RebeccaMallinson

Obedience is linked to loving Jesus because we know that he loves us more than we can ever love him. Therefore we must show our gratitude by our obedience. We know how much he wants to welcome us into his Kingdom. It is possible for us to sin even though we love Jesus. However, we must repent, like the lost sheep or the prodigal son. If we fail to do so, this is demonstrated in our behaviour to those who are created by Him in his own image. Obedience under these circumstances cannot become legalism because we are talking about obedience from the heart, not from a set of impersonal rules. Once again Jesus sets us the example, as at the end of this chapter (verse 31) he says that he does as the Father commands him so that the world may know that he loves the Father.

I think the best way of describing the Paraclete is as a Strengthener. He is ‘another’ Paraclete, because up until now Jesus has been the divine inspiration for the disciples. On the surface it looks as though Jesus is saying that the Holy Spirit will replace him in being ever present with us after Jesus has ascended to Heaven. However, as God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all One, I think this means that God will still be with us in spirit. As Pastor Ralph reminds us, in Matthew, Jesus tells his disciples, "Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age".I think the best way of describing the Paraclete is as a Strengthener. He is ‘another’ Paraclete, because up until now Jesus has been the divine inspiration for the disciples. On the surface it looks as though Jesus is saying that the Holy Spirit will replace him in being ever present with us after Jesus has ascended to Heaven. However, as God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all One, I think this means that God will still be with us in spirit. As Pastor Ralph reminds us, in Matthew, Jesus tells his disciples, "Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age".

Love is an essential indicator that we are true disciples because we are supposed to follow Jesus’ example. He said that if we do not love one another we are not his disciples (i.e. followers). He was the epitome of love for all, particularly sinners and sufferers. At large services, I look around when I arrive and pray for all those present as my brothers and sisters in Christ, giving thanks for them all. This is easy to do because I am living in an extremely poor country where my fellow church-goers are stick-thin and ragged. They are in serious need of prayer for their daily needs. They are also extremely kindly, devout people, who it is very easy to love. I admire their tenacity of faith in spite of all their difficulties. At an intimate Christian community meeting, such as Bible Study, I know the members far more intimately. It is easy to pick fault with them when we don’t always agree. I need to be aware of this and resist doing so. Conversely, I enjoy groups of this sort and get a lot of benefit, so I also feel gratitude for their help on my spiritual journey. My love at church is more ‘agape’ and at Bible study, more brotherly love. When people ask, “How can you love everyone?” I think I have a way to help as I had an experience when my second child was born which helped me a lot. When I saw him I felt no love for him at all. In fact I found him repulsive. I even had nightmares about him. I was appalled by my reaction as I knew perfectly well that he was a totally innocent baby, who deserved love. I was determined that he would not know that I didn’t love him. I cuddled him, nursed him, sang to him, and generally treated him as though I loved him. Miraculously the love came. Thirty years later, of all my children he is the one who is closest to me. We can make ourselves love by initially going through the motions and doing our best to show love. True love then comes. I live and work in an orphanage in South Sudan and teach in a class of 60 very disruptive and difficult children during the week. I treat them all with love, most of the time, although there are moments when they can be very exasperating. This causes me to feel like their mother. If I hadn’t had that experience with my son, I don’t think this would be the case. There are still people who I find it hard to love. I find it helps to pray about them.

Love is exalted to the level of a command because, as Jesus points out, all the other commandments of the Law stem from love, first of God and then of our neighbour. God is a God of love and therefore love characterises Jesus’s life in his dealings with his people, and even with those outside the fold. Throughout the Old Testament God tried to have reciprocal love with his chosen people, but they resisted. Jesus’s ministry is a new approach to the same problem. Therefore it fulfils the law and the prophets.

It is the famous slippery slope. Sins start small, just as a thought which is not put into practice. We have a choice of following or resisting that temptation. If the sin is put into action, temptation gets a hold and starts to escalate. The boldness with which Judas sat and ate with Jesus while calmly hearing him predict his betrayal demonstrates how strong a hold temptation now had on Judas. If we resist temptation, we become better and better at resisting.

The Kingdom of God is the reverse of worldly values. St Paul talks about how much the reverse Christian values are in Corinthians 1 I:20-25. Pope Francis has set a fantastic example as described by Pastor Ralph by making his life as lowly as possible. What Pastor Ralph did not mention and which I think is very important is Pope Francis’ gift for giving a very personal touch. This really shows love. I know that on being made Pope, he called his previous archdiocese and various people in Buenos Aires personally. He even called his local newspaper vendor to cancel his newspaper. No effort spared.

Jesus’ whole ministry was an example of God descending to our level in order to raise us up, through his loving care for us. His washing of the feet was the embodiment of that lesson and was intended to create a lasting impression. He established a value of service of the powerful for the vulnerable. When we do charitable acts with real love, we are living this value out, particularly when we do things are nobody wants to do and which are stigmatised in some way.

The full bath represents the beginning of our clean, new life after baptism. Baptism purges us of original sin but not of human weakness to resist temptation. Baptism cannot be repeated. When we sin after baptism, which we all do as human beings, we need to be cleansed, but from individual sins resulting from temptation, not our old life. This cleansing is done through repentance and confession. That is the analogy with foot washing.

I have never been very sure about what it means to pray ‘in Jesus’s name’ but I hadn’t realised that it was a cultural aspect in the time of the early church. That makes more sense. I tend to pray direct to Jesus or God (the Father). To me, the two are so interwoven that it makes no difference to my prayer. If a prayer is out of God’s will he will not fulfil it, or may find another way to help, which you have not considered. My own experience is an example. I prayed desperately for my children to come back to me when they rejected me, but God had decided otherwise. Instead he sent me to work in an orphanage in South Sudan where I now have around 50 wonderful children. That was God’s will and I consider it an answer to my prayer. If somebody had asked me a few years ago if I planned to go to work in an orphanage in South Sudan, I would have thought they were mad. So, no, I don’t think practicalities are a barrier to God.

The Holy Spirit descended on the apostles causing them to become passionate and fearless evangelisers and miracle-workers. In a single day they converted 3000 people. This promise was not limited to the apostles, but to all Christians. Some Christians are uncomfortable because they are very lukewarm and have no wish to be swept off their feet on a spiritual journey which will rock their lives.

As God the Father and Son are one, we cannot have one without the other. We cannot say we trust Jesus without also trusting God. Jesus says that the Father is speaking through him. Therefore the actions and words of both are identical. Jesus and the Father are one being, which divided to allow Jesus to take the form of a man, but is basically one. It is very hard to explain clearly.

It does seem unfair on the surface. However, God calls people in diverse ways. It is only necessary to consider the conversion of St Paul, who was adamantly anti-Christ beforehand. In the end it is up to those who are called how they respond. I believe that Jesus’s actions had a timeless quality, because God takes no account of time. It is absolutely just that those who were on earth before the birth of Christ should not be forgotten. Their actions, good and bad, also hold them to account. Some Christians are uncomfortable with the statement ‘No one comes to the Father but by me’ because it makes them responsible for teaching others, rather than just murmuring about a ‘personal faith’. Sheer moral cowardice.

Jesus is the Way to God because we are told that to have everlasting life we must ‘follow’ him. He is God’s Truth because he is the Word (spoken by God) made flesh. The Word that created the world cannot be a lie. The implications of this for us are extremely important. It is absolutely necessary to us to follow him as it is the only true way. Most of the world is following the other broad path which leads to destruction. Jesus is God’s Life in the sense that he is indivisibly part of God. I struggled with the concept of God the Father and Son’s total unity for many years, but somehow I got there. It doesn’t particularly affect the way I speak about Jesus to others.

The Father’s House is Heaven. Jesus is going to ‘prepare a place’ for us. This means that he will be our host and make us welcome. This can is a great comfort in times of doubt particularly when we remember the preceding statement, ‘do not let your hearts be troubled’.

When we judge people we can stiffen their resistance. Almost certainly they already know they are wrong and become defensive. We should meet them where they are, befriend and help them. Jesus dealt with this, for instance, by eating with tax collectors and publicans. He also freely forgave all past sins when he healed people. I think churches need to be more welcoming and less ‘worthy’. They must put far more emphasis on welcoming all, regardless of background. Individually we must bear in mind that we are all made in God’s image. When we abuse others we are abusing God. It is not possible to help people at the same time as being unkind to them.

When we are quiet about God out of fear of others, it shows weakness. Our priority should be God, not our fellow man. We are not behaving like true disciples. When Peter denied knowing Jesus he showed human fear. Afterwards he was very distressed and remorseful and turned back very strongly indeed, so that he completely redeemed himself.

People do not like being removed from their comfort zones. They therefore resist strenuously. The truth, even when in the form of a miracle, can cause people to feel very threatened. The Pharisees had a lot of power and did not like Jesus’s message which negated power.

When Jesus talks about being lifted up, he means being crucified. He means it literally, both bodily for himself, and spiritually for us. In Isaiah 52:12 Isaiah says ‘the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard. The following verse (52:13) says ‘he shall be exalted and lifted up and shall be very high’. When Jesus was ‘lifted up’ on the cross, he went before us, showing us the way. In Philippians 2:8-9 St Paul says that Jesus humbled himself to the point of death on a cross and was therefore exalted. Death on the cross was the ultimate disgrace in Roman times. It was therefore a very humble death, performed for our sake. He was then lifted up to heaven where he is above all.

Verse 25 is the essence of self-sacrifice. We cannot be true disciples if we do not sacrifice our worldly will for God’s will. To ‘love’ your life means to enjoy material things ahead of spiritual. To ‘hate’ your life means to despise worldly things and long for eternal life. Jesus lived this out in the Garden of Gethsemane by placing his fate completely into his Father’s hands.

God’s glory is especially revealed in death because that is the transition point to everlasting life. Before death, we only have mortal life. The seed illustrates this because it must be buried before it can grow and produce multiple seeds. Therefore we must die (be buried) before we can achieve the whole purpose of our being. Jesus’ death illustrates this in a special way. He died, was buried and burst from the tomb. His glorification began while still with us. Dying to our old life can use the same metaphor. If we are ‘born again’ and renounce our sins we begin a whole new life which will be much more spiritually productive. A lovely metaphor is the caterpillar which transforms into a butterfly - no longer earthbound.

As Jesus is our King we need to be very humble before him. He is the ultimate King as he is also our God. We are all individuals, so we have our own relationship with him, but one appropriate way is the ‘extravagant’ worship mentioned earlier. We all give different types of service. Whole hearted vocations are our service. Vocations should always be to serve others as Jesus serves us. The priority of our lives should be God first, then our neighbour. Our obedience should be to obey God’s promptings and to follow the clear instructions laid down by Jesus. I hope I am giving Jesus his due. I am trying!

They quoted directly from Psalm 118 v26, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel!’ and wave branches as in the same psalm, verse 27 (Bind the festal procession with branches, up to the horns of the altar). This shows their understanding of who Jesus was. Jesus did not shun this declaration because he was on the verge of his destined death and resurrection. He had almost finished his earthly ministry.

They quoted directly from Psalm 118 v26, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel!’ and wave branches as in the same psalm, verse 27 (Bind the festal procession with branches, up to the horns of the altar). This shows their understanding of who Jesus was. Jesus did not shun this declaration because he was on the verge of his destined death and resurrection. He had almost finished his earthly ministry.

The prophetic significance of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey was to show clearly to those who witnessed it that he was the Messiah. He did it to mark the end of his earthly mission with a triumphal entry into the holy city. What we know with hindsight, is that he would reach the pinnacle of his mission by being crowned with thorns, clothed in purple, dying for his people’s sins and being resurrected into his true state as King of Heaven. The effect on the crowds was very emotional. They did not, and even the disciples did not, see what was about to happen, but they did recognise him as the Messiah of the prophesies. They shouted ‘Hosanna’ (Save us!) but they were thinking in earthly terms, not asking to be saved from their sins.

Judas objected to Mary’s extravagance, in two ways. Outwardly his objection appears religious: the money would have been better spent on the poor. Inwardly, his objection was because he wanted the money himself. Sometimes we claim motives which are purer than they really are. We cannot see Judas as the most evil person. We are all capable of this. Jesus defended her because he knew that her motive was pure and religious; there was no hidden motive. It was an act of devotion to Jesus as Son of God. This teaches us that our worship should not be hypocritical. It should be straightforward and show our love from our hearts. My worship has changed over the years. At my worst, it used to be the mandatory Sunday attendance at Mass and I forgot God during the week. I rarely prayed outside church. My faith has increased to a stage where I have now given away my previous life and try to follow the Gospel teachings, particularly of generous love. I still stumble and make terrible mistakes, but I do my best. For me, extravagant worship is total denial of worldly values and following the teachings of Christ, particularly love of my fellow humans who are made in the image of God.