S: John 19
O: And can it be that I should gain an interest in the saviour’s blood? Died he for me, who caused his pain. For me, who him to death pursued? Amazing love! How can it be that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
A: In gratitude for Jesus dying for me, I should live for him.
P: Father, help me to remember your great love and sacrifice when I am tempted to sin. Amen.
S: John 18
10 Simon Peter therefore, having a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. 11 Jesus therefore said to Peter, “Put the sword into its sheath. The cup which the Father has given me, shall I not surely drink it?”
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36 Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not of this world. If my Kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight, that I wouldn’t be delivered to the Jews. But now my Kingdom is not from here.”
37 Pilate therefore said to him, “Are you a king then?”
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this reason I have been born, and for this reason I have come into the world, that I should testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”
O: The Jews expected the Messiah to have a political kingdom like David. However, Jesus wasn’t here to build a political kingdom, but his kingdom was not of this world.
As believers, we need to be careful not to try to make his kingdom of this world. Yes, we should be salt and light and influence the world, beyond making disciples, but we are not to enforce by force.
Christians since the time of Constantine had made this mistake — but we see how the church had time and time again been corrupted by this.
A: Let us be salt and light, and be his ambassadors to this world. Let us be, as Jesus intended, known by our love, and not by our hate.
P: Father, help me to be salt and light, and a good ambassador for you. In Jesus’ name, amen.
S: John 17
20 Not for these only do I pray, but for those also who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that you sent me. 22 The glory which you have given me, I have given to them; that they may be one, even as we are one; 23 I in them, and you in me, that they may be perfected into one; that the world may know that you sent me and loved them, even as you loved me.
O: Jesus wanted us to be one as he and the father are one. Yet we’re so disunited. A lot of it has to do with dualistic thinking — a mindset that divides the world into opposites, such as good vs. evil, us vs. them, or sacred vs. profane. This kind of thinking, argues Father Richard Rohr, author of Breathing Underwater, is limited and can lead to exclusion, conflict, and a lack of spiritual depth.
Father Richard Rohr doesn’t deny the existence of concepts like good and evil, or the reality of opposites. His critique of dualistic thinking is not about rejecting these categories entirely but about challenging how we often use them in limiting and divisive ways. He distinguishes between dualistic thinking—which categorizes everything into binary opposites—and non-dual awareness, which acknowledges the existence of opposites but holds them in a more integrated, less judgmental manner.
Rohr writes in Breathing Underwater,
No one catches the wild ass by running after him, yet only those who run after the wild ass ever catch him. If both Pope Leo X and Martin Luther had meditated on that line, we might have avoided the acrimony of the initial Protestant Reformation. The pope emphasized that we had to run and “work for our salvation in fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12), while Luther held the more radical Gospel position of free grace and no one really needs to run at all. God’s love is a totally free gift, as Paul taught (Romans 9:11–12, 11:6, and throughout). Both Luther and the pope were right and also both misunderstood and marginalized one another, which later Catholic–Lutheran dialogues now admit. We did not have much non-dual consciousness in those days, but we largely operated with what A.A. rightly calls “all or nothing” thinking, and which I call dualistic thinking.
Early in my Christian walk, I fell under the influence of Christians who taught a very exclusivist gospel — you must use the King James Version, the Catholics are going to hell, etc. Even after I got under more sound Biblical leadership, I still was skeptical of Catholics and Orthodox, and thought that Calvinists also were suspect.
But when I was doing my Ph.D. at the University of Illinois, I joined the Graduate InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and found myself in a fellowship with Baptists and Catholics, Arminians and Calvinists, Lutherans, Orthodox, and many others. These were denominations that back in the 17th century were at war with each other and persecuted each other, yet now, they were united to reach the campus for Christ. Sure, they still had their theological disagreements, and after the fellowship meetings might adjourn to a coffee shop and argue theology, but the arguments were in a brotherly manner, seeking to understand each other’s points of view and undergirded by the recognition of our common faith.
That unity and fellowship was a taste of heaven. I think most of us will be surprised when we get to heaven some of the people we see there who believe differently from us. The Kingdom of God is bigger than we usually envision.
A: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35. Sometimes it’s so hard, because of sin, or just because someone rubs us the wrong way. Yet, that’s what Jesus calls us to do.
P: Father, fill me with your love, and teach me to love others as you have loved me. When I am tempted to respond in kind when I’m offended, please help me to see them as you see them, and to respond with your love. In Jesus’ name, amen.
S: John 14
O: We live in this “land of many tears” but Jesus is here for us. The Holy Spirit counsels us.
A: We can rest in his peace even as we love him and obey his commandments.
P: Father, thank you for your your love for us. Thank you for your assurance. Help us to not be anxious as we abide in you.
S: John 14
O: Jesus is the way to God. If we love, him, we should follow what he says. God will empower us via the Holy Spirit. We can rejoice in him.
A: Keep Jesus' commandments.
P: Let me heed the Holy Spirit and keep your commandments. In Jesus' name, amen.
God sent his son, they called him Jesus;
He came to love, heal and forgive;
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives!
Because he lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because he lives, all fear is gone,
Because I know he holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because he lives!
S: John 13
O: Jesus demonstrated servant leadership. Knowing Judas would soon betray him, he took the part of a slave and washed the disciples’ feet. Verse 10 makes it clear, this included Judas’ feet!
Based on what Jesus said in verses 14-15, some churches made this a regular practice — in fact, the Pope does this every year. Simon Peter, whose bravado would be shown false soon, himself learned this servant leadership.
Servant leadership goes against our natural human nature when we come into positions of leadership. That's why there have been so many leaders who have violated this. Yet, this is what Jesus calls us to.
A: We need to stay humble when we’re put in positions of leadership.
P: Lord, make me like you, please make me like you.
You are a servant; make me one, too.
O Lord, I am willing, do what you must do
To make me like you, Lord, please make me like you.
S: John 11
O: “Lord, if you would have been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.”
“Lazarus, come out!”
“Free him, and let him go.”
Yet the chief priests and Pharisees failed to see the miracle but instead sought to kill Jesus!
A: Jesus brings us to life! And calls us to come out! Will we heed his call or will we reject it?
We are faced with many challenges and sometimes we don't understand the reasons. Just like Martha said, “Lord, if you would have been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.” It didn’t make sense to her that Jesus would wait till after it was “too late” to show up. Yet, God had a good reason: “I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe.”
So let us believe, and rise up!
P: Father, I believe. Help me in my unbelief. May I never be like the religious leaders who miss the whole thing and tried to kill Jesus instead. In Jesus’ name, amen.
