John 13:31-35
May 19, 2019
First Presbyterian Church, Sterling, IL
Christina Berry
Often for confirmation, we choose a focus scripture,
rather than what is in the Revised Common Lectionary.
But this time, the Lectionary accommodates us
with the perfect gospel choice in John 13:31-35.
The gospel of John asks lot of its readers.
John’s gospel does not always have a story line like the other gospels.
Sometimes it sounds more like a poem than a narrative;
most of the time it is concerned with symbols and signs.
In the thirteenth chapter, though,
we do enter into the part of the story
that is about to conclude with Jesus’ crucifixion.
The chapter begins: “Now before the festival of the Passover,
Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father.
Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.”
Jesus is gathered with his friends in an upper room in Jerusalem,
where they have come for the feast of the Passover.
To their surprise, he takes the role of a servant,
wrapping a towel around his waist and washing their feet.
He demonstrated the full extent of his love for them,
not only by this humble act of hospitality,
but by willingly giving his very life.
But in this moment, the disciples are still not sure what is going on.
Let’s listen for God’s word to us in John 13:31-34,
just after Jesus sent Judas out, knowing that Judas planned to betray him:
When he [Judas] 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.”
the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
What a powerful statement of love!
He loved them to the end.
He loved them to the end of his life;
he loved them to the fullest extent of love.
Once we know that, Jesus’ commandment
takes on an even greater weight than it already had.
Not that it is anything to be taken lightly, not at all.
In fact, Jesus says it three times!
“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.”
This love for one another becomes the identifying mark
of those who follow Jesus: love for one another.
Sad, isn’t it, how that seems to have gotten lost?
Certainly each of us can identify times we’ve been less than loving.
And it isn’t difficult to find Christians who seem intent on destroying other Christians.
Pretty much any form of media on any given day
will give you at least one example of self-identified Christians
who seem not to have ever heard or regarded these words:
“Love one another. By this, everyone will know you are my disciples.”
I’m always baffled by those who split congregations
Thanks be to God.
Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
What a powerful statement of love!
He loved them to the end.
He loved them to the end of his life;
he loved them to the fullest extent of love.
Once we know that, Jesus’ commandment
takes on an even greater weight than it already had.
Not that it is anything to be taken lightly, not at all.
In fact, Jesus says it three times!
“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.”
This love for one another becomes the identifying mark
of those who follow Jesus: love for one another.
Sad, isn’t it, how that seems to have gotten lost?
Certainly each of us can identify times we’ve been less than loving.
And it isn’t difficult to find Christians who seem intent on destroying other Christians.
Pretty much any form of media on any given day
will give you at least one example of self-identified Christians
who seem not to have ever heard or regarded these words:
“Love one another. By this, everyone will know you are my disciples.”
I’m always baffled by those who split congregations
over disagreements about ordination, marriage, and other LGBTQ issues.
They claim love, but their actions show otherwise.
While their words say love and compassion,
their actions shout judgment and exclusion.
And what those outside the church conclude
is that not only do Christians not love THEM,
they can’t even get along with each other.
“Love one another”
How is that so dadgum hard?
Well, of course, it IS so dadgum hard.
That’s probably why Jesus said it three times.
It is hard because we’re so human, and everyone else is so human.
That’s probably why Jesus called us together to be the church:
because it is so hard to love one another,
and the way we learn to do it is by staying together,
loving each other, even when it is hard.
Walking away, or staying away, is much easier.
They claim love, but their actions show otherwise.
While their words say love and compassion,
their actions shout judgment and exclusion.
And what those outside the church conclude
is that not only do Christians not love THEM,
they can’t even get along with each other.
“Love one another”
How is that so dadgum hard?
Well, of course, it IS so dadgum hard.
That’s probably why Jesus said it three times.
It is hard because we’re so human, and everyone else is so human.
That’s probably why Jesus called us together to be the church:
because it is so hard to love one another,
and the way we learn to do it is by staying together,
loving each other, even when it is hard.
Walking away, or staying away, is much easier.
But God knows we need each other.
Our souls need God, and one another.
It is only in the context of our relationships to God and each other
that we learn who we really are,
that we become fully human and fully humane.
Our souls need God, and one another.
It is only in the context of our relationships to God and each other
that we learn who we really are,
that we become fully human and fully humane.
In South Africa, as the people were struggling to come to terms
with the effects of the moral injury that was apartheid,
Nelson Mandela developed the theological concept of “ubuntu.”
Ubuntu is a Zulu word that is hard to translate,
but roughly, it means, “I am because we are.”
Mandela understood that “the drive of the Ubuntu spirit
is to become more fully, genuinely human,
in unity” with one‘s fellow human beings.
Thus, as we grow and develop, the soul’s true enrichment
will mean that we “naturally align with the duty
to act towards the spiritual growth of one‘s community.”[1]
Ubuntu means compassion and charity toward one another;
not uniformity in all things,
but a natural drive toward the good of all,
the recognition that my well-being is intimately connected with yours.
I am because we are.
Or, as the Apostle Paul put it:
“love does not look to its own interest, but to the interest of others.”
Love one another.
That’s asking a lot, especially of someone
who is at the threshold of their teenage years.
It used to be that confirmation classes involved a lot of memorizing.
You memorized the catechism, the creeds, Bible verses,
dates, history, definitions and doctrine.
Some people think these guys have it easy – no memorizing, no tests,
just an exploration of faith that culminates
in them writing their own statement of belief.
One minister said “Which is the tougher Confirmation route?
Learn the …Catechism? The history of Martin Luther,
the Pilgrims, and the [denomination]? Explain the Apostles’ Creed,
the Trinity, the Sacraments, … heaven, and hell . . .
OR . . . Living a life of love? Being as loving as God?
Just loving, period, day in and day out?
Do people really think that’s easy?”[2]
Following Jesus and obeying that commandment is challenging.
So when people of any age make a commitment to a congregation,
when people say, “I want to join the church,”
like these three young men are about to do today, it makes my heart sing.
Nobody is forcing them to make that commitment.
For the last two years, they’ve worked with Barry Flint and me,
the first year in learning to understand the Bible,
and the second year in exploring and discussing faith.
The experience has been amazing.
We’ve known and loved these guys since they were little boys.
We look at them and remember – their baptisms, perhaps,
or all the ways in which they’ve engaged in our community.
with the effects of the moral injury that was apartheid,
Nelson Mandela developed the theological concept of “ubuntu.”
Ubuntu is a Zulu word that is hard to translate,
but roughly, it means, “I am because we are.”
Mandela understood that “the drive of the Ubuntu spirit
is to become more fully, genuinely human,
in unity” with one‘s fellow human beings.
Thus, as we grow and develop, the soul’s true enrichment
will mean that we “naturally align with the duty
to act towards the spiritual growth of one‘s community.”[1]
Ubuntu means compassion and charity toward one another;
not uniformity in all things,
but a natural drive toward the good of all,
the recognition that my well-being is intimately connected with yours.
I am because we are.
Or, as the Apostle Paul put it:
“love does not look to its own interest, but to the interest of others.”
Love one another.
That’s asking a lot, especially of someone
who is at the threshold of their teenage years.
It used to be that confirmation classes involved a lot of memorizing.
You memorized the catechism, the creeds, Bible verses,
dates, history, definitions and doctrine.
Some people think these guys have it easy – no memorizing, no tests,
just an exploration of faith that culminates
in them writing their own statement of belief.
One minister said “Which is the tougher Confirmation route?
Learn the …Catechism? The history of Martin Luther,
the Pilgrims, and the [denomination]? Explain the Apostles’ Creed,
the Trinity, the Sacraments, … heaven, and hell . . .
OR . . . Living a life of love? Being as loving as God?
Just loving, period, day in and day out?
Do people really think that’s easy?”[2]
Following Jesus and obeying that commandment is challenging.
So when people of any age make a commitment to a congregation,
when people say, “I want to join the church,”
like these three young men are about to do today, it makes my heart sing.
Nobody is forcing them to make that commitment.
For the last two years, they’ve worked with Barry Flint and me,
the first year in learning to understand the Bible,
and the second year in exploring and discussing faith.
The experience has been amazing.
We’ve known and loved these guys since they were little boys.
We look at them and remember – their baptisms, perhaps,
or all the ways in which they’ve engaged in our community.
Ben as King Herod, and Father Christmas, in the Christmas program,
Henry playing David against Goliath when he was so small,
Kyle leading the communion prayer at the table with me.
All three of them are part of us, and we are part of them.
They were baptized long ago, but now they confirm those promises.
Their parents have made and kept their commitments –
now we turn to them and ask them to profess their own faith.
When they join the church, they won’t get a membership card.
They won’t get a handstamp that shows they’re in.
We don’t even give them a t-shirt with the church name on it.
The identifying mark of them as Christians isn’t a tattoo.
It is the way they learn to love one another.
Whatever tangible gifts we might give a youngster who is confirmed,
nothing is more important or greater than love.
Henry playing David against Goliath when he was so small,
Kyle leading the communion prayer at the table with me.
All three of them are part of us, and we are part of them.
They were baptized long ago, but now they confirm those promises.
Their parents have made and kept their commitments –
now we turn to them and ask them to profess their own faith.
When they join the church, they won’t get a membership card.
They won’t get a handstamp that shows they’re in.
We don’t even give them a t-shirt with the church name on it.
The identifying mark of them as Christians isn’t a tattoo.
It is the way they learn to love one another.
Whatever tangible gifts we might give a youngster who is confirmed,
nothing is more important or greater than love.
The Apostle Paul said there are three major things: faith, hope and love.
And the greatest of these is love.
Love untangles the messes of life.
Love makes space for those who are exploring faith.
Love reaches out a hand to those who have stumbled.
Love leads us to solutions when problems arise.
Love fixes what is broken.
Love is what identifies us to the world as followers of Jesus.
By the way we love, everyone will know we are disciples.
Amen.
[1] Oppenheim, Claire E. “Nelson Mandela and the Power of Ubuntu” Erich Lindemann Mental Health Center, claireoppenheim@gmail.com; Tel.: +1-617-912-7837
[2] Rev. David Johnson Rowe, “Love: The Best Confirmation” sermon preached May 5, 2019 at Greenfield Hill Church, Fairfield, CN
And the greatest of these is love.
Love untangles the messes of life.
Love makes space for those who are exploring faith.
Love reaches out a hand to those who have stumbled.
Love leads us to solutions when problems arise.
Love fixes what is broken.
Love is what identifies us to the world as followers of Jesus.
By the way we love, everyone will know we are disciples.
Amen.
[1] Oppenheim, Claire E. “Nelson Mandela and the Power of Ubuntu” Erich Lindemann Mental Health Center, claireoppenheim@gmail.com; Tel.: +1-617-912-7837
[2] Rev. David Johnson Rowe, “Love: The Best Confirmation” sermon preached May 5, 2019 at Greenfield Hill Church, Fairfield, CN
Comments
Post a Comment