First Sunday of Lent: JOHN 13:18-38

A Gospel’s structure is a roadmap – a way to get your bearings in a story.

John structures his Gospel in four parts (stay with me). There’s the Prologue, the Book of Signs, the Book of Glory, and the Appendix. This Lent, we’ll work through the Book of Glory (John 13-20).

But maybe you’re like, “So what?” And you’re right about something there. That word “glory” doesn’t mean much to most of us. It feels stodgy and strange. But what if we replace it with its definition? A word we are more fond of – Beauty. Book of Beauty.

As we make our Lenten journey – these forty days toward Easter – what beauty will we find in the story of Jesus as John tells it?

These beautiful stories guide us like roadmaps to live as friends of God. The stories here are about service, Spirit, belonging, union, heartbreak, and new life.

Glory includes so much. It’s beautiful like that.