Podcast of "Greater Love" on Sermons.net
Acts 10:44-48
Psalm 98
1 John 5:1-6
John 15:9-17
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen
If you have never come to the Lectio Divina Bible Study, I highly recommend it. Every Thursday morning we come together and examine the coming Sunday’s gospel reading using this holy reading technique. We read the passage three times. Between the first and second times, I ask everyone for words and phrases that jumped out at them during the reading. Between the second and third readings, we delve into the passage deep and wide. After the third reading we ask what the passage is calling us to do in the coming week.
Let me add, if you don’t come because you don’t feel comfortable speaking up, you don’t have to speak up, that’s up to you. I hope that everyone who comes will get their sea legs quickly and join right in, but I don’t expect that right out of the box. If you think you aren’t qualified to speak at the meeting, let me say that I learn something new weekly. We teach one another more than I teach.
Thank you for the shameless plug; we hope to see you soon. Now back to the sermon.
On Thursday when I asked “What is this calling us to do this week?” the answer came with speed and authority. The first answer to that question comes straight out of verses twelve and seventeen, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” What a wonderful command, “Love each other.” Jesus says in these three words what he expects.
Jesus doesn’t go at the Ten Commandments. He doesn’t go through the 613 mitzvah of the Old Testament. He doesn’t establish and discuss the Westminster Confession of Faith and its Catechisms. Jesus cuts to the heart of the matter and tells his disciples to love each other. Does it get any easier than that?
So now for the “$64 Question,” what does Jesus mean when he says “Love one another?” Now there’s the rub. There’s no better place to answer that question than John’s gospel itself.
One of the ways to analyze John’s gospel is “everything that comes before chapter 13” and “everything that happens after chapter 13 begins.” This is because everything that happens from that point, which begins with John’s version of the Last Supper, makes its way to the passion narrative. Using Jesus’ words from the Garden of Gethsemane
The hour begins with the sharing of the Passover meal. John’s gospel doesn’t have much about the meal itself. Since John was written at least ten years after the other gospels, the celebration of the meal was pretty well set by then. There wouldn’t have been anything significant to add to the feast and the sharing of bread and wine, the body and the blood. John adds something else.
John’s gospel is where foot washing is added to the celebration. The purpose of foot washing was to allow guests who have travelled to freshen up before the festivities begin. Ordinarily the host would provide the water so guests can take care of their own dusty feet, or would provide servants to wash the feet of the guests.
At this Passover, Jesus shows his disciples how to love one anther acting as their host offering the water and acting as the slave washing their feet. This is one of the ways Jesus shows his love for his disciples. He is their host, their master, their Rabbi. He is also willing to set aside all of those symbols of his power and authority and wash his disciples’ grimy feet.
If you remember last week, in John 15:3 we heard Jesus say, “You are already clean…” In these words, Jesus reinforces the lesson of the foot washing. Those who are bathed are clean; they only need sprucing up before being ready for what follows.
This is one way Jesus shows his love to his disciples and shows us how to love one another. He provides what is necessary to be clean and to be fresh and sets aside his divine standing to serve his disciples as a slave.
At this point in John’s gospel, a devastating turn of events befalls the celebration. For the final time, Jesus announces his betrayal Judas leaves. The other disciples thought he was going to get supplies. Boy, were they wrong.
Jesus knew better. He knew what was about to happen. He knew it was going to be a circus ending in his death. So does Jesus mobilize the troops? No. Does he call out the National Guard? No. Does he bug out and head for higher ground? No.
After Judas leaves, Jesus looks at his disciples and says, “Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him.” He follows these words by teaching them about the Son of Man and the Glory of God. He also gives them a now familiar command. “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
In the face of coming death, even death upon the cross, Jesus stays with his disciples. He continues to teach. He gives them their most fundamental instruction. People often say that “bible” means “basic instructions before leaving Earth.” When I look at what’s happening in this reading I believe that expression is too limited.
Jesus is not teaching his disciples what to do before the last round-up. He is teaching them how to live today, in every moment, not just the ones before leaving Earth. He is also leaving them with their most important command, the first command, to love one another. Again, Jesus doesn’t go at the Ten Commandments. He doesn’t go through the 613 mitzvah of the Old Testament. He doesn’t establish and discuss the Westminster Confession of Faith and its Catechisms. Jesus cuts to the heart of the matter and tells his disciples to love each other.
Jesus stays with his disciples. He teaches them at his side. They stay together. Jesus doesn’t go out and seek holy vengeance upon the one who will betray him hoping he can get back in time for a quick review. He remains, he abides with his disciples, and they with him.
In this teaching, he says “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” He shows them how the people will know they are followers of Jesus, by their love. It’s like my favorite church camp songs, “They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love.”
These are more ways Jesus shows his love to his disciples and shows us how to love one another. By the presence of Jesus, they stay together. They abide in one another. Together they bask in the presence and reflect the glow of their master.
Jesus tells them that as he is about to be forced to leave them and he will go to prepare a place for them. He promises this is the truth saying, “if it were not so, I would have told you.” He promised he would return. As Philip asks to see the father, Jesus promises that there is more to him than meets his eye.
Jesus declares his allegiance. He offers everything he has done as the sign of the promises of what he will do. He reminds the disciples of his promises fulfilled, and that he has the power and the integrity to follow through on the promises he makes. No lies, all truth, allegiance and integrity; this is again how the love of Jesus is made manifest for his disciples.
Jesus promises his spirit. Jesus promises his peace. Jesus tells his disciples to do as he has been doing. Let me testify for a fact that the only way we can possibly do as he has done is in his peace and by the power of his Spirit. This ties back into last week’s Gospel reading, without the Lord our God, without Jesus the Christ, without the Holy Spirit of God, we can do nothing. Jesus gives us what we need to do as he commands. His extravagant gifts of peace and power are more ways Jesus shows his disciples how to love one another.
These are the ways Jesus show his disciples how to love one another during the Passover meal alone, but this is not where I am stopping today. There is more because Jesus says more. In John 15:12-14, Jesus says, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.”
I talk about love. Jesus talks about greater love, love where a person lays down their life for their friend. We hear the call of Jesus. We know that he laid down his life for all creation. We know that he was resurrected three days later. We also know we won’t be able to follow that act, not like he did. But let me remind you that up to this point of the meal, Jesus didn’t say anything about his physical death. He was showing his disciples other ways to die, the death to self.
Jesus died to himself everyday. He set aside the power of God, power he could have exercised over humanity to force us into line. Jesus limited himself everyday. He could have done anything, and I mean anything in the most extreme sense. The best examples of this are found in the satanic temptation stories found after the baptism of the Lord. Satan tells Jesus what he can do, but Jesus tells Satan what he will do.
In his letter to the Philippians, Paul describes Christ’s self limiting love this way. He says:
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus,
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death —
even death on a cross![1]
Paul reminds us Jesus was God who would be a man. He was the host who would be a slave. He is the eternal who allowed himself to be murdered. Jesus humbled himself for all creation. Paul begins this description of the Lord with this command, Paul knows what it means to die these deaths of self for his friends. He knows what it means through the example of his Lord, and ours. He says this is how we are to love one another.
This is the greater love our Lord wants us to share with one another. Jesus wants us to put one another first when we deal with those we love. Jesus wants us to empty ourselves of our own enlightened self interest.
Jesus wants us to love extravagantly while limiting our wants and desires. This may be the most difficult part of all; Jesus limited himself while loving us and wants us to do the same. He forced no one to love him. He forced no one to follow him. Jesus forced no one to do anything.
Jesus limited himself while allowing his friends to experience all that was possible on this earth with him as our guide. Friends, the best news is that as much as Jesus limits himself, the bounds of what is possible is beyond what we can imagine.
Of course, being asked to lay down your life is the obvious time to gulp. What if I lay down my life for my friend and my friend takes advantage of me? What if my friend hurts me? Well, the possibility of being hurt is the price of loving. Only when we lay ourselves bare to the possibility of pain can we experience the fullness of love.
Jesus says to be meek, but he never said to be abused. Jesus never said to allow anyone to abuse what he gives us. Abuse of love is not what Jesus intends when he calls us to love one another. To love one another, this laying down, this self emptying must be mutual.
Jesus gives us this gift. His death is the proof and his resurrection is the redemption of all pain.
Jesus promises his spirit. Jesus promises his peace. Jesus tells his disciples to do as he has been doing. I say again that the only way we can possibly do as he has done is in his peace and by the power of his Spirit. Not only is this what Jesus gave us, this is what Jesus expects us to share with one another, spirit and peace. Jesus gives us what we need to do as he commands. His extravagant gifts of peace and power are what Jesus gives his us so that we may love one another.
Jesus says “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” This is our command, to empty ourselves, to die to self, so that we may love one another as Christ loved us first.
[1] Philippians 2:6-8
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