I AM NOT…
John 18:12–27 All through Lent, we’re exploring a single, stubborn hope: by grace, what is torn, what is broken, what is frayed in our lives and in the world can be mended. Not hidden. Not ignored. Mended. Transformed. Made new. Today, we name a tear or crack that runs straight through the middle of many brave hearts – fear and denial. We name it and we offer it to the One who says “I AM” even when our answer falters into “I am not.” In the Gospel of John, we’ve been moving slowly—deliberately—through Jesus’ last week, and today we emerge from dwelling in the upper room where Jesus took up a towel and a basin to serve the disciples by washing their feet. That act was so much more than hospitality – it demonstrated love that upsets expectations about who serves and who is served. Right before our scene today, Jesus has tried to alert Peter to what will happen, to how Peter will respond under pressure: “Will you lay down your life for me?… before the cock crows, you will have denie...