(I was privileged to celebrate the wedding of two of my friends last weekend! Here is the meditation I gave at the wedding.)
1 John 4:13-17 (4:17) – November 15, 2025
Weddings are wonderful events. Brides and grooms try their best to make them meaningful, personalized, and one-of-a-kind! This is especially true about the music chosen.
I have strong feelings about certain songs that are featured at weddings. I won’t name any specific song, but I think you can recognize them when you hear them. I’m thinking of hearts and flowers, sappy songs that highlight love as a warm and fuzzy, surface-kind-of feeling. What happens when that warm and fuzzy feeling called “love” goes away?
We are here today to celebrate the wedding of our two friends. How wonderful, how fitting that we also talk about celebrating how much we love one another! Not a sappy, fuzzy kind of love, but a kind of love that goes the distance. A deep-down love that endures.
Many people, indeed, many ministers lift up the Bible reading from 1 Corinthians 13, where the Apostle Paul talks all about love. The “Love Chapter” from the New Testament is a wonderful statement about love.
I am a chaplain, and it’s part of my job description to talk about the Bible. How does the Bible describe love? I prefer the Apostle John and his marvelous description, his plain words on the subject of love – God’s love. Our Bible reading from the first letter of John written to his scattered church members describes love – the way God sees love. St. John writes: “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and God’s love is made complete in us.”
Here in this description, St. John tells his friends all about love – God’s love. And, John raises love to the next level. Or, perhaps another way of describing it: John raises the bar for measuring love. “Since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”
When I think of the number one example of love, I think of our Lord Jesus, while He was here on this earth. I think of how Jesus lived, how He acted, and how He carried out His ministry. Jesus showed us how to love, by displaying love in action. Jesus truly showed His friends (as well as all the world) a life of love – and caring and compassion for all people.
What better thing to do than to think of our Lord Jesus, when He was here on this earth, and ask ourselves “What would Jesus do?” How would Jesus act? Who would Jesus love?”
In recovery circles, a common saying is “do the next right thing.” I had a friend in recovery, of blessed memory, who is now with the Lord. He always tried his very best to be loving, caring and giving. He knew that common recovery saying very well, except he would change one word. He would often say “do the next loving thing.” That’s how to fulfill John’s definition of love from 1 John chapter 4.
So – what would Jesus do? Do the next loving thing. Go. Do that.
Can you think of an excellent host or hostess you know? Perhaps one or your friends or family? Celebrating or hosting is a big part of coming together as friends, as family, for all kinds of festive occasions. Some people are especially blessed with the skills, gifts and graces that are part and parcel of being a wonderful host or hostess. Today is World Communion Sunday, and our Lord Jesus is our heavenly Host today at this service.
But first, we need to take a closer look at our Scripture reading for today. The letter to the scattered Hebrews (Jews who believe in Jesus as their Messiah) was a circulating letter, traveling from place to place, copied and sent from one small group of believers, one congregation to the next. In order to understand this letter more deeply, we need to look at it as directed to people with a Jewish understanding, and a Jewish viewpoint.
“God spoke to our ancestors in many times/ways through the prophets, but now God speaks through the Son” – in the same way, we can view the older Hebrew Scriptures as God speaking through the prophets (and writers of narrative and poetry), but now (as in the New Testament), God speaks through the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ – especially in the Gospels.
Jesus – before He came to the earth and emptied Himself of all God-hood to become a little baby born in Bethlehem – created the universe at the beginning of time, and Jesus is the one who will possess all things at the end of time. So, before the beginning and after the end – there was the Son long before His incarnation, the second person of the Trinity. Before the universe, before the Big Bang and all things were created, there was the pre-incarnate Son.
Plus – Jesus sustains/continues/upholds the universe with His powerful Word. The Word that had the creative force in the beginning of time!
Let’s think about that creative force for a moment. In chapters 8 and 9 in The Magician’s Nephew, one of the Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis has the Great Lion Aslan walking around on a brand new world. The Lion is singing, and the sheer creative force is magnificent, as shown by the reaction of all creation, land, water and sky to the sounds and the notes of Aslan’s powerful, creative voice. [1]
Yet, that is not all! We can see the writer of the letter to the Hebrews goes on to tell us more about what Jesus did. After Jesus finished His work on earth and achieved forgiveness for all sins for all human beings (for all time), the resurrected, ascended Jesus SAT DOWN in heaven. This goes along with what Paul says in the first chapter of the letter to the Ephesians, 1:20-22, which sounds quite a lot like Hebrews 1:3 from our reading today.
In the worship in the Temple before the first century CE, even at the time that the Rabbi Jesus was walking around Palestine for three years before His death, resurrection and ascension into heaven, Jewish priests continually stood up when they did their work in the Temple. That was the way of it. That was how priests went about their priestly duties, continually standing before the Lord, continuing to offer sacrifices for sins, making atonement for the sins of everyone who came to them.
Except – our Lord Jesus was not like the earthly priests. The apostle Paul said Jesus sat down in heaven, and no longer had to continually stand and continue to offer sacrifices to the Lord. Here in our reading today, the writer of the letter to the scattered Hebrews (or, Jews) tells them that Jesus “sat down in heaven at the right side/hand of God, the Supreme Power.”
As our commentator Carolyn Brown retells these three verses from Hebrews chapter 1, she says “Jesus was one with God at the beginning of everything and will be one with God after everything ends. Jesus worked with God on creating the whole world and keeps taking care of it. In Jesus of Nazareth God lived among us as a person and allowed himself to be crucified. Jesus is God in human skin. Everything we know about Jesus tells us what God is like. Jesus Christ forgives us.” [2]
Do you understand how powerful that declaration is? As one of what I consider one of the most meaningful gospel songs says, “Jesus paid it all! All to Him I owe, Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.” This is one of the reasons we celebrate Communion, or the Lord’s Supper, because we are so grateful to Jesus for being the Lamb of God, who as our reading today tells us, “achieved the forgiveness of sins for all human beings.”
The first Sunday of October is World Communion Sunday in most congregations. Not only set apart for children and young people, but for everyone. “That means raising awareness that Christians all around the world are one big family. We may have skin of different colors, wear different clothes, speak different languages, and do all sorts of different things, but we are all baptized and we all share communion.” [3]
Do you hear? All believers, worldwide, are all one big family. That means that we all come together around the communion table, from north and south, from east and west, from every tribe and people-group and nationality. Across national borders, regardless of languages spoken, paying no attention to differences of politics, or of allegiances, of national dress, or of regional separations.
All of these earthly differences do not matter to eternity. Jesus tells us so. All are welcome at the Lord’s table. And, it is His table. As I have said many times before, on many Communion Sundays in the past 11 and a half years, this is not St. Luke’s table. It is not the United Church of Christ’s table. It is not the Protestant Church’s table. Instead, this is the Lord’s table, and our Lord Jesus says all are welcome.
We can see how great God’s love is for humanity through the incarnation. Yes, God sent God’s son to earth to become human, live among us, and die for us. And, on this World Communion Sunday, we remember how our Lord Jesus provided communion for us, as a sacrament, a means of grace, and to remember Him.
Through the centuries, all believing Christians have celebrated this meal, this Lord’s Supper, in remembrance of Him. “Today, through World Communion, we also celebrate that though each church does things differently, we each and all of us need God and God’s grace. By participating together around the world in Holy Communion, we celebrate our common need for God, and together we celebrate receiving His love and grace.” [4]
This weekend is a jam-packed weekend, indeed. Not only is today World Communion Sunday, but yesterday was the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi. Many faith traditions celebrate with a Blessing of the Animals this weekend. St. Francis is not only a patron saint of animals, he is also the patron of all creation, or the natural world.
As we reflect on our Lord Jesus, God’s Son before the beginning of time and after the end of time, I want to end our sermon today with a benediction; the final verse from the hymn that is attributed to Francis, “All Creatures of Our God and King.”
Let all things their Creator bless, and worship Him in humbleness, O praise Him! Alleluia! Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son, and praise the Spirit, Three in One! O, let us praise God, indeed! Alleluia, amen.
Lost and found—this concept is very real and meaningful to many people, especially children. I have four children, and at various times, they have had to go looking for various possessions of theirs. You know, small items, things that were very precious to them somehow got lost. And oftentimes, they went looking everywhere for those precious things.
I can remember when my son was younger, probably in first grade. He had a favorite stocking cap he wore almost every day in the winter. He wore it to school, out to play, on the weekends, almost everywhere. And then, one day it got lost. My son could not find it anywhere. He was heartbroken at the loss of this precious stocking cap—precious to my son, at least. We searched everywhere—and I mean everywhere—in the house, in the car, in his classroom, in his locker. He even looked in the lost and found at his school. Sadly, we never could find it.
Can you relate? Have you ever lost anything that was precious to you? Maybe not valuable in a monetary sense, but precious to you, your very favorite. And let’s go further. What about the things that are worth a great deal? Valuable in a very special way, in terms of both monetary and sentimental value. Losing something precious can be quite a blow.
This is exactly what our Lord Jesus talked about in our scripture passage today. He tells the parables of the lost things. In fact, one nickname for this chapter, Luke 15, is the chapter of the lost things—the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost son.
Dr. Luke sets the scene for us. He says, “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Tax collectors and “sinners” were two groups of people who were especially hated by the good, synagogue-going Jews! And, especially by the Jewish leaders, the Pharisees and teachers of the Jewish law, who had particularly high standing in their local community! How dare that upstart Rabbi Jesus waste His time with riff-raff, with no-good, low-class, dregs of society?
And, that’s not all the Rabbi Jesus is doing! “Eating — that is, sharing table fellowship — is a mark of camaraderie, acceptance, and friendship. And so in eating with tax collectors and sinners, Jesus is demonstrating a deep and abiding acceptance of those society has deemed beyond the moral pale.” [1]
In response to this complaining and carping from the Jewish leaders, Jesus has a response. Three responses, in fact. This week we look at His first parable, the parable of the Lost Sheep. As with many of the parables of Jesus, this one starts out in a straight-forward manner, but somehow doesn’t set quite right.
Jesus says, “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?” In other words, if you are a shepherd, you put the other 99 sheep at risk! You leave them in the wilderness, with no protection or shelter while you go seeking the one that is lost! And, how about that lost sheep? How does that sheep feel? Lonely? Hungry? Injured? Scared?
From an accounting, balance-statement point of view, the loss of one percent of your stock or flock is an acceptable business loss. Why do we need to leave 99 sheep at dangerous risk? Just for one, single, measly little sheep? But, God does not take that point of view!
Sometimes, people – individuals – get lost. Can you and I relate? “Sometimes you can identify why you feel lost and other times you simply feel unmoored — unable to give a name or reason for a sense of confusion, disorientation, bewilderment, abandonment, loneliness — all of which can be manifestations of lostness.” [2]
I work during the week as a full-time hospice chaplain. It is sometimes my heartbreaking job to go to see patients in dementia, and sometimes even severe dementia. I would like us to listen to this heartfelt vignette from Pastor Janet Hunt, about a longtime family friend.
“Norma became not only a family friend. She was our church secretary (back when we called them that) at my home congregation for forty years. What I especially remember most about that time was that she would listen and answer and go deeper with me about whatever it was we had learned in class that morning. There are a lot of people whose influence factors into one heeding the call to become a pastor. Norma was certainly one of those for me.
“I know that I am blessed to serve not so far from home for I have the chance sometimes, still, to connect with those I knew when I was young. I especially knew it this last Saturday morning for Norma’s son called me up to ask my thoughts about nursing home options here. Both of their parents’ health are failing and her Alzheimer’s Disease, in particular, is making this next move necessary.
“Sunday afternoon I went to see Norma. I sat down next to her daughter and we visited a while. I don’t know for sure if she really remembered me or not, but her smile was as radiant as it ever was. Before I left, I asked if I could pray with her. She placed her hand palm down on the tray table in front of her. I put my hand on top of hers and her daughter put her hand on top of mine. I prayed simply and briefly – asking for God’s protection and strength and peace. When Norma took her hand back, she wiped her eyes for those words had somehow broken through.
“She may only have pretended to remember me, but still she knows somehow that God remembers her. Slowly but surely the disease that is erasing her memory will not finally erase what matters most. In some ways, she may seem ‘lost’ to those who have loved her, but she is not lost to God. I expect, or at least I hope, that in that moment she knew God’s persistent love embracing her once more. ‘Found’ once more, I hope her comprehension of God’s tender love for her never leaves her.” [3]
No matter how we are lost, how we are wandering in the wilderness, in the hospital or care center, or when we concentrate so much on our physical or financial situation, or in the busy-ness of life, running from place to place – God never stops seeking us. We know who is loving and caring and seeking for each of us.
Which of you, Jesus asks, would go to such lengths to search and find and then welcome back and celebrate? Truth be told, none of us would. But God would. [4] Our Good Shepherd goes after me, and after you, too. He searches for us, and makes sure that we are back with Him, in the place of security and protection, and says, “Rejoice with me! For I have found my sheep that was lost!” To me, the news about our good Shepherd is the best news in the world. Alleluia, amen.
I’ve had a great respect and fondness for Fred Rogers, for many years. You know, Fred Rogers, of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. I watched the television show with my small children – all four of them, at various times. I so appreciated Fred’s gentle, caring, loving way of speaking to everyone. Not only the children. He was the real deal. Fred was a genuine, caring, compassionate person, interested in everyone and everything. And, especially in children.
Right now, with bombings and raids and rumors of war on the minds of many people worldwide, right now seems like a strategic time for us to be starting a summer sermon series on Fred Rogers. Today’s uncertain time in history is somewhat similar to the uncertain times in the area where the Rabbi Jesus grew up and was teaching and preaching. Occupied territory. I fear that your typical person on that first-century street in Israel did not have guarantees of security or comfort in their lives, either.
Our reading is from Mark 10, just a few verses before the beginning of chapter 11, where Jesus enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday for the final Passion week of His life. This is the very end of Rabbi Jesus’s three-year ministry. His disciples had been with Him, and learned from Him for three whole years. At this time just before the Passion week, Jesus calls all the disciples together to give them a short recap on the Gentiles—the Romans—the worldly way of dealing with pre-eminence, greatness, and authority.
I would like us to focus especially on a few verses from our Gospel reading today. “whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be servant of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
If we notice, Jesus did not want to be a big shot, strong-man, autocratic leader. Instead, we see the life of Jesus as offering unique insights and inspiration to all of us. Our Lord Jesus shows us how to live as a servant leader. In His life and teachings, Jesus consistently demonstrated the core principles of servant leadership. Our Lord Jesus embodied servant leadership in its purest form. [1]
People in the first century just did not understand. Not even when the Rabbi Jesus explained to the disciples that they needed to become completely of no account, like children, they still did not have any idea of what Jesus was talking about.
What is the overarching disconnect and problem here? “Power has been the perennial problem in human history. The reality of power is complex; its use and misuse in all human, social and political relations and interactions has been a question of utmost importance for all peoples.” [2]
I strongly suspect that Fred Rogers would have objected to have his life compared to the earthly life of our Lord Jesus. However, I see some definite parallels. It is here that Fred Rogers shines. Yes, he totally understood and appreciated becoming like a child. He became vulnerable, totally open, on a daily basis. Fred Rogers turned the power dynamics of the popular world and of politicians and of world leaders on their head. Just exactly like Jesus did.
I’m going to tell you about a church I attended, years back, while I was still at seminary. Smaller church, here in the north suburbs of Chicago. The church was going to have a clean-up day in the nursery and small children’s area, after the morning worship service. The Sunday school and children’s ministry people had been planning it for a number of weeks. A number of people had dressed for church with their cleaning clothes on, blue jeans and t-shirts. The group even sent out for sandwiches for a quick lunch before they began to clean up.
My husband Kevin approved of the clean-up; our children weren’t that far beyond that younger age group. We couldn’t stay after service that day, but said our good-byes to the cleaners. On our way out, we ran into the associate pastor. She had delivered the sermon that morning and worn her clerical robes in church. However, she had transformed; she had changed into blue jeans and a sweatshirt. She had a bucket and a spray bottle of cleanser in her hands, and cheerfully wished us well as my husband and I went off to the next event.
My husband’s opinion of that associate pastor rose by leaps and bounds that day. He told me how impressed and pleased he was to see that she was willing to go to work without blowing her own horn. She was willing to get her hands dirty for the church, not just look pastoral and holy up front in the sanctuary. She was willing to be a servant, as well as a leader!
I know I have mentioned this before, in my past sermons. I’ll mention it again. Fred Rogers was not only the star, puppet performer, writer and producer of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, he was also a Presbyterian minister in the PC(USA) denomination. He was ordained into the ministry of communication to families via the medium of television. “Fred Rogers committed his life to making television programs for the very young because he saw its potential as an instrument for good as a gift. He cared deeply about those on the other side of the screen – their needs, concerns, struggles and joys.” [3]
Years ago, I sensed that deep caring through the television, as my small children watched Mister Rogers. I rejoice that my children – and countless others – had the opportunity and blessing to meet with this television neighbor, who strove to give his absolute best in a way that young children could readily understand.
That is exactly who and what Fred Rogers was, too. Each and every day. He said, “I’d like to be remembered for being a compassionate human being who happened to be fortunate enough to be born at a time when there was a fabulous thing called television that could allow me to use all the talents that I had been given.” [4]
I do not imagine that I have one quarter, even one tenth of the compassionate skills, talents and spiritual gifts that Fred Rogers was blessed with. But, I have the ability to be my honest, caring self in my ministry with others. God has given us all the opportunity and the blessing to be a blessing to others, each and every day.
How can you be a blessing to others, today? Tomorrow? Next month? We don’t need to be television personalities or leaders on the state or national level to follow in the way of Fred Rogers, and of other servant leaders. We can also be faithful in the little things, like clean-up day at the church. How can you and I serve God and serve others, today? We are all called to serve by Jesus. Let us serve in all honesty, caring, and love for others, in our neighborhood today.
Have you ever been in a building during a power outage? A brown-out? Where something disrupted the electricity? Some years ago, I was at an evening meeting in a large building in Evanston, and that is exactly what happened. The electrical power was somehow shut off or interrupted, and everyone had to evacuate the building.
In situations like that, there can be a real feeling of helplessness. What happened? Where did the power go? When can we get it back? What do we do now? The disciples must have felt very much like this when the Rabbi Jesus made His statements about departure, at the dinner table on that Maundy Thursday night. Jesus told His disciples in no uncertain terms that He would leave them very soon. A distressing, disorienting situation, indeed! What is going on? Is our Rabbi really going to leave? What will we do? Where will we go now?
At dinner that night, our Lord Jesus reassures His disciples with the news that even if He does go away, the Heavenly Father will send another Helper or Advocate, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will help these new believers! As Jesus said, God our Father “will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. 17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.”
We can see how the disciples react to this news, given just before Jesus has His arrest, followed by the trials and then the crucifixion. Confusing events happening in short succession. This was compounded by the followers of Jesus scattering, running away, frightened by the very real, very legal, very official things happening to Jesus before and after His crucifixion. Their leader and rabbi has gone. Several dozen disciples, huddled in an upper room, all together. Wondering where their power is. Talk about a power disruption! Seems more like a power loss of epic proportions.
And now what? As the disciples huddle in that Upper Room where Jesus and His disciples last met, The disciples still must have been frightened to death of the authorities, after the crucifixion. I suspect they needed to talk about the happenings of the past few weeks, too. Debriefed. Tried to figure things out, as best as they could.
We go forward several weeks to the day of Pentecost, another major feast day for the people of Israel. And where are the disciples? Back in Jerusalem, in the upper room, still hidden away from the authorities. Isn’t that a lot like today? No matter where people live in this world today, no matter what their situations are, no matter what they do for a living, a common desire among many people is that desire for reassurance, a wish for something to hope in, to believe in. A desire to know exactly where their power is coming from.
But that is where today’s story continues. You remember the scene? A little over one hundred followers of the risen Lord Jesus had gathered together in Jerusalem, in that very same second story of a building. The place that was the same Upper Room where the disciples had their Last Supper with their Rabbi. When, on that Harvest Festival morning, a noise like the rush of a mighty wind blew through that upper room. Apparently, it was loud enough—surprising enough—so that people on the street heard it, too!
The Holy Spirit came with full power, with heavenly flames over each head and with some kind of noise, music or something that caught everyone’s attention for some distance. After the energizing of the Holy Spirit, the followers of Jesus couldn’t help themselves. They spilled out into the street, and started speaking other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them knowledge and utterance. Surprising? Amazing? Miraculous? Yes to all three!
But, let’s back up. Just before the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples. Regardless of people’s Power-Source, something was definitely missing in the lives of these followers of Jesus, and something is definitely missing in the lives of many people today. Some people—for various reasons—give up on a belief in a God, in a Higher Power. They fall back on the vacuum of nothingness, or hopelessness, the feeling of nihilism, the concept that life ends at the point of death, and there is nothing whatsoever afterwards—life on this earth is all there is. Others raise up the substitution of some man-made idol (like the golden calf at the foot of Mount Sinai).
All kinds of things can function in our lives like a golden calf—something else like money, prosperity, position, huge house, great success, or comfort and lifestyle. Other people cling to the Higher Power of self-sufficiency, the substitution of self for God, the crazy idea that I run the show, I’m all that matters, I can be that Power-Source in my personal life.
We all know what a false hope that can be. The Higher Power of self-sufficiency, the substitution of “me, me, me!” for the power of the Holy Spirit. What was so different and so life-changing was that the powerful Holy Spirit moved mightily upon the disciples, and the very breath of the risen Jesus was felt by many—on that day of Pentecost, through the centuries, and to the present day.
The newly-energized disciples spread the Good News of Jesus and His Resurrection, and of God’s reconciliation. Boy, did the Good News travel! The authorities in and around Jerusalem got seriously worried, so upset that they eventually started to crack down on anyone who called themselves a follower of the risen Jesus. The disciples needed to move out from Jerusalem, and started taking the message of the Good News out to the ends of the earth.
God did a new thing at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came with power! I wonder if God is doing a new thing now, today? It’s possible that “God will use such a time as this to blow new life through and among and into and upon us. For our own sakes, yes. But even more so for the sake of those to whom we are sent.” [1]
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting Lord, the God of all creation is sending the Holy Spirit into each of our lives. Yes, the Holy Spirit is active and powerful, and living around the world. Yes, Pentecost happened, almost 2000 years ago, and Pentecost can happen again, right here and right now. Is the Holy Spirit speaking to you? Have you had the Holy Spirit turn on the power in your life?
We, the Church, are on assignment—out among the people God wants us to minister to. Feeding the hungry, comforting the afflicted, welcoming the stranger, taking care of the least of these. We can all tell people about the Good News—the wonderful news of God’s reconciliation and healing. Alleluia, amen!
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. This month is particularly meaningful to me, since I deal with people who have mental health challenges almost all the time. Both professionally, as a hospice chaplain, and personally, since I have a number of people in my extended family who have mental health challenges.
I have highlighted May and mental health awareness for years, as a hospice chaplain working in the Chicago community. As a friend of mine, the Rev. Kathy MacNair said many times, everyone knows someone. Every single person knows someone who is struggling with mental health issues – and sometimes, they know several someones. Or, are related to several someones. Or, perhaps you are one of these people who have mental health challenges.
Our Lord Jesus was very familiar with mental health challenges. As we can see from all four Gospels, the Rabbi Jesus traveled from place to place, preaching, teaching and healing. Sure, some of these healings were physical healings, but some of these healings were also spiritual, mental, and I believe psychological, too. Our Lord Jesus truly healed these dear folks. His compassionate action and treatment is always truly loving, and infinitely caring.
John chapter 13 comes from the Upper Room Discourse, that last night the Rabbi Jesus was with His disciples. Remember, this was at the Passover meal they all shared together, just before Jesus was arrested later that evening, beaten, tried, appeared before Pontius Pilate, and later the next day crucified outside the city of Jerusalem.
Do you understand how important and poignant these words of Jesus are? Just think back to a particularly important conversation you had with someone very meaningful in your life. Perhaps it was one of the last conversations you remember having with that loved one. Just so, our Gospel writer is aware of how important these last hours with his Lord Jesus actually were! I am certain all the disciples remembered these memorable words of Jesus with particular care.
Let us read again the words of Jesus, from John 13: “34 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Shallow people comment about what they call love, thinking about valentines, candy and chocolates, and champagne toasts of undying affection. Can’t you hear them already? “Oh, how wonderful of Jesus! I love everybody already. I’m a good Christian.” Let’s take a closer look at exactly what Jesus was commanding.
Sure, the Gospel of John mentions the disciples loving one another. But – John’s Gospel also has passages about other kinds of people, too. Nicodemus was a respected member of the Jewish religious rulers, the Sanhedrin, the religious upper class. By and large, the Jewish rulers were no friends of the Rabbi Jesus. What about the half-Jew, the Samaritan woman of chapter 4? What is more, she was also an outcast in her own town.
Did Jesus show any hesitation in His interaction with either one? Wasn’t He caring, loving and honest with each of them, just as He was with everyone else?
Jesus was the ultimate in being open, loving and honest to everyone. No matter who, no matter where, no matter what faith tradition, social strata, ethnicity, or any other designation. Jesus is commanding us to love in the same way. Not only towards strangers, but towards friends, as well. That can be even more difficult sometimes.
“Here in John chapter 13, Jesus demonstrates his love for the same disciples who will fail him miserably. Jesus washes and feeds Judas who will betray him, Peter who will deny him, and all the rest who will fail to stand by him in his hour of greatest distress. The love that Jesus demonstrates is certainly not based on the merit of the recipients, and Jesus commands his disciples to love others in the same way.” [1]
I get set back a bit when I realize the full ramifications of that boundless, amazing love of Jesus. It’s a tall order! Whoa, Lord! You don’t really expect me to be that way with people who insult me, or are mean to me, or disrespect me, do You? I kind of think that is exactly what Jesus means. Love them. No “but, what if…?” Love all of them unconditionally.
Which brings us back to where we started. It’s easy to love lovable people, to love babies and small children. Easier to love those in our families, and friends. But what about those we don’t even know? What about people we actively dislike? And, what about people who are scary, who we don’t understand, who are in dementia or who throw tantrums, or have addictions?
I have permission from our friend Irene to talk about her adult daughter, who does have mental health challenges, was living at Thresholds social services for years, and who currently lives in Wisconsin. Now that the daughter is regularly taking her prescribed medication, things are stable and under control. This dear daughter is quite helpful to Irene when she comes to visit. Thank God, this story has a happy ending, and this mother and daughter are reunited and grateful to God for all the help and support from friends, doctors and from support groups.
That is exactly what Jesus means. Love all people. Even the scary ones, even the ones we dislike. No “but, what if…?” Love all of them, unconditionally.
This is not just a suggestion. Jesus makes it a command. If you and I want to follow Jesus, this is one of the requirements. Some well-meaning believers say that other people may not merit Jesus’ love, for whatever reason. Gosh, I don’t merit Jesus’ love a lot of the time! But, that makes no difference. Jesus still loves each of us, unconditionally. No matter what. Plus, Jesus commands us to love others in the same way. The same ultimate, above-and-beyond, bottomless way.
So, whether you and I succeed or fail in our attempts to love one another this week, yet God in Jesus loves us more than we can possibly imagine. And hearing of this deep Jesus-love we are set free and sent forth, once again, to “love one another.”
If you have been listening to the news at all this past week, you probably have heard: there is a new pope! Pope Leo XIV.
With the pageantry and voting by the Papal Conclave, during this last week the world has had many news stories and op-eds about the process of choosing a pope. As the Papal Conclave met, on Thursday the first North American pope was chosen, the former Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV. And, not only is there a new pope, but he was born on the south side of Chicago! A real home town boy, indeed.
As we think about this recent selection of the head of the worldwide Catholic church, several general descriptions of a representative Pope, the leader of the church, come to my mind. Some popes can be described as more this way than others, but Pope Leo sounds like he may indeed be an example of all of these.
The pope is seen as a bridge, connecting the disparate countries and regions of the Catholic church, and a bridge reaching out to other faith communities around the world. Also, a champion of the poor, the hungry, the migrant and immigrant, the least of these. And, most importantly for us today, the Pope can be seen as a Shepherd among shepherds. The Chief Shepherd for the Catholic church, caring for his sheep.
Does that sound familiar? Our Scripture reading today is Psalm 23. This reading goes along with Shepherd Sunday. Like the other Scripture readings today, it reminds us that God is our Chief heavenly Shepherd. We highlight this gorgeous expression of trust in God, written by King David several thousand years ago. Countless people over the centuries have found comfort in grief, solace and encouragement in sorrow, in these words and reflections.
As we consider the reflections of King David, thinking back to his time shepherding his father’s sheep, this psalm displays “comfort and reassurance of God’s caring presence with us throughout life, whether we’re in the ‘green pastures’ of verse 2 or the ‘darkest valley’ of verse 4. That’s definitely the narrative that the psalmist intended to describe and celebrate and from which, millions of us have taken comfort for generations past.” [1]
One of my favorite commentators Carolyn Brown reminds us that “it is important to recognize that the Good Shepherd is a metaphor and children have a hard time with metaphors. Studies show that most children do not develop the brain skill of transference that is necessary to understand metaphors until they are into adolescence. But, the Bible and our worship is filled with metaphors. I suspect that we help the children claim them when we carefully explore the details of a few key ones, expecting them to become familiar with the concrete part of the metaphor and some of the spiritual realities it embodies, but not fully making the connection until later. The Good Shepherd is definitely one of those key metaphors.
“Dr. Maria Montessori reports that while working in a children’s hospital she found that when she told sick children stories about the Good Shepherd using small wooden figures, they almost all grabbed the figure and held onto it “for keeps.” So the Good Shepherd made sense to them in some way.” [2]
That is all very well, to talk about the Shepherd psalm as literature and as a metaphor. But, can I personalize this scripture reading, and get some meaning out of it for me? Where am I in this psalm? Can I see myself in this scripture passage?
Yes, I certainly can, and I hope you can, too.
I can recognize myself throughout. David compares himself to a sheep, here, and the Lord God is the Good Shepherd. So, when I look at this psalm, I find I have no problem seeing myself as a sheep, too. If you imagine with me here, we can all identify as sheep in the flock that Jesus our Good Shepherd herds and leads.
This Sunday is the fourth Sunday after Easter, which many faith traditions in the Christian church celebrate as “Good Shepherd Sunday.” This is the Sunday where we particularly highlight our Good Shepherd, our true and eternal shepherd Jesus.
When we consider the Latin word for shepherd, we come upon the word “pastor.” Catholics worldwide are rejoicing that they again have what they term as a “universal pastor here on earth in Pope Leo.” [3] From all accounts, as the former Father Robert Prevost served in Peru for several decades, he was a pastor and shepherd for the local churches among the rural parishes he served. He highlights social justice. He has a heart for the poor, the underserved, the migrant and immigrant, and the stranger among us – just as our Lord Jesus told us to do, in Matthew 25.
In Psalm 23, the Good Shepherd knows the difficulties and the dangers of the land, as well as the easy places, the pleasant, sheltered places. That’s true, in our case, too. God knows where each of us has been, and where each of us is going. God knows our every step, and our every misstep, too. God goes ahead of us, to look over the terrain, and check out any adverse conditions. There are no surprises to God.
So, is it any wonder that this psalm ends with the marvelous words “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” God knows where we have been, and God knows where each of us is going. And, God is right by our sides all the way, no matter what.
Good, devout people of faith all over the world are praying today with hope and thanksgiving for this new church leader, Pope Leo XIV. We can join our prayers with theirs as we come to God on this Shepherd Sunday, remembering our Good Shepherd, our Lord Jesus. That is truly good news for all of us! Alleluia, amen.
A memorable picture book I dearly remember from my childhood is called “Stone Soup.” I remember reading it to my children, too. This story is about a small village in Europe after the wars, several hundred years ago. The villagers are frightened of strangers. As a result, they are tight-fisted, and keep their precious food to themselves. They hide the food, until coaxed to bring it out, be generous and share it all together. And then, all the village has a wonderful feast.
Our Gospel reading today from John 6 has a similar sort of idea. Someone is generous, and food is shared. The Rabbi Jesus blesses the food, multiplies it, and all the people end up having a wonderful feast.
In today’s Scripture reading—which appears in all four Gospels, by the way—we see Jesus and His disciples traveling far away from town, to pray. Far away from a ready source of food. Yet, here comes a huge crowd of people, pursuing Jesus!
I wonder why all those people are pursuing the Rabbi Jesus? Maybe it’s because of His wonderful preaching and teaching. More likely, it’s because of the miracles He has been doing! And I suspect that some of those coming after this Rabbi want to push Him to become politically active, perhaps even see Jesus as the coming political Messiah!
Regardless of why they all were there, a huge crowd was following Jesus and His disciples. Thousands of people, and they were all in a deserted place, far from any grocery store or restaurant, unable to buy something to eat. What a catastrophe waiting to happen!
From our Gospel reading today, “Jesus looked around and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, so he asked Philip, “Where can we buy enough food to feed all these people?” (6 He said this to test Philip; actually he already knew what he would do.)
Have you ever been in a situation something like this one, where there were hungry or restless crowds milling about, and time was running out? What were they all to do?
The Gospel writer John tells us in a parenthetical aside that Jesus already knew what He was going to do. But, the disciples clearly did not! Even though Jesus had performed many miracles by this time, the disciples still had no clue of what would happen.
The matter-of-fact disciple Philip responds to his Rabbi, “performs some quick calculations and arrives at a vision of scarcity. His words (v.7) may suggest sentiments like: “this feeding thing is way too expensive and it’s definitely not in our budget”; “we don’t have enough resources or volunteers”; “there’s not enough time, people are hungry now”; and “this will set a bad precedent – more and more people will be clamoring after us if we do this.” [1]
Talk about throwing a wet blanket on the whole problem! Aren’t these well-intentioned words heard again and again in church council meetings and committees? What if you and I take these words like “way too expensive” and “not enough resources” to heart?
Let’s look at the disciple Andrew, who found one small boy with a meal fit for a very poor person. “When Andrew finds this boy and his small gifts, he too arrives at a place of scarcity. Other than his poverty, … the only other thing that we can say with certainty about this boy is that his small “mite” would become a miracle for all, once placed in Jesus’ hands.” [2]
The unnamed boy here turns his food over to Jesus. I can just see him, giving Jesus the little lunch, perhaps wrapped in a cloth by his mother that morning. He empties the food from his hands into those of Jesus. Jesus turns around, blesses the boy’s lunch, and miraculously multiplies it to feed thousands of people.
What about us? Are we frightened and fearful, like the villagers in the picture book “Stone Soup?” Are we hesitant to share our food, our resources, our money, time and talents with Jesus? Our Lord Jesus can take what we offer and turn it into such abundance! Just as the boy was generous and turned over his lunch, look at what a marvel Jesus did with that!
As Jesus’ followers today, we are also invited to be generous. To see God’s abundance, and to stretch out our hearts, minds, and hands. Not like the disciples, who were constrained by practical problems, economic and logistical drawbacks. They couldn’t see that God wants people to be open to God’s working, and willing to serve. Willing to be generous with whatever they have to offer.
There is a lot for us to unpack from the narrative of this miracle! One of the simplest ways to understand it is that God is very interested in getting people enough to eat. As I have so often said, hunger never takes a vacation – even in August, and especially not at the holidays.
This church – St. Luke’s Church – has supported the Maine Township Food Pantry for decades. Although not a church’s ministry, this food pantry serves the hungry from all across Maine Township. “Just as it was surprising that one boy’s lunch in Jesus’ hands could feed a crowd, so it is surprising how many people can eat when all of us pool our food and money.” [3]
Everyone has something to offer. If each of us gives our little bit, and we gather it all together, it turns out to be a whole lot! Not only food, but time. Talents. Money, when possible. In addition, what about prayer? Some of us have the gift of praying. too! We can pray for those who are hungry. Pray that they may know God’s abundance—through our generosity, as well!
Jesus comes to open our hearts, our hands and our minds to those around us, especially to those in need. We can do that only because Jesus also comes to open our hearts, minds and eyes to His own presence in our midst. May God increase our generosity! May God increase our love and caring for all who hunger after the abundance that Jesus offers.
May we all too discover the “one small gift” that God is inviting us to bring – that humble yet crucial gift that will help announce to a hungry world that God’s table is set and all are most welcome! [4]
First responders do a tremendous job for their communities! Firefighters, paramedics and police officers put their lives on the line every day, risking their lives to save others. And, they do all this in the line of duty. They all serve in difficult but much-valued jobs, and these positions are to be lauded by grateful communities, certainly!
As first responders go about their challenging jobs, I can see how some might look at them and say, “I could never do that!” Being a firefighter, paramedic or police officer can be a challenging, and especially dangerous position. Yet, what does Jesus say in our Gospel reading today? Isn’t Jesus talking about doing something just as challenging, even dangerous?
The background of these words of Jesus is critically important for us to understand exactly what Jesus was getting at. What was the history, the backstory? Here we are at the center of the Gospel of Mark. Jesus had healed, taught, cast out demons, and performed other signs of power, but often in secret. People had questioned who this upstart Rabbi was, but with little answer. Up until this time, Mark had only mentioned the term “the Christ” once, in the opening verse at the very beginning of the book, until here in today’s reading, in Chapter 8.
Just before this scripture reading today, the Rabbi Jesus asks His disciples, “Who do other people say I am?” Great question! We are familiar with the responses. Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah or another prophet, but you and I know better. We know different. We know the end of the story. The thing is, these disciples do not.
Our Lord Jesus regularly said things that were difficult to understand, and sometimes even more difficult to obey. Some theologians and bible teachers call these the “hard sayings” of Jesus. This week we are looking at one of these hard sayings. Listen again: “Then Jesus called the crowd and his disciples to him. “If any of you want to come with me,” he told them, “you must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow me.”
We can think of the first responders and the challenging jobs they do, certainly! But, if we look at their jobs in the light of what Jesus said here, the Rabbi Jesus is calling all of us – each of us – to do something very much like what a first responder does. “For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it; but if you lose your life for me and for the gospel, you will save it.”
How on earth can we think about, much less talk about, losing our lives? Well, in a spirit of self-sacrifice, certainly many regular folks make amazing and tremendous sacrifices for their loved ones on a regular basis. “we can understand Jesus’ comments about losing our lives in a healthy manner. Sacrifice is an essential part of life. Jesus sacrifices and so do loving companions, parents, grandparents, and friends. Jesus’s ethic of self-denial is grounded in the unconditional love of God.” [1]
Ahh. Now, there I can begin to understand this hard saying of Jesus. When it was compared to the difficult jobs of a first responder, I did not really connect with the description, the comparison. But, by saying that the Rabbi Jesus grounds this taking up the cross, this self-denial, in the unconditional love of God? That I can begin to connect with!
Yes, we can see how firefighters courageously fight fires! But, it’s no less courageous for parents to scrimp and save to provide their children with good educations or better living conditions. It’s no less courageous for a brother or sister to go way out of their way for a sibling or a parent in need. It’s no less courageous for a good friend to stand up to a bully on the playground to protect their best buddy. How many other examples can we think of, in everyday life, of everyday folks going above and beyond, showing unconditional love? That is what Jesus is talking about. That is a big part of taking up our cross and following Jesus.
Just in case anyone is still unsure about what Jesus is telling us to do, I will say it another way. The very “act of following Jesus is totally re-ordering our priorities and principles to the way of the Kingdom. It’s no longer about saving our lives.” [2] It’s about living our lives for others, the way that Jesus did. Instead of, “ME, first!” And, “me, me, ME!” And, “where’s mine?” We need to think, “Who would Jesus love?” “Who would Jesus put first?”
That is one thing that Lent puts front and center: the cross. Jesus told each of us to take up the cross and follow Him. As we walk with Jesus towards Jerusalem, towards Passion Week, we need to think about what we might change to follow Jesus more closely.
One positive change for each of us might be from this suggestion. “What might it mean for us to ‘take up our cross’ to follow Jesus? Are there people in our community who are persecuted for who they are, what they believe, the color of their skin, how they express themselves, or where they come from? How might we and our church share the unconditional love of God with these community members?” [3]
We are encouraged to put ourselves at the service of our Lord Jesus. To think of others, and especially to think of God’s love. Jesus calls to each one of us to pick up our cross and to follow Him. And following Jesus is not just in Lent, as a Lenten devotion, but we are to follow Jesus all year long. How can you – how can I – show the love of God to others, today?
Have you ever felt like you were wandering in the wilderness? Like the Israelites, after coming out of Egypt? Going into the wilderness is not something for the faint of heart, believe me! I have periodically spent time in the wilderness, throughout my decades of walking with Christ, and that time was not pleasant or easy, to be sure!
I don’t mean completely, physically on my own, stranded out dozens of miles from anyone in a trackless wasteland! No, but I certainly felt that way. I felt parched, even though I had water to drink. Famished, even though I had food to eat.
The Lord seemed silent to me, withdrawn from me, and that was the worst thing in the world. That was why I was lost in the spiritual wilderness. Have you ever felt like you were lost, with the Lord withdrawn from you, too?
Our Scripture reading today comes from the Gospel of Mark, and it is a very short reading. Spare, and to the point. It tells us about our Lord Jesus, at the beginning of His ministry, right after His baptism. Let me read this important part again: “12 At once the Spirit made Jesus go into the desert, 13 where he stayed forty days, being tempted by Satan. Wild animals were there also, but angels came and helped him.”
One of Mark’s favorite words is “immediately!” In another translation, it’s phrased another way: “at once!” Mark doesn’t use a ton of words to say what he wants to say. “Immediately!” is one of those words he uses a lot, carrying us along on this nonstop roller coaster ride of our Lord Jesus, His life and ministry.
We are going to place special emphasis on the first stop in our journey. “At once the Spirit made Jesus go into the desert, where he stayed forty days.” I have wondered at that phrase for a long, long time: “the Spirit made Jesus go into the desert.” Is there some “kind of holy inevitability to Jesus’ being violently impelled into the wilderness?”[1] Jesus must have been riding high immediately after His baptism! I mean, having His Heavenly Father give affirmation and praise to Jesus, in such a public forum? That must have been unbelievable, at the very least.
The next thing that Mark states in his typical economy of language is that the Holy Spirit of God – the third person of the Trinity – led Jesus out. The New International Version translates that verse as “the Spirit sent Him out into the wilderness.”
Wait. Mark only gives us bullet points of this Temptation experience of our Lord Jesus. Let’s back up again. “Mark says the important stuff is there. He says, look at the process. Baptism, heavens torn open, gentle Spirit like a dove settles, and Jesus is blessed. Then gentle Spirit becomes an irresistible force driving him out into the wilderness. Driving him. Temptation, wild animals, angels. That’s all you need to know.”[2]
We heard the Lord say “You are My own beloved Son” at His baptism in the Jordan River, and we immediately follow Jesus into the wild chaos of the wilderness. We watch the God-man Jesus persevere through temptation, and be lifted up and helped by angelic aid. Jesus truly was out there! Actual wild beasts, miles from anywhere, and temptation abundant. And, God called Jesus beloved, all the way through.
When we are in the wilderness, either spiritually, emotionally, or in the actual physical wilderness, are we alone? When we find ourselves off track or out of step with God, are you like me, thinking “what am I doing here? How did I end up in this place?” Feeling lost and alone and like no one will ever come to help me, ever? When we find ourselves in difficult or incredibly sad situations, is our thinking negative, accusing of ourselves? Do we ask, “What did I do wrong? How on earth did I get here?” and most of all, “Why me?”
I wonder if the hungry, thirsty, tired Jesus ever felt any of these things? We do not know.
If each of us reflects, what would going out into the wilderness look like for us? Are we lonely? In the hospital? Grieving? Unemployed? Infirm? I think each of us might have different wilderness wandering experiences. My wilderness might look very different from yours. More importantly, one person’s temptation might be very different from another’s.
Looking at Mark’s bare bones account of the Temptation, I think our main takeaway is one of struggle. The very human Jesus versus the fallen angel Satan, in the wilderness. As I consider this reading from Mark, one major thing that pops out at me is God calling God’s Son Jesus beloved, as He is baptized. That Divine affirmation goes with Jesus into the wilderness, to strengthen Him and nurture Him through the Temptation. How could it not?
Even though we feel alone in the wilderness – whatever our chaotic wilderness looks like – whether physical, emotional or spiritual – Jesus is right by our sides. Just as the angels helped and ministered to Jesus while He was tempted and afterwards, so Jesus is right next to us in our dark times, when Satan is trying his hardest to lead us into temptation.
A reminder from my online friend the Rev. Daniel Brereton: “Whatever voice suggests that you need to prove your inherent belovedness, test God’s love or earn it, isn’t coming from God. It’s as if Mark is saying that THIS is the important thing.: the truths Love proclaims about us, not the lies Evil whispers. Hold on to the truth. You ARE beloved.” [3]
We do not hear about the blow-by-blow of Jesus’s meeting with Satan from Mark in his very brief account. For that, we need to go to Matthew or Luke. But, Mark’s account of Jesus’ perseverance, Jesus’ belovedness through the forces of chaos and temptation can give us hope, strength, and lift our hearts. This is indeed Good News!
Yes, we hear from God that we are beloved, too! We can keep going, keep striving, and know that Jesus is with us, too.
Jesus knows exactly what it is like to be tempted. And, He knows exactly what it is like to be beloved. Because He is, too. Our Lord Jesus went through great brokenness and hurt as a human, and can walk with us as we journey through rough places, dark and hurting spaces, too. We can truly say “what a friend we have in Jesus,” because He is always there, right by our sides. Amen, and amen.
Pastor, Preacher, Pray-er 