Sermon - Lent Midweek 4, 2024 - John 15:1-17

The Crucifixion, end of 15th Century

Christ’s suffering as proof of God’s love for us

1. The greatest love is Christ’s love for us from the cross

2. We abide in Christ’s love when we love God and others

3. When we abide in Christ, we are attached to the vine and we live in Him

Fairytales of today are filled with stories of true love. Of course we know this fairytale love is romantic love, and specifically it’s that feeling of emotional excitement for the other person. There’s nothing wrong with that emotionally excited love, because God has created us to feel that emotional excitement at the beginning of marriage. We have a whole book of the Bible, Song of Songs, that delves into that excited romantic love between a husband and a wife. This romantic love is a beautiful thing!

It is good, nevertheless, to recognize the limitations and weaknesses of that excited romantic love. First and foremost being, it’s a flash in the pan, and it burns hot for a while and then settles down. Because of its high intensity it’s also a bit brittle and easily broken. One day the couple can’t imagine being separate for even a little bit, and the next day they have a fight and can’t stand the sight of each other. This love simply isn’t sustainable.

So our Lord tells us about a love greater than that excited romantic feeling. “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” Obviously this refers to Jesus’ love for us, since He laid down His life for us. But before we get to that I want to recognize that this love does exist among humans as well, which is why Jesus brings up this type of love. We see this love also between a husband and a wife, but this is a type of love that is grown into, and doesn’t necessarily come easily or organically. This love takes years for a couple to develop, and it’s especially evident in older couples who have been married for decades. We also see this love in parents who give sacrificially for their children, and most obviously in mothers who quite physically sacrifice their own bodies in love for their children.

Those human images of this great love give us a glimpse into God’s greater love for us. “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” Even the greatest of human love can be quite fickle and temperamental. Decades of human love can dry up and falter. We grumble about how others don’t deserve our love or we complain about having to make sacrifices for them. Human love nearly requires that the love is reciprocated and that the other person makes sacrifices for me.

In this way God’s love isn’t like our human love because He doesn’t expect anything in return for His love, nor does He complain when we’re not good enough for His love, nor does His love ever dry up. Instead, He sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins, He sacrificed Himself explicitly because we don’t love Him properly. Because our love for Him and others has grown cold, He loves us. Even though our love for Him isn’t perfectly reciprocated, He still loves us. That is love greater than any have ever known on earth.

Thus, the greatest reminder of God’s love isn’t the heart because the human heart is frail and fickle. On Ash Wednesday this year the world was celebrating Valentine’s Day, which is named after a Christian martyr, St. Valentine, but the world just celebrates romantic love. The symbol the world uses for love is a human heart, the seat of emotions. But the symbol the church uses for love is the cross of Christ, because there is no greater love than God’s love for us on Calvary.

That ancient roman execution device meant to torture and humiliate the criminals before they died, has now become the symbol of love. It’s painful and maybe ugly, yet it’s more beautiful than any other sight since it reminds me that God truly loves me, even when it cost Him dearly.

This symbol of love also reminds us that we are to love one another, namely, that we are to sacrifice for each other. “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another… We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.” Remember, all of the commandments of God are summed up in two commandments: Love God and love your neighbor. 

The love of God for us through Christ Jesus always leads us to love one another. It must! This is perhaps the hardest part about love because it means I can’t just love myself, but I must sacrifice myself for others. Particularly, I am called to love my brother, or in other words, I am called to love those who belong to the household of faith. When the scripture says to love your brother it’s referring specifically to your christian family. To put this as specifically as possible, Jesus calls you to love the other members of this congregation, the people who are sitting in the pews with you right now and on Sunday mornings.

Often we speak of love too generically, that we love all people, but when we speak of it so generically we end up loving no one. God gives us specific callings to love one another, to love those who are also attached to Him. Since we are branches in the vine of Jesus, we are called to love the other branches because they also belong to Christ. “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.” But those who are attached to the vine, who do belong to Jesus, they will abide in Jesus and abide in His love. Meaning, they will also love one another, because all belong to Christ.

The love of Christ is truly very powerful. His love drove Him to suffer death in our place. His love brings us into Him. And His love even leads us to love one another. How does He love us? Do you ever forget? Does your love for others ever grow cold? Then look to the cross of Jesus and see the greatest love.