John 13:31-35
Easter 5 / Year C
Reflecting on the passage we just heard, Debie Thomas,
a writer and Christian educator, asks “If you knew you were about to die, what would you tell the
people you love? What cherished hope or dream would you share? What last, urgent piece of advice would you
offer?” I suspect it is a question for
which most of us do not have an answer and this is probably OK. But based on this reading, clearly it is
something Jesus pondered for some time.
The lesson takes us back to Holy Week, to
Maundy Thursday. Jesus is sharing his
last meal with his followers. He has
washed their feet. He has shared bread
and wine and identified it with his Body and Blood. Judas has departed. Jesus is only hours away from being
arrested. What does he want to say to
those he has journeyed with and taught for the last three years?
“I have a new commandment for you,” he tells
them (the word Maundy is derived from the Latin word for commandment). How weighty will it be? Will it become the 11th
Commandment? Will it be added to the
summery of the Law – Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul
and love your neighbor as yourself? Will
it be merely ceremonial; perhaps a new way to say grace before a meal?
The command is this: In the manner in
which Jesus has loved us, we are to love one another. It is simple enough for a child to remember,
but it is incredibly difficult to put into practice, isn’t it. It is aspirational by nature, something you
aim for but don’t always achieve. Had
Jesus commanded us not to eat chocolate it would be difficult, but
measurable. Either you snuck a piece of
candy or you didn’t. But this is different. It requires us to discern how Jesus would act
in any given situation and then to act in this way ourselves.
In a recent interview, Marjorie Taylor
Greene, congresswoman from Georgia, asserted Satan is controlling the church
because Christian groups are providing aid to undocumented immigrants. “Yes, we are supposed to love one another,”
she said, “but their definition of what love one another means, it means
destroying our laws.” So, if we are
going to love as Jesus loves us, we must decide which Jesus values more – human
compassion or good citizenship. We are
not always going to agree on the answer.
A month ago I loaned my lawnmower to
Kevin, one of the people who comes to my front door and asks for money. This is maybe the fourth time he has asked to
borrow it because someone has offered to pay him to cut their grass. The other times he brought the mower back
within an hour or so. Not this
time. I have seen him twice around town
since then and confronted him both times.
Each time he told me he would go get my mower and bring it back right
away. He followed through neither
time. On Friday I gave up and bought a
new mower.
I wonder what it looks like for me to
love Kevin the way Jesus loves me.
Should I hold him accountable and file a police report? Should I forgive him and tell him to keep the
mower (assuming he didn’t sell it or wreck it)?
Would loving as Jesus loves me require me to lend my new mower to Kevin
should he ask to borrow it? Should I pat
myself on the back for loaning it to him in the first place and tell myself I
have already done what Jesus asks me to do?
Again, the answers are not easy because Jesus’ command is more
aspirational than achievable.
Surely Jesus said a lot and did a lot to
help us determine what his love looks like.
The parable of the Good Samaritan who crosses cultural boundaries and
defies accepted norms to assist a stranger in need has something to say about
churches offering aid to undocumented immigrants. Jesus told his followers if someone takes
your coat, offer him your shirt; a teaching I would rather not ponder too much
when it comes to my mower.
Just after Jesus issues his new
commandment he provides an important qualifier.
We are to love each other in such a way that all people will know we are
his disciples. This means, compared to a
typical person, something should look and feel different about how we treat
other people. People should look at us
and how we act and be able to say, “There is a Godly man. There is a Godly woman.”
Earlier this year I was tasked with writing a courtesy resolution for Sam Webster who was stepping down from the position of Diocesan Chancellor after years of service. I talked with a colleague to get some background information and she said, “If Sam said it, you knew it was right. If Sam did it, you knew it was ethical.” She could just as easily have said Sam went about his work as a lawyer in a way everyone knew he was a follower of Jesus.
It is not about wearing a Jesus t-shirt
or ball cap. It has everything with how
you conduct yourself and how you treat other people. If a person cannot look at you and your
actions and know you are one of Jesus’ followers, then you are not keeping his
command to love as he loves. It like the
old joke about the state trooper who pulls over an angry, aggressive driver. “Based on all the Jesus bumper stickers on
your car,” the trooper says to the driver, “I assumed the car was stolen.”
So this morning we hear the final words
Jesus shares with his followers. This
alone should get our attention. It is a ‘Whatever
you do, don’t sell the farm’ moment.
This is the thing which matters most to Jesus: Love one another as I
have loved you.
