Easter 4: The Commandment to Love

Scripture can be found here

We have been steeped in resurrection stories since Easter, appearances of Jesus to his friends. But today, we read a story of something that happened before that first Easter Sunday.

 

The passage I’ve just read takes place on Thursday night in Holy Week. In fact, we read this passage, in this sanctuary, on April 14, Maundy Thursday, our remembrance of the night Jesus shared his last supper with his friends.

 

We’re in chapter 13 of the Gospel According to John. But, you may have noticed, I started out by reading the first verse, and then I skipped over the next thirty verses! But to really understand what’s happening in the verses I did read, we need to know what happens in the verses I didn’t read.

 

So, here’s what happened.

 

The first thing the narrator tells us, is that Judas will betray Jesus.

 

The second thing the narrator tells us, is that Jesus knows that God has placed everything in his hands, which is to say, everything, now, hinges on what Jesus is going to do.

 

And knowing all that, Jesus rises from the supper table—right in the middle of their meal, evidently—gets a towel, and a bowl of water, and proceeds to wash the feet of all the disciples.

 

This is an amazing thing for Jesus to do. Jesus is the leader of this group of friends. They call him Lord, a title of honor, a word that means they look up to him, their leader, their boss. And by this time in the story, the night before Jesus will be crucified, they’re starting to understand that Jesus is also “Lord” in a different way, in the way we call God “Lord.”

 

Then the one they call “Lord” decides to wash their feet. This doesn’t make sense to them at all. In those days, if you had a servant, maybe they would wash your feet. If you had a spouse, a husband or a wife, maybe they would wash your feet. But Jesus washing their feet? It would be like the Queen of England showing up to your house and offering to give you a foot rub. For one thing, she has more important things to do, but for another—? It’s crazy. It’s a world-turned-upside-down moment.

 

You can tell how upsetting and confusing it is by the way Simon Peter reacts by the time Jesus gets to him.

 

First he asks, as if he still can’t believe what he’s seen as Jesus has been washing everyone else’s feet, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

 

And Jesus gets it. He knows that this is confusing. He says, You don’t understand now. But you will later.

 

Then, Simon Peter says a flat out No. Just, no, Lord, I will never let you do this.

 

Jesus replies: Unless I wash you, you won’t have a share with me. if you want to be a part of this, to share in what I am doing, you have to let me do this. You have to let me wash your feet.

 

Eventually, finally, Jesus washes everyone’s feet, including Simon Peter… Philip, Bartholomew, Judas—the one who will betray Jesus… everyone.

 

After he is finished Jesus explains.

 

If you consider me Lord, if you believe I’m your teacher, and I’ve washed your feet, that’s what you should do for one another. I’m giving you an example. This is how you should treat one another.

 

It’s all about service. Jesus has made himself a servant to all his friends. That’s the model for all his followers going forward. That’s our model.

 

But it’s shocking and confusing for those people, gathered around that table.

 

And then, another shocking and confusing thing happens.

 

Jesus says out loud that one of them is going to betray him. You can imagine their reaction. They look around the table at one another, because, at that point, only Jesus knows who it is. In fact, if you can, call to mind the most famous painting of the Last Supper, by Leonardo da Vinci: that was painted to show this exact moment, the moment after Jesus predicted his betrayal.

 

One disciple quietly asks Jesus who will it be? Jesus answers, When I dip bread in the dish, and hand it to someone—that’s the one. That’s who will betray me.

 

Jesus hands that bread to Judas Iscariot. And then, we read, Satan entered into Judas; a powerful, evil impulse. Jesus leans over and says to Judas, very quietly, “If you’re going to do it, do it now.” And Judas goes out into the night.

 

Which brings us to our passage. After Judas leaves the room, Jesus says, Satan has entered into Judas, and so I condemn him to eternal damnation!

 

Just kidding. That is not at all what Jesus says. You heard what I read the first time, right? Jesus says, Now God will be glorified. By which he means, soon I will be on the cross.

 

This is one of the most difficult parts of this gospel to understand. The way Jesus relentlessly equates his terrible, painful execution with God’s glory. But it’s glorious, because it will draw people to God. It’s glorious, because it is a demonstration of the lengths God will go to, to show us what God’s love looks like. It’s glorious, because, no one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.

 

All this—all this—is the context for the “new” commandment Jesus gives:

 

Love one another. Just as I have loved you so you should love one another.

 

So, really, all those verses we left out, all thirty of them, they show us Jesus’ idea of what love looks like.

 

Love looks like gathering around a table with the people you love—even the people are about to betray you.

 

Love looks like performing intimate and loving acts of service for one another. In this gospel, it’s washing one another’s feet. In our cultural context? Maybe mowing one another’s lawns. Driving one another to the doctor. Being nice to the kid everyone else teases. Wearing masks and getting vaccinated; protecting one another.

 

And in terms of Jesus’ response to Judas leaving the room, on his way to betray him? In terms of his words form the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing”?

 

Love looks like forgiveness.

 

Thinking back to the story Carlton read for us earlier, Simon Peter, years later, is trying to understand how to welcome newcomers into the church. He and others of Jesus’ original friends and family are struggling, because to them, their devotion to God has always been seen through the particular laws and rules they have followed—in this passage, in particular, rules about what they can eat. But God’s message to Peter is, That’s not needed. People don’t need to do those things, in order to love God and follow Jesus.  

 

Love looks like allowing people to be who they are. Love looks like not trying to change them into an image of yourself.

 

And, the hardest one of all, the one not many of us will be called to do, really…but:

 

Love looks like laying down our lives for one another.

 

Of course, Jesus is our example. But even today, it seems like there is no dearth of stories of people laying down their lives for one another, or at least showing they’re willing. Even if it all works out ok, and no one is harmed or killed. It is still remarkable that there is in us an instinct to protect one another, if we listen to it.

 

Some of you may be aware that there will be a new Press Secretary in the White House soon, as the current one will be stepping away from the job. The new Press Secretary’s name is Karine Jean-Pierre, and this week, entirely by accident, I saw a video of her.

 

The video starts as an interview Jean-Pierre was doing with then Senator Kamala Harris. It was 2019, and Harris had announced her run for the presidency. Suddenly, a man came on stage and moved quickly towards the Senator, but just as quickly, Jean-Pierre was out of her seat, and had placed herself—her tiny body, she’s a small woman—had placed herself between this unknown man and Harris. At that moment, she had no idea who he was, or his intention—did he have a gun? Did he have a knife? She had no idea.

 

Later when she was interviewed about it, Jean-Pierre said, “Virginia Beach was the day before.” We have so many mass shootings in our country, it’s hard to keep track. I’ll just remind you that, that was May 31, 2019, the day when a city employee shot and killed twelve people over his grievances about his workplace. Jean-Pierre continued. “I could not let this happen.”

 

No one has greater love than this, than to lay down her life for her friend.

 

Having loved his own who were in the world, Jesus loved them to the end. 

 

Love looks like gathering together with those you love, even when relationships are not perfect.

 

Love looks like performing kind acts of caring for one another.

 

Love looks like forgiveness, sometimes, for the worst kinds of hurt we can imagine.

 

Love looks like embracing people just as God made them, letting them come as they are.

 

Love looks like the willingness to lay down our lives for one another.

 

It’s a tall order. None of us gets it right 100% of the time. But this is our new commandment, what Jesus calls us to go: to love one another, as Jesus has shown us love.

 

Thanks be to God. Amen.