The New Commandment
Notes
Transcript
John 13:31-35
John 13:31-35
When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Lyrics
I wanna know what love is.
L. is for the way you look, at me.
Love, love me do. You know I love you. I’ll always be true. So pleeeeaaeaassee, love me do.
Stop, in the name of love, before you break my heart.
Love is a battlefield. Love is all you need.
What is love?
Main question
Could it be that straightforward?
Love one another.
Just as I have love you, you also should love one another.
Biblical Context
Before we move on, let’s zoom out a bit on this text to get a sense for where it occurs in the narrative, as well as why that’s important.
Jesus teaches his disciples this new commandment in the context of the Last Supper. Think about it this way…the portion of the meal we rehearse each time we practice the remembrance at the table of communion. The bread and the cup are blessed and passed. The foot washing has happened. Peter has asked Jesus to wash his hands and head as well. Jesus has telegraphed Judas’ movement away from the group — the one who Jesus serves with a small piece of bread will betray him. Judas leaves.
And then, this new commandment.
It’s clear that scholars and everyday readers of this narrative agree that these are some of Jesus’ final teachings, last statements, before he goes to the cross. Of course, we understand the Last Supper to be that kind of event — last words, final blessings, closing acts of service. It is a meal of culmination and anticipation.
Have you been at a meal like this? I think of celebrating my grandfather’s 80th birthday. Toasts were made, stories told. We celebrated the man’s long life and he stood and imparted words of wisdom.
Love speaks up and makes it clear.
Love will endure.
I’ll also say, as we look at the biblical context of this passage, that immediately following we find Jesus telling Peter he will deny him before the next day. Three times. Such a juxtaposition — Peter enthusiastically claiming his belovedness in Jesus, his feet washed, his love confirmed. Then contrasted with the reality that the swell of loving feelings perhaps fade under pressure.
We say love. But of course, we must also live love.
The commandment to love one another is, of course, given to us in a similar context, contexts and lives where we long to love God and others with the fullest extent of our being, but also struggle to keep that up, struggle to genuinely give and receive support and connection — which is the basis for loving relationship. In the words of one of my favorite poets, Dave Bazan, it’s hard to be a decent human being.
Love stands in a world where pain and suffering reign.
Love stands up in a world where we are taught to hedge our bets, hold our cards, keep ourselves safe.
But here, these closing words of Jesus’ ministry, is a glimpse of another way, the more excellent way.
Love one another.
What is love?
Ok, I want you to turn to one or two of your neighbors and talk about the following two questions:
Sharing with your neighbors:
When do you know you are loved?
How do you know you’re being loving?
Alright, as we come back together, I’d like to hear a few ideas that were shared. When do you know you’re feeling loved?
And how do you know you’re being loving?
Being decent human beings
Love is all we need. And yet, it seems, it’s actually pretty difficult to love sometimes. It’s hard to be decent human beings.
Of course, we look for reasons for this and, in Christian theology, we talk about the reality of sin and brokenness in our lives. It’s hard to be decent human beings, because we feel the weight of sin, the heaviness of disunity and disconnection. Sadness, despair, betrayal and heartache. These are familiar feelings.
And so we find ourselves wandering, wondering, at what it means to love. What is love? Baby don’t hurt me…don’t hurt me…no more.
Then of course there’s the constant struggle to define what truly is love and loving.
Maybe you heard the new Pope talking about some of current conversation in the United States about the order of who we love. Some would like to define the call of Christ as some sort of series of expanding circles, with some people being more important to love than others. You love God, then your family, then your community, or something like that?
Sadly, our definitions of love are so clouded and skewed that when we hear Jesus telling us to love one another, we’re probably stuck wondering…how? Why? Who? Love others…but I can barely love myself, don’t I need to start there?
True, Christ-centered, faithful love, sets no pecking order, no ranking of true vs. penultimate loves.
“If you love those who love you in return, what good is that?” Jesus questions us elsewhere.
Rather, the fulfillment of this call to love the other is radically expansive and challenging in its own right. Love others? Like, who?
Love one another…including, but not limited to…
The ones who don’t look like me. The ones who don’t speak the same language as me. The ones who have less than me. The ones who have more than me. Love your literal neighbors. Love your literal enemies. Love the one who strikes you on the cheek. Love them and offer them your other cheek. Love the powerless and seek their welfare as an act of loving them. Love the powerful, and call them to just-living as an act of loving them.
You see, the call to love, this new commandment, is truly the summation of all the law and the prophets. Love is at the heart of the Jesus way, the story of Christ. Love.
Maybe you’ve been to a wedding where 1 Corinthians 13 is read.
Love is patient, love is kind.
Yes.
But it’s the opening words of the passage that always get me.
If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Alright. Have we got this? Love one another.
I want to close there…but I know I can’t. So let me say this: It is hard to be a decent human being, hard to be loving, because we live in a order saturated with messages that undermine this teaching.
Love, but only the ones who look like you.
Love, if they’re in your political club or cult.
Love, if they give you something in return.
Of course, if we know Jesus’ words and follow his teachings, we know these are false, half-truth, misinterpreted variations that depart from the true theme of love.
Love, but not the ones who commit crimes.
Love, but not the ones who don’t have proper documentation.
Love, but not the queer kids.
Love, but only if you sign on the dotted line.
You see, the work of evil and empire in this world would seek to realign our love onto only the kinds of relationships and people that meet our personal desire to get ahead, get pleasure, and get rid of people who we disagree with. Empire wants to tell us to love a prescribed subset of humanity. Be decent, but only to these people.
Sadly, the reality is that we have lost the sense for what Jesus teaches in the muddle and confusion of these other narratives. These words of Jesus are not, in fact, the driving motivation behind so much of what we see people doing in our world, especially those who claim to lead us. Call it a post-Christian world or post-truth or what have you. But aren’t we honestly asking that question — what is love? What does that even mean?
So what are we supposed to do?
Let’s go back to the story and it’s setting. Jesus and the disciples are gathered, reflecting on their ministry, preparing for what is to come. They listen as their Teacher gives a final lesson. Love one another.
If this ministry they’ve been a part of with Jesus has meant anything…it is this: Love one another.
Before anything, after it all, Love one another.
And the final words from Jesus are the kicker.
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
I’ll close first with a lament and then a hope.
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
My lament is this: There are sadly so many wolves running around in the sheeps clothing of Christianity these days. What I mean is, we have wide swaths of people here in the United States who claim the label of Christian and yet publically, unashamedly, live as if to denounce this call to love. God, guns, and country…this rarely, in my experience, is a humble articulation of one’s intent to live in the self-sacrificial love that Jesus direct us to.
And my hope is this: We can do this. We can be these kinds of disciples. Who love one another. Now, let’s not pat ourselves on the back quite yet, there is work to do. But we don’t have to buy into this narrative that it’s just too hard to be decent human beings to each other. I call bunk on that. We can do this, with Christ who equips us. We can love one another, love enemies, love friends, love ourselves, love the stranger. We can.
Remember how you thought about what it means to feel loved and to show love?
Could you go out and practice some of that this week? Could we grow a little bit, expanding our love? Could we tell the truth about falsehoods that misdirect our desire to love? Could we be the people Jesus is directing to continue on his ministry?
Love one another. In this way, the world will know we are Christ’s disciples. Love one another.
That is our challenge. In this messy, muddled, beautifully disordered world — Christ tells us to love.
This is the good life. Love one another.
