A New Commandment, A New Earth – May 2, 2010
May 2, 2010
Scripture: 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.”
Sermon: A New Commandment, A New Earth
Rev. Doreen Oughton
It’s interesting to see where the lectionary takes us. We are in Eastertide, the period after the resurrection, but our gospel reading takes us to the night before Jesus’s death. It makes sense, though, to review the words that Jesus spoke to his disciples to help them prepare for how to live without his physical presence. In John’s gospel, Jesus has washed the feet of his disciples and encouraged them to be servant leaders. He has noted that nothing more needs to be washed, for they are clean, though, he says, not all of you are clean. With that statement, he is indicating his knowledge that one of his disciples will betray him. In the next section of John, he becomes distressed about the pending betrayal, but then tells Judas, “go, do quickly what you are going to do.” Today’s reading picks right up from that spot.
“When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him.” Jesus recognizes the betrayal as the beginning of his glorification. He acknowledges that his disciples will look for him, but won’t be able to follow him yet to where he is going. He wants to tell them how to follow him, how to live in his spirit, and so he gives them a new commandment, to love one another as he has loved them. In the gospel of John he says many, many other things, but it can all be boiled down to this one new commandment – to love one another as Jesus loved them. This is the biggie.
One of the commentators I studied posed the question, what should we as Christians be concerned about? What should matter to us? What should we dream about and hope for and work towards? Should be be evangelizing more – saving souls and helping people get to heaven? Should we be concerned about leading sinless and blameless lives? Should we be concerned about keeping the church pure, keeping the Sanctuary – the house of God – holy ground only for those who meet certain biblical criteria? I think we have a real strong clue in this reading. This is the night of his arrest, and Jesus knows what is going to happen. He knows that he will be crucified. And these are the things that he stresses – be servants, and love one another. He doesn’t say resist temptation, or give more money to the church or do the right thing, or make me proud. He says love one another as I have loved you. This love is what glorifies God.
So let’s look at how Jesus loved them. He called them. He called them to follow him, and he called them to grow in faith and power of the Spirit. He taught them by his actions and his words. He healed, he fed them, he ate with outcasts at all levels, he blessed them. He stood up for people who were oppressed, but never tried to oppress even the oppressors. He told people to love their enemies, to pray for those who wish you harm. His glorification came by overcoming violence with sacrifice and love. And the disciples don’t know it at this point of the story, but we do. He loves them by forgiving them, forgiving their abandonment and denial. This is how he loved them. This is how he commands them to love. Is the placement of this commandment just coincidentally after Judas has left to betray him? I think not. I think his message is meant to include Judas. Love one another, even Judas. Love one another, even yourselves after you have done things you regret terribly. This is how he commands us to love.
Not so easy, I know. I love this quote by Dorothy Day: “I really only love God as much as I love the person I love the least.” Whew, tough stuff. It’s hard sometimes just to love the ones we love the most in the way that Jesus loved. We often know, deep down, what the most loving thing to do for those around us is, but so many things get in the way. We are too busy, or tired, or focused on a goal, or impatient, or angry, or etc., etc. But to love someone we don’t really even like or respect or feel disgust towards? Can we?
I think we can. In fact, I know we can, and further, I know that we do. We are resurrection people! God created us in love, and continues to pour love into our hearts – a fountain ever springing. The stories in the bible are not meant primarily to tell us how to live, but to tell us what God has done for us and continues to do for us. Remember that the word gospel means good news, not good advice. Since we are so blessed by God, our actions, in our finer moments, reflect that love and the dignity bestowed on us by it. I want to share a few stories of people who have reflected that love, that dignity, and called others to rise to that level:
There was the man who had a neighbor who frequently dropped around to drink coffee and chat. The neighbor was a good man from a wonderful family and has been blessed with lots of love and good example in his life. But, like everyone, he had his weaknesses; in his case, gossip and occasional pettiness. One day, as he was visiting, he made a very racist remark. The man, instead of accusing him of being a racist or shaming him with the inappropriateness of his remark, called him instead to his own essential goodness: “That comment surprises me,” he said, “coming from you. I’ve always considered you and your family big-hearted people, with class, never petty. I’ve always envied your family for its goodness and understanding. That remark simply doesn’t sound like you!” The neighbor’s reaction was instant, positive. Immediately he apologized: “You’re right,” he said, “I don’t know why I sometimes say stupid things like that!” The glorification of God, love given, love called for, love returned.
Then there’s a story about a man who was going to his brand new car and found a little boy from a nearby project looking with great admiration at this new vehicle. The little boy said, “Does this car belong to you?” And the man said, “Yes, in fact my brother gave it to me for Christmas. I just got it.” With that the little boy’s eyes widened. He said, “You mean to say that somebody gave it to you? And you didn’t have to pay anything for it? That it came without any strings attached?” And the man said, “That’s right. My brother gave it to me as a gift.” With that the little boy let out a long sigh and said, “Boy, I would really like…” And the man fully expected the boy to say, “I would like to have a brother like that, who would give me such a beautiful car,” but instead the man was amazed when the little boy said, “Wow! I would like to be that kind of brother. I wish I could give that kind of car to my little brother.” God is glorified. Love given by the boy, love called for, love returned.
And finally we have Christian counselor Dennis Linn, who shares a story about how his vision of God was changed. He’d had an image of God as stern and commanding, the sort that people respected the old fashioned way. But he was meeting with a client one day, a woman who came in crying because her son had tried to commit suicide for the fourth time. She said that he was involved in prostitution, drug dealing and murder. She ended her list of her son’s “big sins” with, “What bothers me most is that my son says he wants nothing to do with God. What will happen to my son if he commits suicide without repenting and wanting nothing to do with God?”
Mr. Linn had the thought, “God will probably send your son to hell.” But he was trained well and didn’t say that to his client. Instead, eh asked her, “What do you think?” “Well,” she replied, “I think that when you die, you appear before the judgment seat of God. If you have lived a good life, God will send you to heaven. If you have lived a bad life, God will send you to hell.” Sadly, she concluded, “Since my son has lived such a bad life, if he were to die without repenting, God would certainly send him to hell.”
Again Mr. Linn found his thoughts in agreement, but again held that impulse in check. He remembered his theological training that taught him when you don’t know how to solve a theological problem, then let God solve it. So he said to the woman, “Close your eyes. Imagine that you are sitting next to the judgment seat of God. Imagine also that your son has died with all these serious sins and without repenting. Your son has just arrived at the judgment seat of God. Squeeze my hand when you can imagine that.”
A few minutes later she squeezed his hand and then described the entire judgment scene. He then asked her, “How does your son feel?” She answered, “My son feels so lonely and empty.” He asked what she would do. She said, “I want to throw my arms around my son.” She lifted her arms and began to cry as she imagined herself holding her son tightly.
Finally, when she had stopped crying, Mr. Linn asked her to imagine looking into God’s eyes and watching what God wanted to do. God stepped down from the throne, and just as the woman did, and embraced her son. And the three of them, Hilda, her son, and God, cried together and held one another. Dennis Lind says, “I was stunned. What this woman taught me in those few minutes is the bottom line of healthy Christian spirituality: God loves us at least as much as the person who loves us the most.” So can we love somebody that we don’t really like? Perhaps we can by remembering that God loves that very person at least as much as the one who loves him or her the most on this earth.
And can you imagine the vision of Revelation coming true if we could all love like that more and more often – ’cause we all love big like that once in awhile. Can’t you see how heaven would come to earth, and there would be a new earth, and God would live among us, and the old ways would be no more? We can do it, I know we can. So let’s glorify God. We have been given love, we have been called, so let’s return it, and let’s spread it. Amen.
