In your mind, I’d like you to picture a good friend. It may be a current friend or one from the past. Just take a moment, think of a good friend, and picture them in your mind’s eye. Can you see them? When did you first meet them? How did they become a friend?

Let’s leave your friend hanging around for a few minutes; we’ll come back to them later. They are going to help us make sense of the scripture reading this morning.

The passage from John is describing some of the things Jesus said to his disciples as they sat around the Passover seder table, after the meal. He was taking this final opportunity to try to help the disciples understand what was about to happen and to help prepare them for the work they were going to have to do. This is one of those passages that has sometimes created …