The Christian Community in John

The Farewell Discourses in John (13:33 through Chapter 17) where Jesus gives final instructions to his disciples before his arrest and crucifixion are a Christian treasure. They are all about building a community on the foundation of mutual love.

Love is the only commandment (13:34-35, 15: 12-13). Followers of Jesus achieve union with God through mutual love between each other. This love nourishes the community as a vine nourishes its branches (Chapter 15). Ethics or good works flow from loving relationships.

Though Jesus must leave them, he promises to send an Advocate to teach and guide the community in his absence. The Advocate will come in the form of the Holy Spirit (14: 26). The Farewell Discourses provide a wonderful vision of a joyful, loving community led by the Holy Spirit. Religion is about mutual, indwelling love which flows from serving one’s neighbor.

And yet there’s a problem. The love commandment only applies to the community. The believer’s only duty is to the community. There is no larger responsibility to the world. The Christian community that inspired the writing of this gospel is deeply alienated from the world. The world and the church are in an antagonistic relationship with one another (see 14:19, 15: 18-19, 16: 8, and 17:9).

Christianity under such circumstances becomes an exclusive club. There is an us versus them mentality. The only way to know and relate to God is through Jesus (14:6). Love your fellow member, and the rest of the world be damned is the operational mode of such a community.

Many religious groups from a wide array of spiritual traditions take on such characteristics. It is one of the great problems with religion. It creates intolerance, a dangerous self-righteousness, and sparks violence between competing communities of faith.

We need to redefine John’s vision. Religious communities are uniquely designed to teach and promote mutual love. Membership in such communities creates joy, and provides meaning and purpose for life. But the point must always be to apply what you learn and gain from such a community to a larger arena. The goal must be to extend love beyond the immediate community to the world. In this way, religion becomes a tool for healing larger problems. It becomes an important solution to global problems rather than a primary cause of those problems.