The Gospel of John 13:31-35
At the last supper, when Judas had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little 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.’ I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Let us Pray: Dear God, help us to love one another as You have loved us. May our love be a shining example of our discipleship and draw others closer to You. Help us to put aside our differences and see each other through Your eyes. Amen.
We need this gospel today; the world seems so full of hate and revenge that one begins to wonder where the words of Jesus have gone and is anyone paying attention at services on Sunday or just attending. Is our world turning their heads to Jesus’ words in the love thy neighbor commandment. We see war, famine, people being kicked out of their countries and some attempting to flee with no safe place to go and then we see aid cut to those in need, no empathy just greed and power struggles.
So why in this Gospel did we go back to the last night Jesus has with His disciples. By going back over events that led up to the crucifixion it provides the opportunity to rethink the resurrection. The disciples surely did the same thing by rethinking and reliving the events by remembering the stories, what Jesus said, how the events played out just as he had predicted. It was hard for the disciples to say goodbye because of all they had shared. They had to look back in order to look forward They had difficulty in acknowledging the end of their relationship, especially when deep connections and meaningful relationships have been formed. It’s not easy to imagine the newness that can come from ending a relationship. We as they did focus on the void we anticipate will enter our lives. We realize that the faces we’ve grown accustomed to seeing and the voices we recognize in only a few syllables or phrases will no longer be a regular part of our days. I know how difficult that can be as I lost my son 3 weeks ago and I continually wait to hear him call. I think of things he liked. When we go shopping, I no longer need to get them. So, it is hard not to look back but one has to do as it helps to move forward with our lives.
In today’s Gospel Jesus gives His disciples and us a new commandment: to love one another as He has loved them and how he loves us. This love is not just an emotion but a sacrificial, unconditional love that reflects Christ’s own example. “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another just as I have loved you.”
But we might wonder, what’s new about it? The commandment to love wasn’t new, of course. It’s mentioned often in the Old Testament. The greatest commandment is to love God, and the next is to love our neighbor. These are repeated often in the Old Testament. They are not new. But Jesus’ commandment is. What is new about it? Not love. But loving just as Jesus loved. The new part of this is that we are commanded to love one another just as Jesus has loved us. And that means loving those who doubt us, and deny knowing us, and even those who betray us. Because that is what Jesus did for us. He loved us, and still loves us, even when we doubt, deny, or betray him. And now, simply put, he asks us to do the same for others. It’s not always easy. But it is always important. Always commanded. And it should always be done.
Again “Love one another,” Jesus said, “just as I have loved you.” Loving in this way is without agenda. It makes us vulnerable. And it also leads us to love people who are not like us. Jesus loved people who were not like him. He loved people who disagreed with him. He loved people who looked at the world very differently from him. There is no one that Jesus did not love. It is the one thing that he was incapable of. He could not help but love everyone. As Jesus is preparing His disciples for His departure, reminding them that their love for one another will be the defining mark of their faith. It’s a call to unity, humility, and service, showing that true discipleship is not about status or power but about selfless love. Everything that Jesus did here on earth can be better understood looking back, after the events that took place on Good Friday and Easter. That is what the disciples did, and that is what we are doing today. We live, as Jesus’ disciples, looking forward. But we learn, sometimes, by looking backwards.
Let us Pray: Dear God, help us to love one another as you have loved us. May our love for each other be a shining example of our discipleship and may it draw others closer to you. Help us to put aside our differences and to see each other through your eyes. May our love be a testimony to the world of your grace and mercy. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Reflections by Bob 