I am convinced that one of Jesus’ favorite past-times was disorienting people of faith. He seemed to delight in rattling their comfortable ways of looking at the world. More than once in the Gospels we hear him say, “You have heard it said. . ., but I say to you. . .” It is what he does with his parables. It is what he does with his life. And he continues to affect us in much the same way.

The text from John’s Gospel which we heard this morning is a good example of this pattern. He begins by urging the disciples to abide in his love. And then he throws in the first phrase which he knows will push their buttons. “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love...” (John 15:10) Being good Jews, those who first heard these words would have quickly jumped to conclusions as to what Jesus meant. As a people they were very familiar with the concept of keeping commandments. There would have been wide differences in how well they actually followed through, but the idea was simply a way of life for them. Following commandments was how you stayed in right relationship with God. So, when Jesus begins talking in the same terms, they would have been certain they were in familiar territory.

Our reaction is likely to be different from that of those who first heard Jesus speak these words. For many of us who have been raised in 20th century western culture, the idea of following commandments rubs us the wrong way. We have an aversion to being told what to do and how to live, even by God. We like to believe that isn’t the way God really works. So, when we read Jesus words, “If you keep my commandments...” we are likely to respond with some degree of caution. But, one thing we have in common with the disciples in the first century is that we are pretty sure we know what Jesus is talking about, even if we don’t like it.

It is then that Jesus adds the first twist to the plot. And it works the same for both his first century listeners and those of us here in the twenty first century. It catches us by surprise because it is not what we expected. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12) Oh, we say to ourselves, that’s a relief. I thought he was going to lay a big guilt trip on us and load us down with a bunch of rules to live by. He’s just talking about love. I thought it was going to be something difficult.

And that is when Jesus springs his trap. He has us right where he wants us -- in that place where we are relaxed and feeling a sense of relief at having narrowly avoided a serious problem. We’ve been surprised, so now we can let down our guard and enjoy the good news that he wasn’t really talking about commandments after all. He’s just talking about love and we know about that. Love is a nice thing.

But wait -- he’s not finished yet. “No one has greater love than this -- to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13) Wait a minute. That can’t be right. He was talking about love -- warm feelings, caring about others, maybe an occasional inconvenience along the way. But laying down our life? That’s asking way too much. We were better off when we thought he was talking about commandments.

But even then he doesn’t stop. Because now that we’ve had the rug completely pulled out from under us, we might be ready to hear what he is really trying to tell us. First of all, he isn’t asking us to do anything which he himself is not prepared to do. On the heels of his unsettling statement about laying down one’s life for one’s friends, he declares that we are his friends. And not even simply friends of convenience or circumstance. He chose us to be his friends. So the challenge of a love which is willing to sacrifice self falls first on him. “I will show you the way,” can be easily read between the lines.

And then we remember something he said earlier which almost got lost at the time. There is a purpose in asking us to love in such a dramatic fashion, and it has to do with our well-being. Jesus calls us to risk everything in loving one another, “so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.” (John 15:11) Finally it is about joy and fullness of life and being made whole. Only when we risk reaching out beyond ourselves are we in a position to experience life as God intended it to be lived, because God created us to live in community with each other.

And Jesus calls us to follow where he leads. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12) It would be easier and safer to simply strive to keep a list of rules. But it wouldn’t be nearly as fulfilling. Are we prepared to abide in Christ’s love? It will change our lives forever, and ultimately it will change the world.