Love One Another
Sermon
THE POWER OF DARKNESS
SERMONS FOR LENT AND EASTER (SUNDAYS IN ORDINARY TIME)
The ministry of Jesus Christ, according to John's Gospel, has been compared to the arc of a pendulum. The pendulum begins from its high position with news that "Jesus was in the beginning with God." (1:2) But many preferred the darkness to the light (3:19); and the pendulum reaches its low side with this tragic observation, "Though he had done so many signs before them, yet they did not believe in him." (12:37) The first half of John's Gospel, which biblical scholar Raymond Brown calls the Book of Signs pictures for us the down-swing of our pendulum. The Book of Glory, which is the second half of the gospel, describes the upswing.1
But the upswing of this pendulum begins at its lowest point. The hour of Jesus' death is drawing near. There are no more conversations, discussions and arguments with the general public. The time is at hand to prepare his disciples for what is to come. So the first verse of chapter thirteen sets the tone for that which is near: "Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end." That which is near is made inevitable through the betrayal by Judas. For John ends his description of the Supper and the Foot Washing with this sober information: "... Judas immediately went out; and it was night." (v. 30) We are reminded of an earlier warning by John: "We must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day; night comes, when no one can work." (9:14) This "night" or "darkness" imagery is also present in Luke's account of Jesus' arrest: "When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness." (Luke 22:53)
But in the darkness, the light shines. The moment of Judas' treachery is the beginning of Jesus glorification. "When he had gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and in him God is glorified." (v. 31) This announcement provides the introduction for Jesus' words of farewell to his disciples. From now on his conversation is directed specifically to the disciples. He is preparing them for his death. "Little children ... where I am going you cannot come. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another." (vv. 33-34)
"Little children" - this tender greeting reveals the thoughtfulness and sensitivity of Jesus. He is not projecting a "macho" image nor is he expecting one. It is with the compassion of a parent that Jesus prepares his small family for his death. "Love one another" is the central theme of Jesus' farewell message of support and comfort. It is an important theme for John's entire gospel. It is also a theme which receives much attention and emphasis in the epistles of John.
We are somewhat puzzled that this whole matter of "love" should be introduced as a "new commandment". "What is new about it we ask?" The other question that bothers us is, "How can love be commanded?" The Old Testament contains a number or examples where we are told to love our neighbor. In the other gospels Jesus combines all the commandments into the Great Commandment: "And he answered, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.' " (Luke 10:26-27 and Matthew 22:34-39; Mark 12:28-31)
That which is "new" about this love-command is probably the situation. Jesus' death and resurrection are imminent. The new age with new relationships is about to be ushered in through the coming of the Spirit of the risen, living Christ. The "newness" of this command to love is therefore, like the newness of the new covenant promised by Jeremiah. "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah." (31:31-34)
We certainly had strong hints of this kind of love already in the old covenant. It was in the context of love that God gave the Ten Commandments. But with the life, death and resurrection of God's Son we see this love in its completeness. This is love that comes from the heart motivated by Christ's love. Hence this love is not worried about "how much," nor does it get anxious about who receives it. For this kind of love knows no limits and it is for everyone. It is love that is spontaneous not mechanical. It is love that is creative and not legalistic. In essence this kind of love cannot be commanded. It must come from within. It is through the indwelling presence of Christ that this kind of love is empowered. It is an imperative that includes the indicative. It is a commandment that is also a gift. Hear again the basis of this gift-commandment: "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you." (15:9) Here is the source the power to love. In chapter fifteen it is repeated twice and in our text the disciples hear that they are to love one another, even as they have been loved by Christ. (v. 34) Here is New Covenant Love. Just as the branches cannot bear fruit apart from the vine (15:14), so apart from Jesus, his follower can do nothing. But where they abide in him, there will be results - there will be the "works of love."
Another question that has been raised in reference to our text is that it makes no mention of loving one's enemies. Some wonder if love here is not restricted to the small circle of "loving people" who are one's friends. But surely that is to make its application to narrow. We know that the purpose for Jesus' coming was that God might demonstrate his love for all the world. (3:16) It is true that Christians are to love one another, but not as a way of escape nor because it is "safer." That would be a selfish interpretation which utterly betrayed the kind of love whereby Christians become Christians, namely the love of Christ. "Love one another" is the love that holds Christians together. It is their distinguishing mark. Their mutual love for one another is their mark of identification. Love for one another shapes and forms the Christian congregation. In this new commandment the love for neighbor and love for enemy come together. It is the way Christians are to measure their love for God. Hear from one of Luther's sermons, his strong, clear words on the subject of love:
God does not say, "Thou shalt love the rich, the powerful, the learned, the holy." No, the free love and the most perfect commandment does not apply to such special person, but it knows no consideration of person at all. It is the false, carnal love of the world which looks only to the person and loves only so long as there is profit and hope. When hope and profit are gone, then love disappears also. But the commandment demands free love for everybody, whoever he might be, friend or foe. This love does not consider its own reward or its own good but rewards and does good. For that reason it is most active among the poor, the needy, the evil-doers, the sinners, the insane, the sick, and the enemies. Confronted by these people this love has the opportunity to suffer, bear burdens, serve, and do good. This keeps love busy, always and everywhere. And note how this commandment makes us equal before God and suspends all differences of calling, person, rank and work. For since this commandment is given all men everywhere, a king and prince (if he claims to be a human being) must confess that the poorest beggar and the leper are his neighbors and he is equal before God. Therefore he does not only owe him help but according to this commandment he must serve him with everything he has and does.2
It is also this kind of love that enables Christians to be effective and faithful in their mission. "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (v. 35)
Verse 35 says that even outsiders will recognize the distinctiveness of Christian love. The same theme is found in 17:23 where it is said that the world's attention will be caught by the love and union that exists between the Father, the Son, and the Christian disciples. Such a love challenges the world even as Jesus challenged the world, and leads men to make their choice for the light. Thus, as long as Christian love is in the world, the world is still encountering Jesus.3
These words by Raymond Brown are instructive for us as we Christians think upon these farewell words of Jesus to his disciples. We know that the word love and its meaning has come in for more than its share of cheap shots. (I sometimes think we make as much fun about love as we do preaching!) We pay a kind of lip service to the whole idea of love but "everybody knows you really can't take it too seriously."
We need to hear again that, for Jesus Christ, love is not simply one virtue among many others from which we may choose, rather it is the foundation, the basic yardstick for all norms and forms of how to behave and act toward one another. Nor is it some kind of cozy relationship between God and me. It is not feeling or sentiment but rather action about which Christian love is concerned. It is "doing good" for others. It is an attitude with guides, instructs and regulates our action toward others. According to Jesus, "loving one another" is to be the most distinctive characteristic of our Christian congregations. And John's Gospel is not the only place we hear about it. We read the admonition in Ephesians, "with all lowliness and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (4:2-4) Congregations are to be those communities where we build one another up instead of tearing them down. In First Peter we read, "Above all hold unfailing your love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins." (4:8) Again, Paul's words to the Christians in Thessalonica: "We are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, as is fitting, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of everyone of you for one another is increasing." (2 Thessalonians 1:3)
This is what Easter is all about. Eternal life is not just something that happens when we die, but is present now. This is what it means to live in the spirit of the risen Christ. It means a radical orientation of our life. It means newness of social life, since there is no other kind of human life. The first and all-inclusive result of "walking in the Spirit" is the visibility of our love. It means that we who have received the Gospel of Jesus Christ have received his love and with it the "new command to love one another."
"With Christ have I been crucified, and so I live. Yet it is no longer I, but Christ who lives in me. And this life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:19-20)
Amen
1. Raymond P. Brown, The Gospel According To John XIII-XXL, (New York, Doubleday and Company, 1970), p. 541.
2. Martin Luther, translated from the Weimar Edition of Luther's Works. Quoted from George Forell, Faith Active in Love (Minneapolis, Augsburg Publishing House, 1954), p. 104. Reprinted by permission.
3. Ibid., Raymond E. Brown, p. 614. Reprinted by permission.
But the upswing of this pendulum begins at its lowest point. The hour of Jesus' death is drawing near. There are no more conversations, discussions and arguments with the general public. The time is at hand to prepare his disciples for what is to come. So the first verse of chapter thirteen sets the tone for that which is near: "Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end." That which is near is made inevitable through the betrayal by Judas. For John ends his description of the Supper and the Foot Washing with this sober information: "... Judas immediately went out; and it was night." (v. 30) We are reminded of an earlier warning by John: "We must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day; night comes, when no one can work." (9:14) This "night" or "darkness" imagery is also present in Luke's account of Jesus' arrest: "When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness." (Luke 22:53)
But in the darkness, the light shines. The moment of Judas' treachery is the beginning of Jesus glorification. "When he had gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and in him God is glorified." (v. 31) This announcement provides the introduction for Jesus' words of farewell to his disciples. From now on his conversation is directed specifically to the disciples. He is preparing them for his death. "Little children ... where I am going you cannot come. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another." (vv. 33-34)
"Little children" - this tender greeting reveals the thoughtfulness and sensitivity of Jesus. He is not projecting a "macho" image nor is he expecting one. It is with the compassion of a parent that Jesus prepares his small family for his death. "Love one another" is the central theme of Jesus' farewell message of support and comfort. It is an important theme for John's entire gospel. It is also a theme which receives much attention and emphasis in the epistles of John.
We are somewhat puzzled that this whole matter of "love" should be introduced as a "new commandment". "What is new about it we ask?" The other question that bothers us is, "How can love be commanded?" The Old Testament contains a number or examples where we are told to love our neighbor. In the other gospels Jesus combines all the commandments into the Great Commandment: "And he answered, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.' " (Luke 10:26-27 and Matthew 22:34-39; Mark 12:28-31)
That which is "new" about this love-command is probably the situation. Jesus' death and resurrection are imminent. The new age with new relationships is about to be ushered in through the coming of the Spirit of the risen, living Christ. The "newness" of this command to love is therefore, like the newness of the new covenant promised by Jeremiah. "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah." (31:31-34)
We certainly had strong hints of this kind of love already in the old covenant. It was in the context of love that God gave the Ten Commandments. But with the life, death and resurrection of God's Son we see this love in its completeness. This is love that comes from the heart motivated by Christ's love. Hence this love is not worried about "how much," nor does it get anxious about who receives it. For this kind of love knows no limits and it is for everyone. It is love that is spontaneous not mechanical. It is love that is creative and not legalistic. In essence this kind of love cannot be commanded. It must come from within. It is through the indwelling presence of Christ that this kind of love is empowered. It is an imperative that includes the indicative. It is a commandment that is also a gift. Hear again the basis of this gift-commandment: "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you." (15:9) Here is the source the power to love. In chapter fifteen it is repeated twice and in our text the disciples hear that they are to love one another, even as they have been loved by Christ. (v. 34) Here is New Covenant Love. Just as the branches cannot bear fruit apart from the vine (15:14), so apart from Jesus, his follower can do nothing. But where they abide in him, there will be results - there will be the "works of love."
Another question that has been raised in reference to our text is that it makes no mention of loving one's enemies. Some wonder if love here is not restricted to the small circle of "loving people" who are one's friends. But surely that is to make its application to narrow. We know that the purpose for Jesus' coming was that God might demonstrate his love for all the world. (3:16) It is true that Christians are to love one another, but not as a way of escape nor because it is "safer." That would be a selfish interpretation which utterly betrayed the kind of love whereby Christians become Christians, namely the love of Christ. "Love one another" is the love that holds Christians together. It is their distinguishing mark. Their mutual love for one another is their mark of identification. Love for one another shapes and forms the Christian congregation. In this new commandment the love for neighbor and love for enemy come together. It is the way Christians are to measure their love for God. Hear from one of Luther's sermons, his strong, clear words on the subject of love:
God does not say, "Thou shalt love the rich, the powerful, the learned, the holy." No, the free love and the most perfect commandment does not apply to such special person, but it knows no consideration of person at all. It is the false, carnal love of the world which looks only to the person and loves only so long as there is profit and hope. When hope and profit are gone, then love disappears also. But the commandment demands free love for everybody, whoever he might be, friend or foe. This love does not consider its own reward or its own good but rewards and does good. For that reason it is most active among the poor, the needy, the evil-doers, the sinners, the insane, the sick, and the enemies. Confronted by these people this love has the opportunity to suffer, bear burdens, serve, and do good. This keeps love busy, always and everywhere. And note how this commandment makes us equal before God and suspends all differences of calling, person, rank and work. For since this commandment is given all men everywhere, a king and prince (if he claims to be a human being) must confess that the poorest beggar and the leper are his neighbors and he is equal before God. Therefore he does not only owe him help but according to this commandment he must serve him with everything he has and does.2
It is also this kind of love that enables Christians to be effective and faithful in their mission. "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (v. 35)
Verse 35 says that even outsiders will recognize the distinctiveness of Christian love. The same theme is found in 17:23 where it is said that the world's attention will be caught by the love and union that exists between the Father, the Son, and the Christian disciples. Such a love challenges the world even as Jesus challenged the world, and leads men to make their choice for the light. Thus, as long as Christian love is in the world, the world is still encountering Jesus.3
These words by Raymond Brown are instructive for us as we Christians think upon these farewell words of Jesus to his disciples. We know that the word love and its meaning has come in for more than its share of cheap shots. (I sometimes think we make as much fun about love as we do preaching!) We pay a kind of lip service to the whole idea of love but "everybody knows you really can't take it too seriously."
We need to hear again that, for Jesus Christ, love is not simply one virtue among many others from which we may choose, rather it is the foundation, the basic yardstick for all norms and forms of how to behave and act toward one another. Nor is it some kind of cozy relationship between God and me. It is not feeling or sentiment but rather action about which Christian love is concerned. It is "doing good" for others. It is an attitude with guides, instructs and regulates our action toward others. According to Jesus, "loving one another" is to be the most distinctive characteristic of our Christian congregations. And John's Gospel is not the only place we hear about it. We read the admonition in Ephesians, "with all lowliness and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (4:2-4) Congregations are to be those communities where we build one another up instead of tearing them down. In First Peter we read, "Above all hold unfailing your love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins." (4:8) Again, Paul's words to the Christians in Thessalonica: "We are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, as is fitting, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of everyone of you for one another is increasing." (2 Thessalonians 1:3)
This is what Easter is all about. Eternal life is not just something that happens when we die, but is present now. This is what it means to live in the spirit of the risen Christ. It means a radical orientation of our life. It means newness of social life, since there is no other kind of human life. The first and all-inclusive result of "walking in the Spirit" is the visibility of our love. It means that we who have received the Gospel of Jesus Christ have received his love and with it the "new command to love one another."
"With Christ have I been crucified, and so I live. Yet it is no longer I, but Christ who lives in me. And this life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:19-20)
Amen
1. Raymond P. Brown, The Gospel According To John XIII-XXL, (New York, Doubleday and Company, 1970), p. 541.
2. Martin Luther, translated from the Weimar Edition of Luther's Works. Quoted from George Forell, Faith Active in Love (Minneapolis, Augsburg Publishing House, 1954), p. 104. Reprinted by permission.
3. Ibid., Raymond E. Brown, p. 614. Reprinted by permission.
