This Sunday - May 10th 6th Sunday of Easter
- Christ United
- 59 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Acts 17:22-31 ~ Psalm 66:8-20 ~ 1 Peter 3:13-22 ~ John 14:15-21
"If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
Jesus makes this statement in the Gospel reading for Sunday. Less than a chapter earlier, in the same speach in John 13:34, Jesus says “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another”. This is the only time in the Gospels that Jesus gives a “commandment”. He gives other instructions, but he doesn’t command. In the other three Gospels, he sums up the law by saying the greatest commands are to love God and love neighbor (Matthew 22:37-39). It’s telling to me that Jesus’ only command is to love and makes that the key to following him.
In churches, we often talk about the lens through which we read the Bible (the fancy word for it is hermeneutics). How we approach the Bible (our lens) can affects what we read. If we think God is principally a judge and punishes bad choices, we will read the Bible that way and find ample evidence for it. Likewise, if we think that God’s help is focused only on those who believe in God, then we will find that there instead.
As Lutherans, we often talk about our lens being Grace, which is just a technical term for God’s abundant love for us. To say that the lens we use to read the Bible is love means that it helps inform what we read and guide how we act. It helps us crosscheck our understanding: does how I’m reading this passage reveal God’s love? If not, maybe I need to spend some more time with it and look at it differently. It also helps us prepare to read the Bible: How does this passage help me understand love and how to love others?
When we allow love to be the lens through which we read the Bible, we begin realizing that what the Bible teaches us is love is also the lens through which we live our lives in the world.
After reading the scriptures for this day, discuss the following questions with someone else:
When you hear Jesus say, “This is my commandment that you love one another” what does it mean to you?
How does looking through the lens of love change how we view the world?
Share a story about a time when someone showed you love (compassion, forgiveness, mercy, etc) when you didn’t feel like you deserved it.