SPEAKER_00
0:03
Welcome
to
the
Pocket
Pastor
Podcast,
Sermons
on
Demand,
a
show
for
those
on
the
go,
instant
inspiration,
questions
for
the
quest,
strength
for
the
soul.
I'm
Keith
Long,
and
this
Pulpit
to
Your
Pocket
preaching
comes
to
you
from
St.
Luke
Lutheran
Church,
a
congregation
of
the
ELCA
in
Cottage
Grove,
Minnesota.
For
more
information
about
me,
check
out
authorkeithlong.com.
To
see
what
we've
got
going
on
at
St.
Luke,
visit
us
in
person
at
the
corner
of
70th
and
Hinton
in
Cottage
Grove,
Sundays
at
9
a.m.,
or
check
out
Saint
LukeCG.org
for
more
information.
Thanks
for
listening.
I'm
honored
to
be
part
of
your
spiritual
journey.
May
the
grace
of
our
Lord
Jesus
Christ,
the
love
of
God,
and
the
communion
of
the
Holy
Spirit
be
with
you
all.
Jesus'
last
words,
Mother
behold
your
son.
Of
all
the
last
words
Jesus
supposedly
uttered
in
his
dying
gasps,
I've
always
felt
that
Mother
Behold
Your
Son
felt
out
of
place.
And
then
I
started
to
read
this
gospel
symbolically
and
my
curiosity
perked
up.
Of
course
there's
a
deeper
spiritual
meaning
here.
In
case
you
missed
all
the
other
sermons
in
which
we've
explored
John's
exotic
symbolism,
the
author
of
the
fourth
gospel
Tales
of
a
Jewish
Mystic,
John
Shelby
Spong,
believes
that
this
gospel
is
continually
up
to
something
different,
that
each
head
scratching
story
is
a
story
about
another
story,
and
that,
particularly
in
places
that
seemingly
feel
out
of
place,
that
that
is
a
signal
for
the
reader
to
not
take
the
action
at
face
value.
For
anyone
who
has
done
a
careful
side
by
side
reading
of
the
Gospels,
you
would
notice
that
it
is
only
in
the
fourth
gospel
that
the
mother
of
Jesus
appears
at
the
foot
of
the
cross.
But
she
isn't
alone.
There
are
two
other
Marys
with
her,
and
then
beside
her
is
this
unnamed
disciple.
Who
is
this,
and
what
exactly
are
we
supposed
to
do
with
these
last
words
Jesus
gives
to
them?
I
think
the
beloved
disciple
is
a
placeholder,
not
necessarily
a
real
person.
Think
about
it,
why
not
just
give
a
name?
Providing
or
going
by
a
name
is
clearly
the
best
way
to
eliminate
any
confusion,
unless
you
are
intending
to
make
some
kind
of
point.
A
similar
name
play
occurred
in
nineteen
ninety-three
when
Minnesota
homegrown
pop
superstar
Prince
changed
his
name
to
an
unpronounceable
symbol,
often
called
the
love
symbol,
to
protest
his
contract
with
Warner
Brothers.
By
changing
his
name
to
a
symbol,
which
is
a
combination
of
a
male
and
female
signs,
he
sought
to
make
a
symbolic
break
from
their
corporate
control.
All
I
remember
from
this
time
was
how
annoying
and
confusing
it
was
to
call
him
the
artist
formerly
known
as
Prince.
But
now
I've
developed
a
whole
new
appreciation
for
Princess
Y
and
that
whole
love
symbol
phase
of
his
illustrious
career.
So
maybe
the
Gospel
John
was
kind
of
doing
the
same
thing
by
naming
one
of
Jesus'
disciples
the
beloved
disciple
and
the
disciple
whom
Jesus
loved.
And
like
Prince
trying
to
prove
a
point
with
his
record
label,
when
the
beloved
disciple
shows
up,
people
start
paying
closer
attention.
Who's
this?
Why
are
they
here?
It
could
be
merely
the
author's
way
of
referring
to
himself,
like
how
Alfred
Hitchcock
and
Stan
Lee
always
made
a
cameo
in
their
movies.
But
if
this
is
the
author
being
coy
and
naming
himself
as
the
beloved
John
of
Zebedee,
then
why
wouldn't
he
just
say
that?
Others
have
chimed
in
over
the
years
and
believed
the
mysterious
beloved
characters
Thomas,
James,
Andrew,
Lazarus,
or
John
the
Elder
who
wrote
the
later
epistles
first,
second,
and
third
John.
No
one
knows.
A
person
might
even
make
the
argument
that
the
beloved
disciple
could
be
referring
to
just
about
anyone,
including
a
female
follower.
The
most
compelling
idea
I've
heard
is
that
the
disciple
Jesus
loved
is
a
reference
not
to
any
historical
biblical
character
or
one
of
the
disciples,
but
that
the
beloved
disciple
was
a
love
symbol
that
stood
for
the
ideal
Jesus
follower.
Someone
who
stays
close
to
Jesus,
someone
who
trusts
and
believes,
and
who
seeks
Jesus
out,
and
especially
someone
who
receives
and
obeys
his
instructions.
At
Cana,
Jesus
told
his
mother
that
his
hour
had
not
yet
come,
but
here,
well,
there's
no
denying
now
that
the
hour
had
come.
Jesus
would
go
on
to
say
exactly
just
that
it
was
for
this
moment
he
came.
And
so,
beginning
with
Jesus'
imminent
death,
John's
Jesus
is
entrusting
listeners
and
readers
today
to
see
themselves
as
his
ideal
followers,
to
step
into
the
story
and
to
embrace
being
the
disciple
Jesus
loved.
So
listen
up,
the
time
for
being
a
passive
observer
is
over.
The
hour
has
come
to
become
who
you
are.
Beloved
and
sent.
When
Jesus
saw
his
mother
and
the
disciple
whom
he
loved
standing
beside
her,
he
said
to
his
mother,
Woman,
here
is
your
son.
Then
he
said
to
the
disciple,
here
is
your
mother.
And
from
that
hour
the
disciple
took
her
into
his
own
home.
From
the
interpretive
genius
of
John
Shelby
Spong.
Against
this
background,
John
reveals
the
meaning
of
the
cross,
beginning
with
Jesus
commending
his
mother,
a
symbol
of
Judaism,
and
the
people
of
God,
to
the
care
of
the
beloved
disciple,
the
one
who
embodies
the
future
fulfillment
of
the
Jesus
movement.
In
so
doing,
John
is
saying
to
the
community
of
followers
of
Jesus
who
have
been
expelled
from
the
synagogue,
you
cannot
forget
your
past.
You
must
accept
and
cherish
the
womb
that
bore
you.
You
must
embrace
Judaism,
your
mother,
and
incorporate
her
into
your
own
life.
Tonight
and
tomorrow
night,
beloved
disciple,
you
are
invited
to
incorporate
the
meaning
of
Jesus'
life
and
his
death
in
your
own
life,
to
step
onto
this
holy
ground
of
his
betrayal
and
arrest
once
more,
and
to
share
the
company
of
those
closest
to
him
who
were
just
as
befuddled.
You
are
invited
to
ponder
how
such
a
promising
ministry
could
end
on
such
a
sour
note.
You
are
invited
to
wrestle
and
lament,
to
give
thanks
and
to
marvel,
and
above
all
to
do
as
Jesus
wanted
you
to
do
when
he
entrusted
his
mother
Judaism
to
the
community
of
the
Jesus
movement,
to
say
yes
and
to
take
her
into
your
own
home.
A
symbolic
theological
passing
of
the
torch
or
not,
wouldn't
life
change
if
you
were
in
fact
the
beloved
disciple
John
may
have
been
envisioning?
What
will
it
be?
Can
you
be
counted
upon?
Can
you
be
entrusted
with
the
story
of
your
crucified
Savior
and
Lord?
For
it
is
the
night
in
which
Jesus
was
betrayed
and
the
hour
has
come,
beloved
disciples,
for
us
to
embrace
love's
ultimate
symbol,
Jesus
the
Christ,
who
was
stripped
of
everything
and
left
upon
a
cross,
possessing
nothing
to
hide
his
vulnerability.
Let
us
then
wander
along
with
Sponge.
Is
this
the
end
of
Jesus'
life
or
is
it
the
door
through
which
a
new
meaning
of
life
is
destined
to
be
revealed?
