The Secret

This sermon was preached at our Sunday morning service on 25th April. The Gospel was John 14:23-29. I hope you enjoy reading it!

 

Those of you who have been paying particular attention might have noticed that our Gospel readings for the last three weeks have all been centred around the events of the Last Supper. That seems a bit odd really, given we’re now six weeks post Easter. Didn’t we leave all this behind during Easter Week?

Those of you who have been paying attention too, might find an element of repetition in what I say with Fi’s and Huw’s sermons from the last two weeks as well.

But, sometimes, the best way to help someone understand something is through repetition. There’s a phrase often used in training and learning – tell ‘em, tell ‘em and tell ‘em again.

 

So, this morning, we’re getting told again!

 

But first, the context.

As I said, we’re at the Last Supper, and Jesus has just told his disciples that he’s going away. He’s preparing them for his death, and the language he uses to tell them is aiming to soften the blow. “Soon,” he says, “the world will no longer see me, but you will see me.” He talks to them about love, and says that he will show himself to those that love him.

And one of the disciples – Judas (but not that Judas) asks how this will happen. What the big secret is that they’ll be let into so that Jesus’ disciples will see him, but no-one else will.

 

As an aside – I wonder what it must have been like to be this disciple, forever known as Judas open-bracket not Iscariot close-bracket. “Hi! I’m Judas the disciple… no, wait, come back! Not him!”

It’s got to give you some weird inferiority complex. “I know you might think I’m the greatest villain in the history of the world, but… I just hung around with him, in all the same places as him, and had the same name as him – there were two of us, honest!”

I wonder if that’s why Judas (not Iscariot) was asking to be let in on the secret here. His friends, James and John were arguing about who was greater, and Peter is there point-blank denying that any of this would ever happen, and here’s Judas (not Iscariot) worrying about missing out, but also very much looking forward to being on the inside; behind the curtain if you like – what’s the inside scoop, Jesus? What can you tell us that no-one else knows?

 

And then we have our Gospel; Jesus’ reply.

“The secret?” Jesus says.

And here, you can imagine that Judas (not Iscariot) is leaning forward, on the edge of his seat.

 

Top Secret Information

 

 “The secret is love.”

“Love me, and you will do what I say.”

 

 

Have you ever heard the phrase “Love God, and do what you want”?

It sounds concerning on first hearing. “Oh, as long as you love God, it’s fine what you do. Be mean, selfish, unkind – loving God is all that matters.” Fi was talking to us about this last week – which is more important; Faith or Works?

But, as Fi said, faith in God leads to doing good works. And with this phrase, loving God leads to your will becoming attuned to God’s will. Love God, and do what you want. Because – through your love of God – you will start to want the things that God wants.

 

If you love Jesus, you’ll do what he says. It’s not a threat, or a demand, or even an attempt at persuasion. It’s simply a consequence.

And this is that ‘big secret’ in how Jesus’ disciples will know him and see him when others will not. It’s simply that they love him.

There’s no curtain to peep behind – in fact, the curtain keeping God hidden from the world is ripped apart when Christ is crucified. God will no longer be kept secret.

There’s no hierarchy of secret knowledge for Judas (not Iscariot) or James and John or any of the rest of us to climb the ranks in and get the inside story. The story is out – in the wild for all to see and hear. The story is the simplest one there is. Just one word – “Love”. The story doesn’t even say “The End”, because it doesn’t. It doesn’t end. Love never ends.

 

And that’s the simple message of today’s Gospel, and the biggest ‘secret’ for us all to grasp, and truly, truly understand. To understand in our mind, in our heart, in our guts, in our very essence. You’ve heard it before, a thousand times, but hear it again, fresh today, like it’s the most precious secret in the world that you are hearing for the first time:

 

Love.

Love God.

Love each other.

Love the world.

And then, do what it is you find that you truly want.

 

Amen.