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Loving others, 5.10.2026 · St. Paul Podcast

0:06
SPEAKER_00: Hi everyone and welcome to the St.
0:08
SPEAKER_00: Paul Podcast.
0:08
SPEAKER_00: My name is Mark Neethammer, senior pastor at St.
0:11
SPEAKER_00: Paul Lutheran Church, located in Davenport, Iowa, part of the Greater Quad Cities area of Iowa and Illinois.
0:18
SPEAKER_00: Right here, each week, you will find beautiful music and a message of hope and good news to guide your life.
0:25
SPEAKER_00: I am hopeful that this podcast can inspire you and help you on your journey of faith as you grow in love and trust in our God.
4:39
SPEAKER_01: I'm so glad you've made your way to this podcast today.
4:42
SPEAKER_01: And in just a few moments, we're going to hear a section of John's gospel.
4:47
SPEAKER_01: And this is part of a larger piece that's sometimes referred to as the farewell discourse, which is really just a fancy way of saying these are some of the last words of Jesus as he's talking to his disciples.
4:59
SPEAKER_01: So knowing that these are some of his final teachings or words of wisdom, we can pay a little special attention here.
5:07
SPEAKER_01: What does Jesus choose to say in his last evening with the disciples?
5:12
SPEAKER_01: Mostly as we'll talk about, Jesus focuses on love, how we love each other, what it looks like to love one another, and how our words and our actions of love are maybe some of the greatest reminders of God's presence with us.
5:30
SPEAKER_01: So there's a lot to unpack here, and uh we'll get into that in just a moment.
5:35
SPEAKER_01: But first, let's hear these words from the Gospel of John, chapter 14, beginning with verse 15.
5:45
SPEAKER_01: Jesus said to the disciples, If you love me, you will keep my commandments, and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to be with you forever.
5:56
SPEAKER_01: This is the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him.
6:03
SPEAKER_01: You know him because he abides with you and will be in you.
6:08
SPEAKER_01: I will not leave you orphaned.
6:10
SPEAKER_01: I'm coming to you.
6:12
SPEAKER_01: In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me because I live, you also will live.
6:20
SPEAKER_01: On that day you will know that I am in my father, and you and me, and I and you.
6:26
SPEAKER_01: They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me.
6:30
SPEAKER_01: And those who love me will be loved by my father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.
6:40
SPEAKER_01: Alright, now that we've heard this section of this kind of last lecture from Jesus, we'll think a little bit together about what these parting words of Jesus not only meant for those disciples who are hearing them, but what do they say to us as people of faith, even two thousand years later.
6:56
SPEAKER_01: One quick sort of programming note at the beginning of this sermon, I share a little story about a news piece that was uh quite popular a few months ago.
7:05
SPEAKER_01: If it's not familiar to you or you haven't heard about it before, I encourage you, after you listen, go Google it, look it up.
7:12
SPEAKER_01: I promise uh the images will help bring the story to life a little bit for you.
7:17
SPEAKER_01: You won't be disappointed.
7:18
SPEAKER_01: Uh but now, let's take a listen to this reflection about where and God shows up in our lives, uh, maybe most clearly, to the love of others.
7:28
SPEAKER_01: Take a listen.
7:31
SPEAKER_01: If you were uh anywhere near the internet or the news back in February or so, it's likely you may have uh heard this story or know a little something about this little monkey named Punch.
7:45
SPEAKER_01: In case you were not following the story or is not jogging or not familiar to you, uh millions of other people around the world that were following, I want to just catch you up to speed a little bit, give you a few details.
7:56
SPEAKER_01: Punch was this adorable little seven-month-old monkey who was born in a city zoo just outside of Tokyo, Japan.
8:05
SPEAKER_01: And sadly, Punch had no friends.
8:10
SPEAKER_01: His mom had abandoned him, so actually the zookeepers had to nurse him by hand, care for him for the first several months of his life.
8:18
SPEAKER_01: And apparently, because of this, all the other monkeys in this particular habitat also sort of rejected him.
8:26
SPEAKER_01: They would literally turn their backs toward him as he walked up to them or would kind of shoe them away, shoe him away whenever he was kind of coming around them.
8:36
SPEAKER_01: So the zoo posted these heartbreaking videos of Punch wandering around this enclosure by himself all alone, while all the other monkeys were kind of off together.
8:48
SPEAKER_01: And because this was an incredibly cute monkey and it was painfully sad to watch, lots of people got emotionally invested in Punch's well-being.
9:00
SPEAKER_01: So a few of his uh regular kind of zookeepers came up with a little bit of an idea.
9:05
SPEAKER_01: They went to the store and they bought a simple orange orangutan stuffed animal and gave it to Punch as a kind of makeshift companion to make sure he didn't feel alone.
9:18
SPEAKER_01: It was about twice his size, as you can see, but it turned out it actually became his very best friend.
9:24
SPEAKER_01: He cuddled it and played with it and dragged it around with him everywhere he went for weeks on end.
9:32
SPEAKER_01: And maybe most importantly, people noticed that with time, this little stuffed animal gave him just enough confidence or comfort or courage to start approaching the monkeys, the rest of the monkeys uh again.
9:48
SPEAKER_01: And gradually they kind of accepted him into the fold.
9:53
SPEAKER_01: As people around the world are watching these daily updates, we discovered in real time that Punch was no longer alone.
10:01
SPEAKER_01: Not just his stuffed animal, not just the visitors who are coming by the zoo, but real friends playing and interacting and lounging around together in their uh habitat.
10:14
SPEAKER_01: The City Zoo, who had been keeping everyone updated on Punch's progress, made this final statement a couple of months ago about all this saga.
10:23
SPEAKER_01: And when it appeared that Punch was fully integrated into the rest of the group with one last picture and a caption that read in part Punch's story is a reminder of resilience, even when we feel small or the world feels heavy.
10:41
SPEAKER_01: We're never really alone.
10:43
SPEAKER_01: Others give us the strength to keep going.
10:49
SPEAKER_01: Well, Punch's story is a little bit dramatic.
10:52
SPEAKER_01: Or you might be wondering at least why in the world we're talking about a tiny monkey of all things on this Sunday morning.
10:59
SPEAKER_01: But honestly, this story was one of the first things that came to mind as I read those words that you just heard a moment ago from John's gospel.
11:09
SPEAKER_01: I am certain that other than the level of cuteness involved with this little monkey, the real reason that that story struck such a chord with so many people is because we all have this innate need to feel connected, to feel comforted, to feel seen and known, and maybe most importantly, in Punch's case, to not feel alone.
11:40
SPEAKER_01: Which happens to be exactly what Jesus is talking about in those words I read for you, where Jesus says to his followers, his friends, I will not leave you orphaned.
11:52
SPEAKER_01: I'm coming to you.
11:56
SPEAKER_01: With this story, we are rewinding time just a little bit, where actually it's taking place just before Easter.
12:04
SPEAKER_01: And this conversation between Jesus and his disciples, it's on the evening of Maundy Thursday, the night before Jesus is going to die.
12:14
SPEAKER_01: And in this moment, they're together, they're enjoying a meal and conversation.
12:19
SPEAKER_01: At this exact time, they are anything but alone.
12:22
SPEAKER_01: They're all gathered together in this room.
12:25
SPEAKER_01: And yet, Jesus is anticipating exactly what they will be feeling in a few short hours, or in the coming days, maybe for the rest of their lives, as they wonder not just what's happened to their friend and their teacher, their leader, but to their faith, what happens in their day-to-day life when Jesus is no longer right in front of them.
12:50
SPEAKER_01: So Jesus uh says these words I will not leave you orphaned.
12:55
SPEAKER_01: I am coming to you.
12:59
SPEAKER_01: Which must have sounded at least a little bit strange or confusing because they could literally see Jesus.
13:06
SPEAKER_01: He was sitting at the table with them.
13:07
SPEAKER_01: They could feel his touch as he washed their feet, they could hear his words as he's talking to them about loving one another, caring for each other.
13:17
SPEAKER_01: And still there is this promise that they're given for the soon-to-be, but not yet reality, when they will surely feel alone or abandoned or uncertained or scared on that night before Jesus died.
13:36
SPEAKER_01: Of all the last words he could have left with them.
13:41
SPEAKER_01: Jesus says, in effect, you will never be alone.
13:47
SPEAKER_01: Ever, in every moment, in every experience of life.
13:51
SPEAKER_01: You don't have to face anything by yourself.
13:56
SPEAKER_01: It's one of those things that sort of feels rather obvious.
13:59
SPEAKER_01: We name all the time in different ways, or we sing about in the songs that we sing here.
14:04
SPEAKER_01: Yes, we know God is with us.
14:06
SPEAKER_01: Yes, we have this faith that tells us God's comfort and peace surround us.
14:11
SPEAKER_01: And maybe most of the time, it's fairly easy to grab a hold of that concept, like it was for those disciples as they're sitting around the table with Jesus.
14:23
SPEAKER_01: But it means something else entirely, of course.
14:25
SPEAKER_01: And those quiet moments when life is not going as planned, or when we look around and wonder how we got here or what to do next.
14:36
SPEAKER_01: What a profoundly important promise God makes to each of us.
14:42
SPEAKER_01: Those disciples, they surely did not understand what Jesus was saying in that moment, with this promise that he's making, or how it would be fulfilled, but they would find out soon enough.
14:56
SPEAKER_01: And I have to believe that it was no coincidence that in the very same breath that Jesus is talking about how we will not be alone, how God will move toward us, be with us, that Jesus is also talking about loving one another.
15:15
SPEAKER_01: If you love me, you will keep my commandments, he says, right before those other words.
15:22
SPEAKER_01: That commandment, it's that mandate that we talk about on Maundy Thursday that he named just a few verses before.
15:32
SPEAKER_01: Just as I have loved you, so you also should love one another.
15:38
SPEAKER_01: If there's any doubt about how it is that we won't feel alone, how we'll always have that assurance of God's presence with us.
15:48
SPEAKER_01: Here it is.
15:50
SPEAKER_01: It begins and ends with love.
15:55
SPEAKER_01: Wherever there is love, God is there too.
16:00
SPEAKER_01: You simply cannot feel alone or isolated if you are seeking out ways to love your neighbor, to show kindness to anyone, to serve another person.
16:14
SPEAKER_01: And you can't feel abandoned or disconnected if someone is showing that same generous love to you, right?
16:23
SPEAKER_01: It's that simple.
16:26
SPEAKER_01: Jesus said, I will not leave you, orphaned, I am coming to you.
16:30
SPEAKER_01: That wherever there is love, that's where I will be.
16:34
SPEAKER_01: That's why all sorts of people were totally enamored with this little monkey and his uh stuffed animal.
16:40
SPEAKER_01: Because all he really needed was to feel loved, right?
16:44
SPEAKER_01: And he found it in that little orangutan and in thousands of visitors who flocked to see him.
16:52
SPEAKER_01: Maybe in a much more significant example.
16:56
SPEAKER_01: I'm thinking of someone like Daryl.
16:59
SPEAKER_01: Daryl was well known around St.
17:01
SPEAKER_01: Paul for many years.
17:02
SPEAKER_01: If you've been here for a long time, you might remember him.
17:04
SPEAKER_01: He would always sit in the third row of this section right here at the 1115 service.
17:10
SPEAKER_01: You probably saw him again if you've been around for uh many years.
17:15
SPEAKER_01: Uh Daryl had some learning delays, but had this wonderful heart of gold.
17:21
SPEAKER_01: He was here every single Sunday, and it was hard not to feel filled with joy when you were around him.
17:28
SPEAKER_01: He was absolutely one of the happiest people I've ever known.
17:32
SPEAKER_01: He also didn't happen to really have any family around here.
17:36
SPEAKER_01: He was very fond of saying that this church was his family.
17:41
SPEAKER_01: And over the years, all sorts of people, St.
17:44
SPEAKER_01: Paul people, would show up to take, give him rides or take him to appointments, or to help him move apartments at one point, or just sit with him and eat a donut out in the gathering area on a Sunday morning.
17:55
SPEAKER_01: And when he encountered some health challenges and it became clear that he was approaching the end of life, he actually listed St.
18:05
SPEAKER_01: Paul as his next of kin in the hospital paperwork.
18:10
SPEAKER_01: Daryl died in 2020, right in the kind of height of COVID when visitor restrictions at the hospital were uh going on.
18:19
SPEAKER_01: And so a few of our staff uh volunteered to sit by his bedside and call different ones of us and hold the phone by his ear so we could each say goodbye to Daryl.
18:31
SPEAKER_01: For many years, Daryl had brought the joy and the goodness of God's love right here to St.
18:37
SPEAKER_01: Paul.
18:38
SPEAKER_01: He made us a better church, whether you knew him or not.
18:42
SPEAKER_01: And in the end, we too were able to make sure he felt surrounded by God's love.
18:49
SPEAKER_01: That he was not alone all the way up to the end.
18:55
SPEAKER_01: I will not leave you orphaned.
18:57
SPEAKER_01: I am coming to you, Jesus says.
19:01
SPEAKER_01: Maybe sometimes in the most expected of places, sort of people.
19:05
SPEAKER_01: Always through these expressions of love and care and belonging.
19:12
SPEAKER_01: And Jesus knew he had only a little time left with his friends.
19:16
SPEAKER_01: He could have chosen to say any number of things.
19:20
SPEAKER_01: But he left them with two critical messages.
19:25
SPEAKER_01: Number one, love others unconditionally, wherever and however you can.
19:33
SPEAKER_01: And the second, you will not be alone.
19:38
SPEAKER_01: Maybe our greatest task as people of faith is to figure out how to live that first message of love so that we might really discover the beauty of that second promise of God's presence.
19:54
SPEAKER_01: If ever God feels a bit out of reach for you, you're feeling disconnected from what matters most in this world, or maybe it's just uncertain, hopeless, discouraged, whatever it might be.
20:08
SPEAKER_01: These words are for you.
20:10
SPEAKER_01: I will not leave you alone.
20:13
SPEAKER_01: I am coming to you.
20:16
SPEAKER_01: Wherever there is love, God is there too.
20:22
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
24:22
SPEAKER_01: Let's quiet our hearts now as we pray together the words that Jesus has taught us.
24:28
SPEAKER_01: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
24:33
SPEAKER_01: Your kingdom come.
24:35
SPEAKER_01: Your will be done on earth as in heaven.
24:40
SPEAKER_01: Forgive us today our daily bread.
24:42
SPEAKER_01: Forgive us our sins.
24:54
SPEAKER_01: And the glory are yours.
25:01
SPEAKER_01: Wherever you find yourself in the coming game, you will never feel alone.
25:08
SPEAKER_01: May you feel surrounded.
25:13
SPEAKER_01: May you find the strength to share that love with anyone and everyone around you.
25:18
SPEAKER_01: May the love of God bless you.
25:21
SPEAKER_01: Today and always.
25:24
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
25:31
SPEAKER_00: I hope you've enjoyed this podcast and thanks for your support of the ministries of St.
25:35
SPEAKER_00: Paul Lutheran Church.
25:37
SPEAKER_00: Our commitment to endeavors that lend hope to other people stretches across the country and around the world.
25:43
SPEAKER_00: We hope that in a good way you feel a part of that reach.
25:47
SPEAKER_00: Tune in next Thursday for another edition of the St.
25:50
SPEAKER_00: Paul Podcast.