May 10, 2026 – The Sixth Sunday of Easter
The Rev. Mark Colbert
It seems like our lectionary might not be in the right season. It’s
Easter season after all. So why are we getting this Gospel reading from
John this late into the Easter season? Maybe this gospel passage is
giving us insights and preparation before Jesus goes to the cross. This is
the backstory of Jesus preparing his disciples for his departure. He
knows the cross is near. He knows their hearts are troubled. He knows
they are afraid, confused, and not yet ready for what is coming. And so
he speaks to them not with lessons, but with comfort. Jesus says, “I will
not leave you orphaned.” That one sentence is enough to carry us
through many troubling times in our lives. Moments where we feel
abandoned, isolated, alone. We know what it is to feel alone in grief,
alone in doubt, alone in disappointment, alone in a changing world. We
know what it is to wonder whether God is distant, silent, or hidden or
not there at all. “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you.”
Jesus knows that his disciples are on the edge of loss. Soon they
will watch him be betrayed by one of them, arrested, crucified, and
buried. Everything they thought was secure will seem shaken. Yet Jesus
says his departure will not be the end of his presence, only just
beginning. That speaks powerfully to every season when God seems
absent. There are times when prayer feels unanswered. Times when grief
and personal life overwhelms us. Times when the Church itself feels
somewhat fragile. Times when the future is unclear and hope is hard to
hold. And yet the risen Christ says: I will not leave you orphaned. Not,
“You will never suffer.” Not, “You will never question.” Not, “You will
always feel spiritually strong.” But, “I will not leave you.” That is one of
the deepest truths of Easter. Resurrection does not erase wounds by
pretending they never happened. Resurrection means that even death
does not have the final word. Christ remains present with his people.
The crucified and risen Lord is not gone from us. This is why Christians
can endure sorrow without surrendering to despair. We are not alone.
Christ has not abandoned his Church. Christ has not abandoned you.
Jesus goes on to tell his disciples, “Because I live, you also will
live.” This is Easter faith in a single sentence. The life of the Christian is
not grounded in optimism, personality, or good circumstances. It is
grounded in the living Christ. Because he lives, we live. Because he has
passed through death into life, nothing, not even death itself can finally
separate us from the love of God. This promise has both a present and a
future meaning. It means eternal life, the hope of resurrection and
communion with God forever. But it also means life now. Real life.
Renewed life. Courageous life. A life no longer defined only by fear,
guilt, or hopelessness. Because Christ lives, the ashamed can be
forgiven. Because Christ lives, the grieving can hope. Because Christ
lives, the fearful can be strengthened. Because Christ lives, the Church
can keep loving in a wounded world. Abundant Christian life is not
about avoiding difficulty. It is about living in union with the living
Christ.
However, in true Jesus form Jesus talks about obeying his
commandments. Showing forth love to every person. “They who have
my commandments and keep them are those who love me… and I will
love them and reveal myself to them.” This is not a bargain. Jesus is not
saying, “Earn my love by good behavior.” He is describing the
deepening relationship of discipleship. As we live in his way, we come
to know him more fully. As we walk in love, Christ is revealed to us
more clearly. There are truths about Jesus that cannot be learned by
detached observation alone. They are learned in the doing: in forgiving,
in serving, in worshiping, in praying, in giving, in persevering, in loving
when love is costly. That is why Christian maturity is not merely about
religious information. It is becoming the kind of people in whom the life
of Christ is taking root. And so this Gospel invites us to ask: Do I love
Jesus only in words, or also in practice? Am I open to the Holy Spirit’s
presence? Where am I living as if I have been abandoned? What would
it mean to trust that Christ has not left me orphaned? How is Christ
asking me to embody love now?
Another thing I think this gospel is about is unity. Unity with each
other, not just within the Episcopal Church but with all other Christians.
Yes, I know how difficult that can be to unite with someone who is in a
different denomination than you. But Jesus died and resurrected for
everyone, not just those who are in the Episcopal Church. This is why
Jesus is asking us to keep his commandment. To love one another. I have
always asked myself the question: what does Jesus think about
Christianity now? Because I lend towards Jesus saying or possible
thinking this is not what I had in mind. I wanted everyone to worship
together, not spread. I wanted you all to love each other not be divided.
And this is where today’s gospel draws us back to Jesus’s
commandment. To love each other. Jesus connects love with keeping his
commandments. Real love shows up in actions of kindness, honesty,
mercy, forgiveness, and faithfulness.
Let us remember from today’s gospel reading in John that whatever
burdens you carry today, whatever questions you hold, whatever grief or
uncertainty shadows your heart, remember this: you are not alone or
abandoned. That during this Easter season Christ is risen, The Spirit is
fully at work in our lives and that love still calls on us to follow in the
commandments of Jesus. So, let us go forth in the name of the living
Christ who loves and redeemed this world. Amen
Year A – The Sixth Sunday of Easter – May 10, 2026 – The Rev. Mark Colbert
