The Tuesday after Quinquagesima Sunday
Posted on March 4, 2025 by under
Scripture: St. John 14:21-24 (NKJV)
14:21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and 6manifest Myself to him.”
22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?”
23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.
Devotion
In this reading Jesus tells us that there is a connection between loving Him and keeping His Word. It would be inconsistent for someone to claim that they love Jesus but then ignore what He has to say. That connection goes further—in the Gospel of John, Jesus often speaks of the relationship that He has with the Father, as He does here. Concerning anyone who loves Him, Jesus says, “We will come to him and make Our home with him.” Now, we know that we can only call Jesus Lord by the power of the Holy Spirit. And it is only through the Holy Spirit that our souls can cry out, “Abba! Father!” (Gal. 4:6).
Being a believer in Christ comes with many benefits, but what a blessing it is to hear that God Himself should come to us and make His home with us! Yet, this should not surprise us, because God has revealed Himself to be a God of grace and mercy, abounding in steadfast love. It was His love for us from eternity that sent His Son to live and die for us. He strengthens us still with the Holy Spirit through His Word and Sacraments, which He has given us to create and sustain our faith in Him.
Collect: O Lord, we beseech Thee mercifully hear our prayers, and, having set us free from the bonds of sin, defend us from all evil; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
