It’s the “easy” scripture that catch you off guard. You know, those Bible passages you’ve heard a thousand times, which tumble off your tongue easily because you’ve heard them so often. They are the scripture that we hear and think: “Oh yeah, this one I know…let me tell you about it.” The scriptures today sort of fall into that category… okay, two out of three. The Acts reading falls into the lesser-known passages.
Anyway, our scripture from John holds some of Jesus’ most famous words – a command really – “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” Great, easy peasy on the reflection side of things – we’ve heard these words not that long ago in Holy Week and I know we’ve heard them a couple more times before that. We’ve heard it so often that I wonder if there is anything new to say about this particular passage…
I know I’ve said this to you before, but sometimes, with well-known passages like this we need to take a look at them again with different eyes – maybe use a different translation, read it in a different place, ready it a whole bunch of times and let the words wash over you to the point that you are drawn to one word or phrase. Given that the Bible is a translated literary piece, there are sometimes turns of phrase or implied meaning lost when in the translation from the original text to English. Maybe that’s the case here…a little digging and we can find something we’ve never thought of before. This time though, it was a thought that popped into my mind as I read the lectionary choices that drove how my sermon development. Looking at the Acts and John readings, one can see that they are both pointing to the same thing – over and over and over again they say “love one another”
Let’s start with the John reading since it’s the most obvious one. Jesus literally says “love one another”, almost as if he was trying to make absolutely sure that those listening (and reading) got his point. Jesus doesn’t often repeat things unless it’s for a good reason. But it’s not just the repetition that should convince us, it’s the broader context of where the scripture reading falls. In case you were interested, it falls right in the middle of the last supper, the Maundy Thursday text. Jesus has gathered his disciples and some of his closest friends to share the Passover feast. As they ready themselves for the feast, Jesus gets up from the table and kneels to wash the feet of each of the disciples. This starts the disciples mumbling, wondering what’s going on. Our little gospel snippet comes right after a couple of fairly tense interactions between Jesus and a couple of his disciples. Just as Jesus ramps up to his “love one another” command, he drops the truth that “one of the gathered would betray him, as he points out Judas at the table. Judas, being called out, gets up and leaves, heading towards the authorities so he can tell them where Jesus will be. And in response to this surprising turn of events, Jesus turns to the disciples and tells them that they need to love. He doesn’t say: “I know Judas is going to turn me in, and your job is to avenge me.” Rather, Jesus turns to the disciples and speaks to them of love – to love one another – three different ways.
The tension builds again when Jesus turns to Peter and says: “You will deny me three times” and even knowing that Peter is about to break his heart, Jesus doesn’t ask for punishment, he just says “love one another.”
Jesus knows his friends, deeply. He knows after spending the last few years doing ministry with them, sharing the good news, that these people weren’t perfect. He knows their character flaws and he loves them anyway. And during this last supper with them he knows that they are going to face hard times, he knows that it might bring out the worst in each of them before its over – and even then, knowing Judas the Betrayer and Peter the Denier, and Thomas the Doubter, and all of the rest of them with their own struggles… and what he says to them is “love one another.”
So, our snippet from John’s gospel tells us that we are to love our friends and family and all those who walk this road of discipleship with us, even when things get difficult and they do things we don’t like. Love one another.
But what about everyone else? Do we have to love them too? The passage from Acts telling us about Peter makes it very clear for us that God’s love is for everyone – even when some thought that it shouldn’t be. Jesus ran into this during his ministry too – some of his followers through that his message of Good News should only be for the Jewish people, or should only be for the “good” upstanding citizens. He made a point of reaching out to the gentiles, or non-Jewish people, and included even the Romans, who were the oppressors, and people that the religious authorities would consider to be sinners. But his message of love for all was not always understood and after Jesus was gone his followers continued to struggle with the concept.
Post resurrection, Peter and the other apostles continued to travel around, sharing Jesus’ Good News about God and God’s kingdom. Peter, convinced that he should only be visiting other Jews, followed the traditional law that said he shouldn’t enter the house of a Gentile. He held tight to that mindset until he reached Joppa while on his ministry journey. While there, he received a vision from God that made it very clear that God wanted Peter to break down the barriers between people. A voice came to him saying, “what God has made clean, you must not call profane.” To reinforce the idea, immediately following the vision a group of Gentiles appear, wanting Peter to come with them and preach to their household… And the Spirit whispered to Peter: “get up, go down with them without hesitation for I have sent them.” So he goes with them, and the Holy Spirit pours overs the gentiles and Peter baptizes them in the name of Jesus.
Leaving Joppa, Peter goes back to headquarters and gathers with the other apostles in Judea – all returned from their own preaching tours, speaking mostly to Jews – and Peter tells them about what just happened with the Holy Spirit and the Gentile. The disciples were like YOU DID WHAT?? They ask, “how could you even EAT with them?” So Peter has to go back and tell them the story again – about the vision, the voice, the Gentiles appearing, and the Spirit instructing him to go with them. He says to his apostolic colleagues “if then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed I the Lord, Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?” They couldn’t respond, they had no words for Peter, so they turned to praising God
Well, two thousand years have passed and while the disciples were on board with Peter’s vision in that moment, throughout the history of God’s church we have struggled with the idea that God’s love is for everyone. Even we, the United Church of Canada, a denomination full of people who pride themselves as being welcoming and inclusive, are challenged by this.
Recently, a friend of mine introduced me to an artist on social media who was doing an art series on foot washing. The series was meant to invite Christians to re-think who might be worthy of having their feet washed by Christ. I thought about trying to explain each image but I’ve decided to let the art speak for itself.
A nurse wearing COVID protective gear
A black female minister
Sometime texting instead of paying attention to Jesus
Gay man holding a pride flag
A toddler pulling on Jesus’ beard
Someone with anxiety
Homeless person
Eve and Mary
Someone with depression
Someone with addiction
Pro-choice and pro-life people
An inmate
Donald trump and Joe Biden
Vax and anti vaxxer
Black skateboarder
Police
Ukrainian mother and child & Russian soldier
Sex worker washing Jesus’ feet
Judas
This series invites us to imagine someone, anyone that we have a conflicted relationship with. It could be someone in your personal life, or it could be a leader or public figure that just makes you rage whenever you hear or see them. It could be a whole group of people. Picture them in your mind and accept the feelings that you normally feel when you see that person, whether it’s anger or frustration or hurt or whatever that brings up for you. It’s okay. But now I invite you to imagine them sitting with Jesus, with Jesus washing their feet. Jesus calling them beloved, offering forgiveness, and forgiving you at the same time too.
God’s love, the love that Jesus preached and taught and lived is for everyone. Christians throughout the ages, especially those with great power, have tried to restrict who has access to that love – but it just cannot be done. Even in the midst of his darkest hour, his last night with his friends, Jesus looks at those around the table knowing that they are going to fail him in the most heartbreaking ways – and still, STILL he says to them, “just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.”
God knows that we are human, that we are imperfect in so many ways, that we will mess up and hurt each other and make each other angry. But through the example and love of Jesus, we are invited into a community that puts love for each other first. For Jesus says to his disciples, and to us, more than once in the hope that we will eventually get it, “By this everyone will know that YOU are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Amen.
