Preparing for the Sixth Sunday of Easter (John 14:15–21)
Acts 17:16–31, Psalm 66:8-20, 1 Peter 3:13–22, John 14:15–21
As Easter continues, Jesus speaks directly to hearts that are anxious and unsure about the future. In this Sunday’s Gospel, He prepares His disciples—and us—for what life will look like after His visible departure. And He does so with a promise, not a warning:
“I will not leave you as orphans.”
Jesus knows His disciples are troubled. They sense that change is coming, and they fear being left alone. So Jesus anchors their hope—not in their faithfulness, not in their understanding—but in His life:
“Because I live, you also will live.”
That resurrection promise changes everything. The risen Christ is not absent from His Church. He remains present in a new and deeper way. He asks the Father to send the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus calls “another Helper,” to dwell with His people forever. We are not left to navigate life on our own. God Himself comes to live with us and in us.
Jesus also speaks about love and obedience—but not as a burden. Keeping His commandments is not the way we earn His presence. It is the fruit of knowing Him, trusting Him, and living in the life He gives. Love flows from faith, and obedience flows from love.
This Sunday’s readings echo this same comfort throughout the service:
- In Acts, Paul proclaims the living God who gives life and breath to all and proves His mercy by raising Jesus from the dead.
- In 1 Peter, we are reminded that our hope is rooted in Christ’s resurrection and sealed to us in Baptism.
- In worship, we confess, pray, and sing as people who are not abandoned—but claimed, forgiven, and sustained by a living Lord.
When we gather this Sixth Sunday of Easter, listen for that promise woven through everything:
The risen Jesus has not left His Church.
He lives. He reigns. And through His Spirit and His Word, He is still very near.