This is an adapted form of the sermon I preached the Sixth Sunday of Easter, May 5, 2024. The text I preached on was John 15:9-17.

So, I have two goals for this sermon. They might sound a little ambitious! Goal number one: Within this sermon, I’m going to share with you the entire moral framework we are expected to follow as Christians. The whole code of conduct. All the commandments, the rules, the guidelines. I’m going to tell you all of it. And let me assure you, it’s complicated!

Goal number two: you are going to have it memorized. If I’m successful, then by the end of this sermon, you will be able to repeat it. And you will be able to keep it in mind throughout the week.

And believe it or not, I’m serious about this.

Here we go. Buckle in. Here it is. Please repeat after me.

Love. (Love.)

One. (One.)

Another. (Another.)

Love one another. (Love one another.)

That’s it! Goal number one accomplished. That’s the whole of the Law, right there. Maybe you thought there would be more. But listen again to Jesus in today’s gospel.

“I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.”

That’s what the commandments all come down to. They are all there to help us learn to – wait, what was it again? (Love one another.)

See, some of you already have it memorized! Maybe I can stop this sermon right here. No, I have a few more things I want to say.

You might remember that in another part of the gospel story, Jesus was asked this question: “What is the greatest commandment?” He said this: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your mind, and with all your soul. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus said there that all the commandments come down to these two things: love God, and love your neighbor. Or, to put it in other words: (Love one another.)

Did you notice? In that passage, Jesus mentioned two things, and he said that they are alike. He said, “The second is like it.”

They’re two different commandments, but they are alike. Two different things, but they are alike. I think that might be similar to how inhaling and exhaling are different things, but they are alike. Perhaps loving God is like inhaling, loving neighbor is like exhaling. Breathe in, breathe out.

Listen again to what Jesus said. He said, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.”

To abide means to rest, to stay, to remain. I wonder if we could even say that it means to breathe. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; breathe in my love.”

Breathe it in, and breathe it out.

Breathe in my love (inhale) – feel its life fill you up; and breathe out my love – (exhale) share its life with those around you. Love God (inhale), love one another (exhale).

You might remember last week’s gospel. A branch abides in the vine, receiving life from it (inhale), and then bears fruit, sharing its life with the world (exhale).

You might remember something I’ve told you before, that in both Greek and Hebrew, the languages the Bible was written in, the word for “Spirit” also means “breath.” Whenever we hear about the Holy Spirit, we are hearing about the Holy Breath. Love God, breathe in the Spirit (inhale), love one another, breathe out the Spirit (exhale).

You might also remember another thing I’ve told you before, that the very name of God in the Hebrew scriptures is written YHWH. Guesses on how to pronounce that have led to people suggesting that God’s name is Yahweh or Jehovah. But some have suggested that the best way to pronounce YH is (inhale), and the best way to pronounce WH is (exhale). It could be that God’s very name is the sound of breath, receive love (inhale), share love (exhale).

It’s all about love! The whole of the law is what? (Love one another.) But you might have a question. If that’s the whole of the law, then why are there so many commandments throughout scripture? After all, there are hundreds. Good question!

Well, listen to a story that Luke tells us about John the Baptist.

According to Luke, John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “Repent!”

And the crowds asked him, “What, then, should we do?” In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none, and whoever has food must do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”

Notice what John did. He had a simple message: “Repent!” But the people wanted to know how to repent. What did that look like? So he gave them some examples. It wasn’t more commands for them, it was explanations of the one command.

I think maybe that’s also why there are so many commandments in scripture. Not because they’re all separate rules to follow, but because they are all examples of how to do the one thing that’s necessary, which is what? (Love one another.)

And we need those examples, because remember how I told you at the beginning of the sermon that God’s rules are very complicated? That’s because loving one another is very complicated. Isn’t it? It’s hard to love one another. We need help to know how to love one another. And that’s where the commandments come in.

How do we love one another? By honoring our father and mother.

How do we love one another? By not committing murder.

How do we love one another? By not stealing.

How do we love one another? By not bearing false witness against one another.

And so on. The commandments are like case studies, data points, best practices, examples of how to follow the one commandment that they all point to, which is what? (Love one another.)

That doesn’t mean it’s easy. That doesn’t mean that the life of a Christian is just happy-go-lucky. It’s not. Love is hard sometimes. In fact, love is hard a lot of the time. But the good news is that as hard as that is – that’s all there is to it. There’s a lot of detail and nuance, but it’s nothing more or less than love.

And the good news is that we get everything we need to share that love from the one who loves us first. We breathe in God’s love (inhale), and then we breathe out that love to one another (exhale).

So this week, when you are faced with a decision, here’s what you are called to do as a follower of Jesus: (love one another).

This week, when you are around the people you care about, here’s what you are called to do as a follower of Jesus: (love one another).

This week, when you are around people you don’t care much for, people you really don’t like, here’s what you are called to do as a follower of Jesus: (love one another).

How do you do that? Well, that can be the hard part. But here’s a start.

Breathe in God’s love for you. (inhale)

And breathe out God’s love for all people. (exhale)

So, let’s see how I did on my goals. Goal one: tell you the entire moral framework expected of us as Christians. Check.

Goal two: you are going to have it memorized. What is it? (Love one another.) Check.

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