Sixth Sunday of Easter, Cycle B

John 15:9-17

Few texts within the Fourth Gospel reveal more about the way in which the Johannine community and its leaders perceived themselves than does this pericope. The text is principally about the relationships of the members of the Johannine community to each other and to their Johannine Jesus.

According to this text, the members of the Johannine community in this portion of their “Farewell Discourse” of Jesus reflected about the significance of the life and of the death of Jesus and expressed their belief that Jesus had put down his life for them (John 15:13). Elsewhere in the Fourth Gospel, such as in John 3:16-17, there are indications that some within the community, or perhaps the community at an earlier stage in its development, had perceived that God had sent Jesus because of God’s love for “the world” (a concept that is much broader than that of the community itself). Here, however, in John 15:9-17, Jesus’ death is said to have been for the members of the Johannine community, for Jesus’ much loved “friends.” The members of the Johannine community were obviously very proud of this designation of themselves as hoi philoi (“the friends”) of Jesus. The leaders and members of the Johannine community, inspired by God, were affirming that Jesus had put down his life for them! For the members of the Johannine community, this was their basic statement of faith.

At one time they had considered themselves to have been “servants” of Jesus, but now they considered themselves to be Jesus’ much loved “friends.” They were his much loved friends, “the Disciple whom Jesus loved,” because Jesus had revealed to them (so they claimed) everything that Jesus had heard from his Father (John 15:15). According to these accounts within the Fourth Gospel, Jesus may have revealed some things to people in other groups, but to the members of the Fourth Gospel community Jesus had revealed everything that Jesus had heard from the Father. In this sense, the leaders and members of the Johannine community were similar to the Gnostic and Gnosticizing Christians in their claims that they had been chosen to have within themselves knowledge of everything about God. Nevertheless, the claims of the Johannine community as we have them in the Fourth Gospel were not as absolute as were the claims of the Gnostic Christians. The claims of the members of the Fourth Gospel community and their relationship with Jesus were still somewhat conditional. They stated that they would be Jesus’ much loved friends if they would continue to do the things that Jesus was commanding them to do (John 15:14). What they believed that Jesus was commanding them to do most of all, according to John 15:9-10, 12-13, 17, was to continue to love each other. The admonition to love each other became so important (and apparently so necessary!) within the Johannine community that it even became a “new commandment” of the Johannine Jesus to the community in John 13:34-35, as well as here in this John 15:9-17 text. This “new commandment” to love each other was reiterated many times elsewhere in the Fourth Gospel and in 1 John and in 2 John.

From a superficial reading of the Fourth Gospel and of 1 John and 2 John, we get the impression that the people by whom and for whom these documents were written were members of a most loving and congenial community of faith. A closer look, however, indicates that they were, in effect, “protesting too much” about their love for each other. Love for one another was apparently greatly needed within this community, so needed that they were in the process of making love for each other a requirement and of perceiving love for one another legalistically. If they would love each other, then the Johannine Jesus would be happy with them and their joy would be completed, perfected, fulfilled (John 15:11). Then they would go and bear fruit that would remain. Then whatever they would ask the Father in the name of the Johannine Jesus would be given to them (John 15:16).

1 John 5:1-6

According to this text, Jesus is the Christ because he came not only with the water of baptism but also with the blood of the cross. The person who believes that Jesus is the Christ shall demonstrate that the person is a child of God by keeping God’s commandments. Because the person who has been and is “born of God” has overcome the temptations of the world, it is not a burden for that person to keep the commandments of God.

Although the view of the writer of this 1 John 5:1-6 text regarding our ability to keep the commandments of God differs greatly from the view of the Apostle Paul as expressed in chapters 1-5 of Paul’s letter to the Romans, the Church included both documents within its developing New Testament canon and has lived under the authority of both documents for many centuries. The inclusion of these differing views illustrates the ongoing, creative tension that exists in Christian theology and practice and in the theology and practice of other theistic religions between the importance of adequate faith and right living. Both adequate faith and right living are important within a theistic religion. We should not raise one of these factors above the other, nor should we exclude one in favor of the other. Both factors are firmly imbedded within the New Testament documents and, of course, within the Old Testament documents as well. We see them also throughout the Qur’an of Islam. Both should be emphasized in their ongoing, creative tension in our proclamation and in our parenesis.

Acts 10:44-48

This text was particularly important during the latter years of the first century of the common era and later as a validation of the inclusion of non-Jewish background followers of Jesus as full participants in the new religion along with those who were of Jewish background. Today this text is significant as a biblical basis, together with other texts in Acts of Apostles, for the claims of some Christians that they have received special gifts from the Holy Spirit of God. All of us have the right to claim special gifts from the Holy Spirit of God and the responsibility to note that these gifts are intended for the entire Church and not only for a few gifted individuals and groups.

Psalm 98

The struggles and anxieties apparent within the three New Testament texts chosen for our use next Sunday seem to melt away in the words of this psalm, “Let us sing to the Lord a new song!” In this psalm, rather than in the three texts from the Newer Testament, the “gospel” is expressed most joyfully. In this psalm the texts for this day reach their highest point of love, joy, and acclamation of God. Therefore, we may wish to alter the sequence of the readings so that this psalm is read last among the texts used on this occasion.