Love that Conquers: John 13:1-17, 31b-35 - Maundy Thursday

¹Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. ²The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper ³Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, ⁴got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. ⁵Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. ⁶He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” ⁷Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” ⁸Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” ⁹Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” ¹⁰Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” ¹¹For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
  ¹²After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? ¹³You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. ¹⁴So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. ¹⁶Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. ¹⁷If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.”

  ^31b“Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. ³²If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. ³³Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ ³⁴I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. ³⁵By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (NRSV)

Gethsemane by Brett Streutker.  Creative commons image on flickr

In the social media world, there is what’s called unfriending.  With just one click, you can banish people from your social media stratosphere forever.  You can even “block” people, essentially denying then access to your online presence.

                                                       

I’m not much for social media, but I’ve unfriended a few individuals who post vulgarities.  I’ve been tempted to do the same for people who’ve disappointed or hurt me.  In fact, I wish I could unfriend people “unfriend” people from my life.  It’s not that I’m wishing them harm, just that I wouldn’t ever have to cross paths with them again.  I don’t want to be reminded of past hurts. 

But nobody’s ever done to me what was done to Jesus—particularly by Peter and Judas.

Jesus knows ahead of time that Judas will hand him over to the religious leaders who want him dead; and that Peter will deny knowing him three times.  Yet Jesus does nothing to stop them or to distance himself from them.  He will not even call them out publicly, by name.  Instead, Jesus loves them to the very end.  And he doesn’t merely tell them he loves them.  He gets down on his knees and washes their feet—including Peter; including Judas.

I can only imagine what Jesus must have been feeling as he looked up into the eyes of these men whom he loved dearly, but who would soon to stab him in the back.  I can only imagine the searing emotional and spiritual pain as he held their stinky, calloused feet in his hands.  To think, that right after Jesus washes Judas’ feet and they have supper together, Judas walks out and goes directly to the temple guards who arrest Jesus later that night.  For Judas, it’s like none of this ever happened…

Jesus’ actions show just how lofty a command it is to love one another as he loves you.

I know I can’t love people like this.  In the end, you and I are no different from Judas or Peter.  Sin just doesn’t hurt Jesus’ feelings.  Sin nails Jesus to the cross.  Sin crucifies your neighbors.  And the anger and bitterness you have towards others amounts to nothing less than the rejection of Jesus and his love for you.

Make no mistake—the love Jesus demands cannot be found in yourself.  But it’s passed over from Jesus to you.  That love comes through his precious body and blood that cleanses away your sin.  Christ’s love loosens the stranglehold of guilt and shame so that you can be a new creation.  You are healed of the hurts inflicted upon you by the people you find most difficult to love. 

Bound to this commandment is a promise that when Jesus’ love binds you together in a beloved community, you will know his presence.  Following the resurrection, Jesus will reveal himself in the love that binds Christians together. 

It is a gift to be able to see every person as a beloved child of God—including those you just plain don’t like. 

Tonight, you are invited into the communion of love that Jesus created on the night which he was betrayed.  It’s here in bread and wine—but first, it’s in the peace we share.  I challenge you to look into the eyes of your brothers and sisters as you take their hand and share the peace.  Then be prepared for God to share that same peace with people you don’t like.  Only Christ’s love can heal us of the evil we do to each other. 

Jesus’ love conquers death, evil, and the most vicious hate. The miracle of the church is that Jesus brings this love to life in what is otherwise a harsh and disturbing world—and using ordinary people like you and me to win the victory.