier was on sentry duty on the outskirts of
London on Christmas morning. Later in the day, as he walked to the city
with a few other GIs, he came to an old gray building with a sign: ‘Queen
Anne’s Orphanage.’ To see what sort of Christmas party might be going on
inside, the soldiers knocked on the door. An attendant told them that all
the children in the orphanage had lost their parents in the London bombings.
The soldiers went inside, and seeing no tree, no decorations, and no gifts,
they gave out as gifts whatever they had in their pockets—a stick of gum, a
coin, a stubby pencil. One soldier saw a boy standing alone in a corner.
He went to him and asked, ‘My little man, what do you want?’ Turning his
face up to the soldier, the little boy answered, ‘Please, sir, I want to be
loved.’ That’s our world—in desperate need of love. God loves it and wants
to love it through us.” (Encyclopedia of Sermon Illustrations. Compiled by
David F. Burgess. Copyright © 1988 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis,
MO. Page 133.)
Of course, in order to love others with the love with which God
loves us, we must recognize about the crucified and resurrected Christ
that …
I. God’s Glory Glorifies Jesus. (31-32)
31When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and
God is glorified in him. 32If God is glorified in him, God will also
glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once.
Okay. Here’s another probing question. “What does it mean that
‘the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in him’”? The Lutheran
Study Bible tells us that “Jesus saw His death as the moment of His glory.”
(The Lutheran Study Bible. Edward A. Engelbrecht, Gen. Ed. Coyright © 2009
Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page 1809.) To catch a glimpse
of understanding about this glory stuff, we have to think like Jesus
thought. You see, for Him life was in death, exaltation was in humiliation,
and glory was in dishonor. That understanding was bound up in what He
taught in the Sermon on the Mount when He said: “Blessed are the poor in
spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek, for they
shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who are persecuted for
righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (St Matt 5:3, 5,
10 ESV)
The great paradox is that glory does not consist in seeking after,
striving for, and grabbing fame, fortune, popularity, and honor; but (as we
did a few minutes ago) glory consists in humbly considering our unworthiness
and confessing “before God and one another that we have sinned in thought,
word, and deed, and that we cannot free ourselves from our sinful
condition.” It consists in together as God’s people taking “refuge in the
infinite mercy of God, our heavenly Father, seeking His grace for the sake
of Christ, and saying: God be merciful to me, a sinner.” It consists in
crying out: “Almighty God, have mercy upon us, forgive us our sins, and lead
us to everlasting life.” (Lutheran Service Book. Page 203.) Moreover, it
consists in knowing that “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the
humble.” (James 4:6 & 1 Pet 5:5 ESV) Jesus captured that characteristic
when He declared about Himself: “the Son of Man came not to be served, but
to serve, and give his life as a ransom for many.” (St Matt 20:28 & St Mark
10:45 ESV)
You see, Jesus came into this sin-stricken and sin-stained world
for the sole purpose of redeeming sin-infected mankind “not with perishable
things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like
that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” (1 Pet 1:19 ESV) He did so because
“The blood of Jesus [God’s] Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7 ESV)
Therefore, His glory was bound up in the wretched ugly cross about which we
sing: “In the cross of Christ I glory, Tow’ring o’er the wrecks of time.
All the light of sacred story Gathers round its head sublime” (Lutheran
Service Book. Hymn 427:1.) and “Cross of Jesus, cross of sorrow, Where the
blood of Christ was shed, Perfect man on thee did suffer, Perfect God on
thee has bled!” (Ibid. Hymn 428:1.) And the ultimate irony of all this is
so beautifully stated in the hymn “Chief of Sinners Though I Be”, in which
we sing: “Oh, the height of Jesus’ love, Higher than the heav’ns above,
Deeper than the depths of sea, Lasting as eternity! Love that found
me—wondrous thought! Found me when I sought Him not.” (Ibid. Hymn 611:2.)
So, having identified the fact that God’s glory was manifested in
Jesus’ humble suffering and gruesome death on Calvary’s cross, we turn our
attention to the fact that …
II. The Glorified Jesus Is with Us, Not Us with Him. (33)
33Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and
just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you
cannot come.’
Simply stated, “The disciples could not follow Christ to the
cross, where He would make atonement for sin” (The Lutheran Study Bible.
Page 1809.) … and neither can we. We could not and did not decide to follow
Jesus, desire to be His disciples, or choose to believe in Him. Even as
Adam and Eve did when faced with the reality of their stinking sin, so we
also by nature desire to run away and hide from God.
But, as God so mercifully and graciously went to, sought out,
found, and rescued Adam and Eve, so also He comes to us today in Baptismal
water, Absolution assurance, Sacramental bread and wine, and His living
written Holy Word. In those precious means of grace He came to us, found
us, drafted us into His army of Believers, and preserves us steadfast in the
one true faith in Jesus Christ with the gospel good-news message of
forgiveness of all our sins, salvation of our souls, and eternal life with
Himself in heavenly glory.
In Doctor Martin Luther’s explanation to The Third Article of The
Apostles’ Creed we admit: “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or
strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy
Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts,
sanctified and kept me in the true faith.” (Luther’s Small Catechism with
Explanation. Copyright © 1986, 1991 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis,
MO. Pages 17 & 147.) Thanks and praise to God alone that He “so loved the
world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not
perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the word to
condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
(St John 3:16f. ESV)
Okay. Having heard all that, the final probing question is: “So
what? What does that have to do with us in our present vocations as
husbands, wives, parents, children, masters, mistresses, factory workers,
real estate salespersons, bankers, teachers, pastors, musicians, and
whatever else?” The answer takes us back to where we began with what Jesus
told His disciples then and us today, namely, …
“Love for One Another Confirms That We Are Christ’s Disciples.”
As we gratefully revel in our identity as Christ’s disciples, let’s
follow today’s Introit encouragement: “Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for
he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked
salvation for him. The Lord has made known his salvation; he has revealed
his righteousness in the sight of the nations.” (Ps 98:1-2 ESV) Let’s do so
with the heartfelt prayer stated in today’s Collect: “Grant that we may love
what You have commanded and desire what You promise, that among the many
changes of this world our hearts may be fixed where true joys are found.”
After all, …
I. God’s Glory Glorifies Jesus. (31-32) Saint Peter expressed that
truth in today’s First Reading: “‘As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell
on them just as on us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the
Lord, how he said, “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with
the Holy Spirit.” If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us
when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in
God’s way?’ When they heard these things they fell silent. And they
glorified God, saying, ‘Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance
that leads to life.’” (Acts 11:15-18 ESV) And that “repentance that leads
to life” is based on and motivated by the fact that this Easter season’s
Gradual stated: “Christ has risen from the dead. [God the Father] has
crowned him with glory and honor, He has given him dominion over the works
of his hands; he has put all things under his feet.” (adapt. from St Matt
28:7; Heb 2:7; Ps 8:6 ESV) So let’s continue to celebrate throughout these
50 days of Easter and beyond the gospel truth that …
II. The Glorified Jesus Is with Us, Not Us with Him. (33) However,
because He is with us in this life and will never leave us nor forsake us,
all who cling to Him by Spirit-given faith will go to be with Him in His
eternal heavenly home about which today’s Epistle Reading revealed: “And I
heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of
God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and
God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear
from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning
nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’” (Rev
21:3-4 ESV)
God grant it all for the sake of Jesus Christ, His humble Son, our
holy Savior. [Amen.]
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
Please join together in singing the first verse of “They’ll Know
We Are Christians by Our Love” as printed in your bulletin.
_______________________________________________
Sermons mailing list
[email protected]
http://cat41.org/mailman/listinfo/sermons
