Sermon ideas

• In history, when great generals won battles, the grateful nation would raise for them a tribute that would stand to their glory for ever. So, Blenheim Palace was given to the Churchill family after a victory won at the Battle of Blenheim (against the French). Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square commemorates both a British hero and a British victory. Glory is supposed to show battles won, armies commanded, triumphs, power, and the defeat of a hated enemy. But Jesus says that he is to be glorified in the place where he is shortly to go, but where the disciples can’t follow. And this glory comes not from victory, but from defeat. Not from triumph, but from his ignominious execution as a criminal.
• In John’s Gospel, we are time and time again told to follow Jesus, preferably like sheep. But now Jesus says that his disciples won’t be able to. As yet, they’re not ready to hear this. But the new commandment has a hint of the contrast with the old – instead of ‘love as you love yourself’, now it is ‘love as I have loved you’. The world still doesn’t understand this radical new commandment; it still makes no sense in human terms. The old saying that ‘charity begins at home’ is the exact opposite of Jesus’ new commandment. For charity to begin at home, it must start with me, and my own interests. Jesus instead calls his disciples to love without counting the cost, and to not worry about themselves in the process.
• The new commandment takes a long time to become embedded in the life of the disciples. Peter is still learning about what it means when he is called to Caesarea. He sees that God is working in the lives of those who call him, and he realises that the commandment to love has no boundaries, no limits, no need for us to choose who we can and can’t love.
• Through over-simplification of people’s thoughts, through misunderstanding and poor listening, through the need for drama in news programmes, soap operas and entertainment, and more, we see polarisation and hatred all around us, and an expectation that conflict can only be overcome with power, and must end in victory for one side and defeat for the other. Instead, reconciliation can happen when we put aside all of this, and try to see the world as God sees it, loving all, unconditionally. Resurrection can happen, but it often happens slowly, with long periods of seemingly no progress.