The Fifth Sunday after Easter | by the Rev. Dr. Jo Ann Barker

John 13:31-35

There is an ancient tradition about the last days of the apostle John.  He lived to be very old and became so feeble that he had to be carried to the meetings of the faithful.  Because of his weakness, he was unable to deliver a long discourse; so at each gathering he simply repeated these words: "Little children, love one another."   His disciples, weary of hearing the same words over and over, "Little children, love one another," asked him why he never said anything else.  And to them John gave this simple answer, "Do this and it is enough." [1]    

 John got this truth from the beginning of Jesus' last discourse at the last supper, Judas has already left, and Jesus and his disciples are alone.  Jesus begins talking about leaving.  We know, of course, that this means his death, resurrection, and ascension.  Despite hints Jesus had given, they did not know as none of this had yet happened.  

Notice the language: Little children; yet a little while I am with you; you will see me; where I am going you cannot follow me now; but you shall follow afterward; Lord, why can I not follow you now?  This is the way we talk in families; painful conversation for a circle of friends about to lose the one who is their reason for being together.

Have you ever been at the bedside of a good friend, a parent or grandparent, a spouse, someone you were close to when they knew they were dying?  You have spent a lot of time with this person and love them very much.  You do not want to face the inevitable.  You cannot imagine and do not want to imagine life without this person. But on their deathbed this loved one is at peace and begins to give you final instructions.  And this special person comforts YOU, tells you that you will be all right and seems to have a supernatural wisdom.  And you are given final words of understanding and compassion, as you feel lost, bewildered, and scared at the realization that very soon that important loved one will be gone.  Has that ever happened to you?

This is what Jesus and his disciples were going through.  He had a real sense of what was ahead of him.  After the last supper with his friends this night he will be betrayed.  And he has one final message to leave his friends.  This message sums up all other messages: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

It's a real pity that the English language is so inadequate, and no time more frustrating that in using the word LOVE.  The Greeks had four words that capture the different types and facets and nuances of love.  First is STORGE, which means 'natural affection,’ the love between mother and child.  This love flows from our person, as you would expect without effort. PHILIA love, the affection of friends or kindred spirits, someone you are drawn to like a magnet and you feel good in their presence.  And EROS, the attraction of desire, sexual love.  These three loves are in our human nature to experience and we do. But the relatively uncommon Greek word for love that Jesus uses here that is AGAPE.  This is used to describe the self-giving love of God revealed by Jesus Christ.  This is what Jesus says is the motivating power and pattern of Christian living.

Agape love is clearly distinguished from the other loves as being Godlike.  All four are God-given but the first three are natural to all human beings.  Agape love is not.  There is no way to experience agape love until the grace of the Holy Spirit begins to recreate it and renew a person in /God's image.  Agape love is completely unselfish.  And we all know that THAT is not natural!  It is based on neither a felt need in you nor a desire called forth by some attractive feature in the one loved.  In fact, the object of agape love may be repulsive!  Agape love is not afraid to make itself vulnerable.  It does not seek to get its own way.  It rather proceeds from a heart of love and is directed to the other person to seek their highest good.

The source of agape love is God and its inspiration is Jesus Christ.  It values other persons as worthy ends in themselves and does not use them as a means to an end.  It is not emotion but devotion: commitment measured by self-giving, practical action, and sacrifice.  By love that is the most essential and abiding quality in human life, Christians are recognized.  By this will everyone know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

It is quite evident that the key is relationship with God.  The announcement of his approaching death presupposes that the relationship of the group to Jesus is primary.  What Jesus says here to his followers is essentially the same thing he said to the Jews but here it has an entirely different meaning because their relationship determines its meaning.

In the PBS series Downton Abbey we get inside the lives of a wealthy London family and its servants.  In the palatial home the lines are clearly drawn: the servants do the cleaning, the cooking, the laundry, the yardwork: all the work.  The owners are the beneficiaries whose lives are spent enjoying it all!  The Servants clearly knew their place and were content and proud to serve masters of wealth and high social status.  

Mr. Carson the butler is in charge of the servants.  He is so proud to be in service!  He ably mentors the others to learn the mannerisms and vocabulary necessary to function properly and happily. Carson's life calling is to do whatever the Crawleys want whenever they want it.  Most of the other servants do their share of grumbling.  Not Carson! Carson willingly takes pride in serving tea upstairs while living a bleak existence in the lower echelon of this society.

Jesus understands servant love much like Carson does.  But the big difference (and this is a big difference!) is that Jesus wants the Crawley family to switch roles.  Can you imagine the Countess of Grantham going downstairs to serve Mrs. Patmore a tart, much less bake it herself?  The agape love that Jesus felt for his disciples was that of master washing the feet of his servants.  Jesus turns love upside down and wants his disciples to do the same thing.

If we love one another as Jesus loves us, we must be ready to put aside our grudges, our hurts, and our righteous anger.  We are not allowed to love with our fingers crossed behind our backs.  We must be open to love everyone.  People whose skin is a different color than ours; those who do not speak English; those whose sexual preference is different from ours.  Worse yet: we are expected to love those who harm us, those who do not wish us well.  Surely we are allowed one holdout, one person that we can judge as unworthy of our love!

But the commandment wasn't written by Congress: it has no loopholes.  It demands we let go of our pet hatreds and prejudices, the ones we clutch like teddy bears.  As Christians many of us wear crosses.  They symbolize to the world that we believe in Jesus Christ who died for our sins.  Yet according to Jesus we don't need this emblem.  We have a permanent valid ID and we can be spotted anywhere.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. 

So this is why John the evangelist sounded like a broken record in his old age when he told the early Christians over and over again: Little children, love one another. This is the broken record for us also to listen to and practice.  AMEN.

[1] from Stories and Parables for Preachers and Teachers, Paulist Press, 1986, p. 25