Text: John 13:31-35 (The Message)
31-32 When [Judas] had left, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is seen for who he is, and God seen for who he is in him. The moment God is seen in him, God’s glory will be on display. In glorifying him, he himself is glorified—glory all around!
33 “Children, I am with you for only a short time longer. You are going to look high and low for me. But just as I told the Jews, I’m telling you: ‘Where I go, you are not able to come.’
34-35 “Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.”
In the Name of God, the Holy and Undivided Trinity. Amen.
Love. What do you think of when you hear that word? I imagine that a million images come to mind. Some of them might be superficial, since our culture has so cheapened the word “love” that it can be applied to almost everything – from cars (“Love is what makes a Subaru a Subaru”) to fast food (the McDonald’s slogan “I’m lovin’ it”). How often do we say things like, “I just love ___________” (fill in the blank)? “I love pizza!” “I love that color!” “I love to fish!” “I love to read!”
Other images go much deeper. You might think of a beloved parent who’s no longer with us, or your wife, or your husband, or your children, or grandchildren – for Katie and me, “love” is personified by our granddaughter Chloe – and with her, love truly is a gift that keeps on giving!
Craig Condon shares the following story on his website “Sermons from My Heart”:
A little boy wanted to meet God. Not knowing where God lived, the boy packed his suitcase with Twinkies and a six-pack of root beer and started out on his journey. When he had gone a few blocks, he met an old woman who was sitting in the park staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old lady looked hungry, so he offered her a Twinkie. She accepted it and smiled at him. Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a root beer. Once again she smiled at him. The boy was delighted! Together they sat all afternoon eating and smiling.
As it grew dark, the boy realized it was time to go home, but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around and ran back to the old woman and gave her a hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever. When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, “What did you do today that made you so happy?” He replied, “I had lunch with God.” But before his mother could respond, he added, “You know what? She’s got the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen!”
Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home. Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face and he asked, “Mother, what did you do today that made you so happy?” She replied, “I had Twinkies and root beer with God, and you know, he’s much younger than I expected.”[1]
That little boy showed love, first by sharing his food with the old woman, but particularly with that hug! And the old woman showed love by accepting the gift and hugging back! Among many other things, love is a two-way street.
But I would be willing to bet that love, for most of us, is that gushy, warm, wonderful feeling that sometimes washes over us, which we describe as “falling in love.” That’s what we think of, usually.
I’ll bet it’s equally true that we never think of love as something we’re commanded to do. How can we be commanded to have a feeling for someone else? But it sounds like that’s exactly what Jesus commands us to do.
Or does it? What Jesus is actually commanding isn’t that we somehow conjure up feelings. He commands us, rather, to act in a way that shows his love in the world, often regardless of our personal feelings.
Someone – I don’t know who – put it this way: “This commandment is simple enough for a toddler to memorize and appreciate and it is profound enough that the most mature Christians are repeatedly embarrassed at how poorly they comprehend it and put it into practice.”
When we encounter him in this passage, Jesus is doing his level best to help his disciples comprehend just what he means when he talks about love. In Chapters 13 to 21, which is John’s record of the last twenty-four hours of Jesus’ life, the word “love” is used forty-five times, including the four instances we read today; by contrast, in Chapters 1 to 12, we find the word “love” mentioned only 12 times.[2] So it’s pretty clear that, as his time ran short, Jesus wanted to impress on his followers the gist of his message – and that was to love one another. If they could do that, everything else would follow.
It sounds easy. It’s not. If it were as easy as it sounds, our world would be a much different, and much better, place.
Loving our families and friends – the people we know, the ones who are (theoretically, anyway) the nearest and dearest to us – is all bu itself sometimes almost more than we can do. The people we know the best are also the persons who are most able to get under our skin, who have the ability to press just the right button at just the wrong time. This goes all the way back to Cain and Abel, so it’s nothing new. But loving people we don’t even know, or – worse yet – people we do know but don’t like very much, sounds like some “labor of Hercules.” It’s just … too much. It seems impossible!
How can we do this? How can we hope to fulfill Jesus’ command to “love one another?”
I lose a lot of sleep – I really do – over how St. John’s can grow. And the Council and I have come up with some ideas – that big screen TV is one of them, Sommerfest is another, and we have other ideas we’re kicking around – but it occurred to me as I was working on this sermon that maybe I’m putting the emphasis on the wrong things. We’re going to continue trying to find ways to harness new technologies and attract people in our community; but maybe as a start we need to stick to something we’ve discussed before, and that is that, if we concentrate on building up and supporting what’s in our hearts, the rest will follow.
Maybe we should just share our Twinkies and our root beer.
When push came to shove, and time was of the essence, Jesus did not run his disciples through a list of instructions, he didn’t give them lectures on theology, he did not make them memorize a catalog of rules, he didn’t outline guidelines for best practices, he didn’t even repeat that they were to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,” which we generally understand as our “marching orders.” He didn’t do any of that. Instead, he told them – commanded them – to love each other as he had loved them.
That, I think, is where we start.
Friday’s issue of The New York Times had a front-page article that shocked me and about broke my heart. The headline read, “Sweeping Pain As Suicides Hit A 30-Year High.” The article was about the results of an analysis of data conducted by the federal government. This analysis discovered that suicides among almost all age groups – except, remarkably, among people who are 70 years old or older – jumped by incredible margins over the course of the period in question. In that period, suicides among middle-aged women aged 45 to 64 jumped 63%! It rose 43% for men in that age group, which was the sharpest increase for males of any age. Women are closing the gap that once existed in suicides between them and men – not exactly the kind of “equality of the sexes” that we should celebrate! But most tragically, in my view, was that the suicide rate for girls between the ages of 10 and 14 had tripled in that period. TRIPLED!
You might be asking, “What in the world does that have to do with loving your neighbor and with St. John’s UCC?”
The answer is: Absolutely everything.
First, this article just underscores for us that our modern world is one in which people are increasingly feeling alienated from others. When people see no hope on the horizon, when they don’t know where to turn, when they believe they haven’t got a friend in the world, when they’re depressed and their world is dark, that’s when the thought of ending it all can take over.
At the risk of indulging in finger-pointing (which I totally am), Facebook and Twitter, as well as other social media tools, have accelerated the trend toward isolation begun over half a century ago with the advent of television. And you’ve probably all seen the pictures of young people sitting in social settings – in a restaurant booth, in a living room, at a ball game – with their faces glued to their smartphones, completely ignoring each other. And adults do it, too.
When your new BFF[3] is someone you found on Facebook, but who lives in Australia, or you’re constantly checking out your Twitter feed to the total exclusion of the world around you, it doesn’t take long before the relational moorings that connect you to others who might be sitting right next to you begin to snap. If you should, God forbid, experience a crisis, and you look up from whatever device is in your hand, you might find that no one is there! Your BFF in Australia is worse than useless at a time like that.
Second, these statistics tell me that it’s entirely possible that every one of us might know one or more people in our neighborhoods, our bridge clubs, our workplaces, who are in danger of adding to these numbers. They tell me we might have friends or members of our own families who are on that sharp razor’s edge. Maybe some of you right here today are feeling alone, hopeless, and depressed. Winston Churchill struggled all his life with depression, which he called the “little black dog” that was constantly nipping at his heels. Maybe some of you, or people you know, also have that black dog following you around.
If so, we can help.
No, I am not a therapist, and I don’t believe we have any in our congregation. That’s not the help I’m thinking of. What I am saying, in the context of Jesus’ command to love one another is this: If you feel lost, hopeless, and depressed, talk to us! We truly are here for you! Let us be with you! Let us help bear your burden! Let those of us who know you and who love you support and embrace you, and help you get the assistance you need! THAT’S WHAT WE ARE HERE FOR!
“Love one another. In the same way I loved you, love one another.”
Our mission, really, is not primarily to maintain a building, enshrine procedures, or pass budgets – all very important things, to be sure, and we’re not going to be giving them up any time soon – but rather it is to recognize that, in the words of our Conference Minister, Franz Rigert, in an article regarding our Conference’s new SHIFT Initiative, “God is calling us to the places where our Christian faith and the needs of the world intersect. At these crossroads, lives will be transformed as people from all walks of life work together for a more just and generous world.”[4]
This reminds me of the quote by the theologian Karl Barth, who said ‘way back in an interview in 1966: “The Pastor and the Faithful should not deceive themselves into thinking that they are a religious society, which has to do with certain themes; they live in the world. We still need – according to my old formulation – the Bible and the Newspaper.”[5]
It is said that the Apostle John, in his old age, would remind those around him to love one another. When questioned why he told them this so very often, his reply would be, “Because it is what our Lord commanded. If it is all you do, then it is enough.”[6]
“Love one another. In the same way I loved you, love one another.”
How do we follow this command? Like this: Keep your eyes peeled for people who need to feel loved, included, supported, fed, and helped. Be that person who goes out of his or her way to lift someone up.
Share your Twinkies and your root beer!
In the Name of God, the Holy and Undivided Trinity. Amen.
[1] http://sermonsfrommyheart.blogspot.com/2013/04/john-1331-35-love-others-like-jesus.html
[2] Krell, Keith, “Love Power,” Bible.org, https://bible.org/seriespage/3-love-power-john-1331-38
[3] “Best Friend Forever”
[4] Rigert, Franz, “Shift: An Invitation to a Conversation,” http://www.wcucc.org/index.asp?menuid=565&firstlevelmenuid=182&siteid=1
[5] “Quotes by Barth,” Princeton Theological Seminary, http://www.ptsem.edu/Library/index.aspx?menu1_id=6907&menu2_id=6904&id=8450
[6] Jerome’s commentary on Galatians, quoted in Wiseman, Karyn, “Commentary on John 13:31-35,” https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=1621