“Terms of Inheritance”

May 18, 2025

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.”

Only 24 hours into the start of Russia’s war on Ukraine in February 2022, the New York Times reported that residents of Kyiv were scrambling to make sense of what was happening. A common phrase posed between neighbors was “Can you help me? I don’t know what to do.” I imagine the besieged Ukrainians continue to make the same plea more than 3 years later.

The profound disorientation that is happening in Ukraine as the war drags on is echoed across the world. In Haiti, gangs continue to terrorize and prevent food aid from reaching thousands of people facing starvation. In Gaza, Israel continues bombing suspected Houthi rebels while killing innocent people all ages. In our own country, immigrants, students here on Visas and even legal resident fear capture and deportation without due process.

Heartbreak is everywhere. It is familiar. “Can you help me? I don’t know what to do” are words spoken anytime the world and human life is thrown into chaos.

“I don’t know what to do” must have been words the disciples spoke to Jesus. In a poignant scene, Jesus sits them down together on the last night before his betrayal and conviction. The decision has been made. Judas has left to play his part. The group of faithful is diminished in number and more insecure.

During their few short years today, Jesus’ ministry has shown the disciples what strange, yet good things happen when God inhabits human form. They have come to believe he is not just any other man but God’s very son.

And next he will be…handed over to be killed? Impossible, they thought. They had left everything to follow him, which makes it easy to imagine that the disciples do not know what to do without him.

Psychology tells us people sometimes regress to childlike behavior in stressful situations. Here, the full-grown, hand-picked students of the miracle-worker are addressed by him as “little children.” Soon Jesus will use the language of orphaning. 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. These are terms of endearment and belonging. They reveal just how vulnerable and ill-equipped the disciples are for life without Jesus.

But they do more than that. They are terms of inheritance. Jesus is the inheritor of God, as of a father’s only son. Now Jesus is passing to the disciples what he has received.

Jesus’ farewell speech is his last chance to give them what they need to know to glorify God without him. Faced with an uncertain future and the grief of one who will not be there to lead the way, the disciples are given just one commandment: love one another.

Commandment means something specific here. The original commandments were given to the community of God’s people in the wilderness, in order that they would get through an unfamiliar and frightening place together. This is how we make it. This is what we do.

The new commandment given to the disciples anticipates their disorientation and gives them the key to re-orienting life after Jesus’ death: love each other.” 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.”

Love is not just for their own good, though it certainly will help them through the tough times ahead. They love one another as an act of witness, so people will know that Jesus lives on. Their love becomes God’s glory. The glory of God which landed so unexpectedly in the flesh and blood of their mortal friend would continue its weighty presence on the earth through them. Through the love they share. This is as much of a miracle as anything.

In this Easter season, the good news of Jesus’ resurrection changes everything — and yet, he is not here. This commandment of love — given to the disciples before his death and communicated to us after his resurrection — comes to us as the commandment that can help us through our profound disorientation. Together.

Love is more than our command. It is our inheritance.

With thanks to Rev Sarah S. Scherschligt, author of the “God Holds You: A Pandemic Chronicle” — an essential reflection on faith and humanity during the 21st century’s most unforgettable year when COVID-19 changed our world.