Sunday Worship
Welcome to our Worship on the Fifth Sunday of Easter. Our services are at the usual times of 9.15 am at St Agnes' Church, and 11.00 am at St Thomas'. If you are unable to be with us in person, you can find a Bible reading, a short reflection and some prayers below.
Our first hymn this morning is "Here is Love, Vast as the Ocean"
Today's Gospel
John 13:31-35 Love one another, just as I have loved you
At the last supper, when Judas had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once.
Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, 'Where I am going, you cannot come.' I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
Reflection
‘There is nothin’ you can do that can't be done, No one you can save that can't be saved… All you need is love’.
Some of you will instantly recognise these words, not as a quote from the Bible but the lyrics from the 1967 song by the Beatles which appeared in the film, Magical Mystery Tour. It’s funny sometimes, when I start to write a reflection how an idea can just jump into my head. I wonder if John Lennon, when he penned these lyrics, was subconsciously thinking about these verses from John 13. Then again it would not be difficult to believe that the Holy Spirit is guiding our thoughts through divine inspiration. The song continues; There's nothin' you can know that isn't known, nothin' you can see that isn't shown…..
The setting of our Gospel passage is of course the last supper, and Jesus knows that Judas has left to betray him. He knows that the time has now come for the prophesies to be fulfilled and that he is to fulfil his destiny on The Cross. Jesus accepts this but he also knows how difficult it will be for his disciples who have been beside him throughout his ministry. He knows, how much they will miss him and so he feels the need to explain that what will happen is inevitable for God to glorify Christ in the future. For Christ to be glorified in himself, Jesus has to be lifted up in resurrection, redeeming us all from sin and death. This is all part of the mystery of the passion which the disciples will both see and know because Jesus has revealed it to them.
Jesus then gives his disciples a new commandment, “Just as I have loved you, you should also love one another”. On the face of it, you may think this is not new, he is repeating what he said when challenged by the pharisees, when he said, “The second commandment is like this, Love your neighbour as yourself”. But this is fundamentally different. What is “new” is the way this command teaches us to love our neighbours, not as we love ourselves, but as Christ loves us.
To use a sporting analogy, Jesus has significantly ‘raised the bar’. Because to love my neighbour as I love myself might not require much from me, especially if for some reason my self-esteem is low. However, if I am going to love someone as Christ has loved me, I have to be willing to make sacrifices for that person. This is the kind of sacrificial love Christ commands us to have for each other. Loving each other as Jesus has loved us identifies us as belonging to Christ.
Just as Jesus could wash Judas’ feet, and feed him the bread and cup he shared with all the disciples at his last meal, he expects us to offer grace, hospitality and unconditional love to everyone, even the ones who insult us, cheat on us, steal from us or those we might dislike or hate for some reason. Even the ones who don’t much like us. Jesus “loved them to the end” so that we might love one another in just the same way. That can be hard.
Jesus commands us to serve each other, take care of one another. How we do that shows the rest of the world what it means to follow Jesus, and what it means to be loved by God. ‘There is nothin’ you can do that can't be done, No one you can save that can't be saved… All you need is love’. Paul
Our Prayers
Holy Lord, you taught us that glory is found in sacrificial love.
Give us the strength to abide in Your love
so that we are able to submit to You
and love others with the same love you have given to us.
AMEN
