John 13:21-35

Today's Reading is John 13:21-35.

During this joyous meal Jesus drops the bomb: “I am telling you the truth: one of you is going to betray me.” The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking. In the other gospels they don't learn who he is talking about, but ask helplessly: "Is it I, Lord?" without Jesus giving an answer.The gospel of John has a super-special disciple: "One of the disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was sitting next to Jesus."

Now it gets weird: Simon Peter motioned to him and said, “Ask him whom he is talking about.” So that disciple moved closer to Jesus' side and asked, “Who is it, Lord?” Jesus answered, “I will dip some bread in the sauce and give it to him; he is the man.” So he took a piece of bread, dipped it, and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.

Why all that ado? Why not straight-talk? Peter is the Head Apostle at the time. John is what seems to be Jesus' lover. The ultimate result is the same as in the other gospels: None of the others at the table understood why Jesus said this to him.

Even being the first of all Christians, even being super close to Jesus, does not prevent us from betraying him. When the Lord cleansed us disciples through his foot-washing that didn't last too long: Tonight's supper reminds us of our need for forgiveness over and over again.

John 13:1-20

Today's Reading is John 13:1-20.
Afraid of germs we teach to wash your hands before a meal, afraid of coming to God unclean a few cultures teach to wash your feet before a meal.
That is an act of purification, not cleanliness.
The entirety of his disciples is not clean, because Judas is part of them.
Each individual is not entirely clean, because we are all partly Judas.
You have hidden sins of the past and unknown sins of the future.
Foot-washing is a visible sign for an inner process of purification: In this moment I am willing to look at myself from God's perspective. It shows me that I am just human, I'm unclean, and God is ready to cleanse me today.

John 3:22-36

Sunday's Reading was John 3:22-36. This one actually needs to be extended to John 4:1-3. The Gospel of John dates to the 90s. It is a relatively late and distant interpretation of Jesus Christ. John the Baptist is a distant memory surely not worthy of baptizing Jesus. To the author it is even important to stress Jesus' superiority over the Baptist by stating that Jesus won more disciples than John - he did not even baptize himself.

John 3:1-21

Saturday's Reading was John 3:1-21. I still like my sermon for Trinity Sunday 2009 titled "Spiritual Encounter" which was based on this passage.

John 17:1-26

Today's Reading is John 17:1-26.
Today is also the Sunday of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
Hence the natural focus is on the most famous phrase from Jesus' high priestly prayer - verse 21: "I pray that they may all be one."

One beautiful symbol reflecting this verse is the symbol of the United Church of Christ. It comprises a crown, cross and orb enclosed within a double oval bearing the name of the church and the prayer of Jesus, "That they may all be one" (John 17:21). It is based on an ancient Christian symbol called the "Cross of Victory" or the "Cross Triumphant." The crown symbolizes the sovereignty of Christ. The cross recalls the suffering of Christ—his arms outstretched on the wood of the cross—for the salvation of humanity. The orb, divided into three parts, reminds us of Jesus' command to be his "witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). The verse from Scripture reflects our historic commitment to the restoration of unity among the separated churches of Jesus Christ.