{"id":26266,"date":"2026-05-06T12:28:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T10:28:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/?p=26266"},"modified":"2026-05-06T12:28:51","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T10:28:51","slug":"john-145-21","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/john-145-21\/","title":{"rendered":"John 14:5-21"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sixth Sunday of Easter<\/span><\/b> | 10. Mai 2026 | John 14:5-21 <\/span><\/b>| David M. Wendel <\/span><\/b>|<\/h3>\n

John 14:15-21<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIf you love me, you will\u00a0keep my commandments.16\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper,\u00a0to be with you forever,\u00a017\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. 18\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>\u201cI will not leave you as orphans;\u00a0I will come to you.19\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but\u00a0you will see me.\u00a0Because I live, you also will live.\u00a020\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>In that day you will know that\u00a0I am in my Father, and\u00a0you in me, and\u00a0I in you.\u00a021\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.\u201d
\n<\/em>English Standard Version <\/strong>Copyright \u00a9\u00a02001 by Crossway Bibles<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.<\/p>\n

In our first reading, as Paul was speaking in Athens, in the Areopagus to philosophers and religious of all stripes, he said, \u201cThe God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth\u2026 made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth\u2026 27\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>that they should seek God,\u00a0and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is a curious movement today, a somewhat surprising movement in the U.S. today, among young men, especially, toward Christianity in general and toward traditional expressions of Christianity in particular. And we\u2019re all trying to understand this movement, and why it is that many of these young men, not raised in the Church, not raised to be religious, are now seeking Christ\u2014and often, not in weak, watered-down forms of the faith, but in traditions which would be considered serious, demanding, not easily accessible for seekers who aren\u2019t familiar with the Bible, the liturgy or the teachings of Christ. Both Christianity Today and the Gospel Coalition are studying this trend and agree that much of this movement has to do with a sense of isolation and meaninglessness among young men especially, who feel confused by life in our culture today, leaving them feeling alone, unclear about how to find and live a life full of purpose and direction. And yet, they seem to have an in-born, created desire to \u201cseek God and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him.\u201d And so, they are making their way toward Christian churches which provide a real experience of Christ\u2019s presence, in an authentic community of believers, which provide them with a clear biblical moral and ethical foundation, in a chaotic world where truth is often considered relative. Which brings us to our Gospel account this morning, where the Lord, Himself, is offering to His followers, a real experience of His presence, within an authentic community of believers, with a clear moral and ethical foundation, based on God\u2019s truth, to guide us through life in this chaotic world.<\/p>\n

In our reading for today, we find the Lord at the Passover meal on Maundy Thursday, sharing with His disciples in what we refer to as the Farewell Discourses. Knowing He would, later that evening, be betrayed by one of His own, leading to His arrest, trial, torture and death on the cross, He is now trying to prepare His closest friends for what was to come. He knew they would feel abandoned, orphaned, alone, as they saw this all transpire. Who wouldn\u2019t experience that, when they saw their teacher taken from them? But even more so, when they would see Him crucified, dead and buried! For all the hope and promise they had these last three years, the believed the death of Jesus would end their relationship, putting an end to their dreams of a new life in a restored Jewish kingdom. As the stone was rolled into place and Jesus was sealed into the tomb, that was it. That would be the end of the mission of the Messiah. Or so they thought, on Maundy Thursday. Which is why the Lord is speaking to assure them. Of what? That He would not abandon them. That He would not leave them alone. That He would send a comforter, who would lead them into all the truth, until He would return. And that they are to let their love for Him continue, in obedience to His commands. That\u2019s what Jesus is telling His disciples, as He prepares them to deal with their feelings of isolation and abandonment, in the midst of confusion and chaos. And those words of Jesus are for us, as well, as we sometimes struggle with what we perceive as isolation and abandonment, living in the midst of confusion and chaos.<\/p>\n

Sadly, it\u2019s not only younger men today, who experience loneliness, as we all feel orphaned and abandoned at times. Many are especially aware of those feelings, on Mother\u2019s Day, or Father\u2019s Day, when we are reminded of that experience of aloneness, when finally, both parents are gone and we realize, now, I have no parent to rely upon\u2014I have to go it alone. The disciples experienced that as they huddled in the upper room on Good Friday, afraid and uncertain. Even as we experience that, at times in our lives, when we struggle, are afraid, wondering, \u201cAre you there, Lord? Or have you abandoned me, too?!\u201d And Jesus speaks to all of us saying, \u201cDo not be afraid, for I will come to you. And not only will I come to you, but I will send you a Helper, to be with you forever\u2014the Spirit of truth, who will lead you into all the truth, for life and for living, Jesus will say shortly. All of which is to serve one purpose\u2014that we know we are never alone or isolated, that we never feel abandoned or orphaned, that we will know and experience, Jesus with us, and that we will always know the truth about Him, and the Father God who sent Him.<\/p>\n

You see, Paul was speaking to Athenians in our first lesson, who were all about worshipping all the gods, so compulsively that they even had a temple dedicated to \u201cthe unknown god.\u201d And Paul acknowledges this innate, inborn seeking for the one true God. But now, Paul is preaching, not some god, not an unknown god, but the God who has revealed Himself in Jesus. Which is why Jesus invites us, not only into a relationship with Him, but also into a relationship with the Father and the Spirit, as the Father, the Son and the Spirit are one divine Godhead, one divine holy community, who invite us into that divine holy community, into a Holy Communion, with God and with each other. A Holy Communion celebrating the real presence of Jesus in Word and Sacrament, expressing our love for Him, by keeping His commandments.\u00a0 Those are the signs of the Holy Communion\u2014the Holy Christian Fellowship: the real presence of Jesus, the truth revealed by the Holy Spirit and commitment to all that Jesus has commanded. That\u2019s what it means to be disciples and to make disciples. That\u2019s what it means to be part of the Body of Christ\u2014that Jesus is with us, that we preach and teach the truth, that we keep His commandments. And that gives us, you and me, purpose and meaning in life. That creates for us, life in community. That helps us to build Christ-like lives founded upon His teachings, giving order and structure to life, even in the midst of chaos and confusion!<\/p>\n

And\u2014is that a message someone in your life needs to hear? Is that a message someone you know needs to receive and take to heart? That they are not alone or abandoned. That God loves them and sent His Son to be with them. That in the Church, the Body of Christ, they will find a forgiven, restored, authentic community where they will be loved and cared for, even as together, we preach and teach the Truth\u2014the objective and unwavering, indisputable truth, that God our Father created us, that Jesus, His Son died on the cross for us and was raised to new life for us. That He sent the Holy Spirit to each of us and to the Church, to lead us into the Truth, to keep us abiding in the Truth, to transform our hearts and lives so that we do not resent His commandments, but love them and keep them and allow them to shape and guide our lives. If you know someone who needs that message\u2014that good news, then share this Gospel with them, that they know the Savior\u2026the Savior and Shepherd who is with them always!<\/p>\n

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a9David M. Wendel
\nd.wendel@grace43081.org
\nGrace Evangelical Lutheran Church
\nWesterville, Ohio USA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sixth Sunday of Easter | 10. Mai 2026 | John 14:5-21 | David M. Wendel | John 14:15-21 \u201cIf you love me, you will\u00a0keep my commandments.16\u00a0And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper,\u00a0to be with you forever,\u00a017\u00a0even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19745,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,727,157,853,108,629,110,345,349,3,109,361],"tags":[],"beitragende":[],"predigtform":[],"predigtreihe":[],"bibelstelle":[],"class_list":["post-26266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-johannes","category-archiv","category-beitragende","category-bibel","category-current","category-david-m-wendel","category-engl","category-kapitel-14-chapter-14-johannes","category-kasus","category-nt","category-predigten","category-rogate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26266"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26266\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26268,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26266\/revisions\/26268"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26266"},{"taxonomy":"beitragende","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/beitragende?post=26266"},{"taxonomy":"predigtform","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/predigtform?post=26266"},{"taxonomy":"predigtreihe","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/predigtreihe?post=26266"},{"taxonomy":"bibelstelle","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bibelstelle?post=26266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}