John 15:1-17
In John 13, Jesus washes his disciples' feet, a visceral picture of his servant-hearted, sacrificial love for them. In John 15, he tells his disciples to love one another in the same way he has loved them, a direct reference to his foot-washing in John 13. For Jesus, there is no such thing as being a disciple without being deeply connected to a community of disciples. The foot-washing imagery tells us that real Christian community is messy, intimate, mutual, and redemptive. It cannot be done from a distance, cannot be a product of our imagination, and cannot be done in our own power. Only as we come to Jesus as needy sinners - in full acknowledgment of the stinky mess of our own feet! - can we know his love in a way that frees us to build life-giving community together.
COMMUNITY DISCUSSION
1. When Jesus says “love one another as I have loved you,” he is looking back to having just washed the disciples feet (see John 13). What does this imagery tell us about the kind of love Jesus is commanding?
2. What makes community difficult for you? Why is it hard to stay with people and create authentic and meaningful relationship over the long haul?
3. What aspects of the love of Jesus - and all that he has given us in the gospel - makes community possible? How can you help build the kind of community Jesus commands here?
September 20, 2020 - Steve Hart