Love One Another 5 Easter, Year C April 28, 2013 John 13:31-35 - New command Love one another Some of our good memories while living in Oregon were the parish campouts we had each Labor Day weekend. Our church group went to different campgrounds each year, exploring the wonderful variety Oregon had to offer: from the roar of the waves in the Pacific Ocean to the stillness of the high desert of Eastern Oregon I can smell the pine and sage now. But the highlight of the weekend was the common potluck supper and the gathering around the campfire. We d be popping popcorn, making smores, singing songs. I imagine many of you have gone camping at one point or another so let s go back in time to the campsite with the fire starting to build up; the crackling of the dry wood; the heat from the flames dispelling the bite of the cold air of the night; the smell of marshmallows burning on the sticks they will know we are Christians by our love, by our love, yes they ll know we are Christians by our love. They will know we are Christians by our love sound familiar? This Sunday s gospel reading contains Jesus famous love command, and it is one of the better known passages in the Bible. It is so well known that it is used by those turned off by Christianity because they do not see the love. And they are right a good part of some of the extremes of the church both the left and the right do not demonstrate love for one another. And sometimes the rest of the church doesn t get it right either. Well, we need to change that. The first place to start is to understand the context under which Jesus says these powerful words. It is during the Last Supper. Jesus had washed the disciples feet; all of the disciples, including Judas. And now Judas had just left to betray Jesus into the hands of the Jewish authorities. Right after this interlude, Jesus informs Peter that before the night is through, he will deny Jesus three times. Jesus, knowing he is going to be betrayed by one of his own, knowing he is going to be denied by one of his own gives his disciples this new commandment to love one 1
another. They were to love Judas, even though he was going to turn on them. They were to love Peter even if he was going to deny the last three years together. And Jesus tells them to love one another. This tells us, I think, a great deal about the kind of love Jesus is talking about. This surely isn t romantic love, nor is it simply being nice, nor is it only loving those who love you back. Think about it: when Jesus washed his disciples feet, Judas was there. Further, he will now demonstrate just how much God loves the world by dying for those who manifestly do not love him. Love is hard because it is selfsacrificing. It means putting the good of the other first, even when it hurts. I find it striking that these are the words Jesus leaves with his disciples. I mean, he could have said, Come and die with me. Or, keep the faith. Or, when I am gone go out and teach and preach to all the world. And these are actually easier to do in some ways. Sharing the good news or keeping the faith despite all odds is a lot easier than giving your life for others or loving your enemies. But instead Jesus offered this simple and challenging word, love another. Sometimes the love command seems so challenging we assume it s an ideal, a lofty goal that none of us will ever reach. But while we may not love perfectly, we do love. Take a minute here to think about a time during the past week or so when you chose love. Perhaps it was looking out for the interests of a colleague, or overlooking the slight of a friend, or putting aside one s own goals to help someone else achieve theirs. Maybe it was a large act of love, or maybe it was much smaller. But each of us, I m sure, did in fact love one another this past week. Let me give you a couple examples: 1. When my son Jeremy was in high school I overheard a conversation he had with one of his best friends. Jeremy had heard that his friend was upset with him over something Jeremy had said. Instead of getting upset, Jeremy called his friend and apologized. He was horrified that he had offended his friend. His friendship was more important than his pride. This was coming 2
from a teenage boy. I told Jeremy I had listened to his conversation because I was so impressed that he took the trouble to call his friend. 2. We had someone come into the office this week (not a member) who wanted spiritual counseling. It took awhile for her to get her story out, but the gist of it was she has a sister who was treating her badly and she got so upset she said out loud I hate my sister. She was alone at the time and only God heard her but that was enough. She was distraught that God had heard that. She didn t need counseling she needed to pray for forgiveness so we came in here and we prayed together. At the end she was reconciled to God and her sister. Powerful witness of love. Now think back over this past week or two where you found it difficult to love one another. Maybe it s been incredibly hard to forgive someone who has hurt you, or difficult to move beyond the disappointment caused by a family member or friend. Let me give you an example: 1. There was a time, way back when, when a friend of mine wounded me mostly it surprised me but it also offended me. Instead of forgiving her, I sought out redemption and had those in authority deal with her. Turns out by insisting on justice it wounded my friend so much, she left the church. Many years later the Holy Spirit brought this situation to mind and I recognized the need to apologize to my friend. We came across each other at a church event, but I did not have the courage to approach her. Another year passed and we ran into each other again. With a great deal of shaking, I approached her and I apologized and we got to talk. She graciously accepted my apology. It took awhile to repair the relationship, but I am pleased to say she got back into church and we were friends again. I wanted you to remember both the times we chose to love and the times we chose not to love simply because the truth of the matter is that we do love, regularly, and we do fail, regularly. And church, I think, should be a place where we can give thanks for the former and pray about the latter. 3
And sometimes part of the problem is we don t recognize those times when we succeed or fail. So let me give you a little something to guide you along. [Pull Fruits of the Spirit] This original Gifts of the Spirit was given to me almost 30 years ago. I had it in my bathroom so I could see it every day. I thought I lost it during one of our remodels, but I found it last year in Oregon when I was cleaning out the house. It s been through some wear and tear but it is back where I can see it daily. It is the Fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) through the lens of the first fruit of the Spirit Love. Joy joy is love smiling. You see this in the smile of someone you just helped out. Peace love resting. I picture Jesus in the boat during the storm. This one is when love just abides in you it is part of your makeup because Jesus is such a part of your life. It is seen by others when in the midst of chaos you are calm and realize what is really important in life knowing God Patience Love waiting. Patience is bearing with that person who rubs us the wrong way. It is making the effort to reach out and seek a deeper relationship with him/her that mirrors God s relationship with us. Goodness Love making allowances and sacrifices for others. I think of Rod moving to California when I came to seminary. Faithfulness Love proving constant no matter what! Gentleness Love yielding. I love that phrase love yielding, not insisting on our own way. Self-Control Love triumphing over selfish inclinations. That s the one I blew. Each one of us will find one of these to be our particular struggle. This will be the area of our life we have not given over completely to God. This will be the area in 4
which we will have a hard time loving one another. So keep this as a reminder. I look at mine each day to try and find a way to love better. Jesus command to love aren t just pretty words he is spouting. It is his very real act of love. Jesus goes to the cross to demonstrate that, in fact, God so loved the world. Jesus did not go to the cross only to satisfy God s justice, and take on our punishment. Jesus went to the cross to show in word and deed that God is love and we, as God s children, are loved. So whether we succeed or fail in our attempts to love one another this week, remember that God in Jesus loves us more than we can possible imagine. Once we realize this we are set free and sent forth, once again, to love another. Why is this important? Because this kind of love is the hallmark not just of God and Jesus but also of the Christian church. And as the disciples went forth in love it changed the world. We need to do that as well. The world needs this new type of love and hope we have to offer that flows out of our love for God and for each other. And like the song, the world needs to know that we are Christians and that we do indeed love one another. It is that important. Amen. 5