Eastertide Parish Eucharist Fifth Sunday of Easter
“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.”
Overview
Today we are holding our Annual Parish Church Meeting. This is the meeting at which we elect those who will serve us and the community for the coming year. We will also be receiving the Annual Report. This is a long old document, but a number of us will be speaking (very briefly) about some of the work undertaken by the church in the past year. It’s a time to give thanks for all that we have done and been together, to show our gratitude for those who have served us, and to commit to supporting and upholding those who will serve us in the year ahead. The reading this week is blessedly short, John 13:31-35. This is part of Jesus’ farewell to his friends and disciples. He tells us that we cannot go with Him; our job is to stay here and carry on His work. We do this by loving one another. The love we have for one another and for the community we serve and the wider world in which we live is not a feeling of warmth or affection. For Christ love is not a noun, a state of being; it is verb, an active commitment we undertake. Getting stuck into the mess and challenge of working together is what builds up this love and gives us the energy and courage to act in love in all areas of our life.
GOSPEL READING
John 13:31-35
When he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, “Where I am going, you cannot come.” I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’
