A Famine Not of Bread

Click here to listen to this sermon. Jesus said:] “As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love” (John 15:9-11). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! It’s one of the shortest answers in the list of questions I require our catechumens to answer to be confirmed: “What, in one word, is the summary of all the commandments?” The answer: “Love.” It’s a short, simple answer. But it takes some repetition until they remember it. And even longer until they understand it. Why is that? I suspect it is because we generally use these words with different definitions in different contexts. Love and commandments are not typically associated in our everyday conversations. Love is often seen as a universally positive concept, while commandments can be viewed as strict, authoritative, and overbearing. Yet, in today’s Gospe...

Click here to listen to this sermon.  [Jesus said:] “I am the true Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser. Every branch of Mine that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (John 15:1-2). Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! As Jesus speaks these words, He is preparing His disciples for His death. He has spoken of His betrayal, predicted Peter’s denial, and now He teaches His disciples one more time before closing with His High Priestly Prayer, and heading to the Garden of Gethsemane. Which raises the question: “Why do we spend time reading and meditating on these words in the season of Easter?” Because when you look back on these words during Easter, you see that Jesus was doing something more than preparing His disciples for His death. He was also preparing them for His life: His resurrected life. In these words, Jesus offers His disciples (of all times) a promise that...