From Beginning to End

John 13:20-35

Our gospel reading from John takes place on the Thursday of Holy Week. Speaking to the disciples Jesus says, “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" (John 13:34-35). On this the second day after Christmas we are being reminded of the culmination of Jesus’ ministry. We’ve seen God’s love in the giving of a Savior at Bethlehem, and now we hear Jesus speak of love as the key identifying trait of his followers. From beginning to end, then, the message of Jesus Christ is love and the work of Jesus is that of shaping a community of love.

Of course love can mean different things to different people. The word is often misused by our culture to describe far less noble emotions or attitudes. We say things like “I love it,” about a new television, or “if you really loved me you would do what I ask,” when we are talking to a friend or family member. This is not what Jesus is describing, nor is it what Jesus demonstrated in his life. The love that Jesus wants us to share is a self-giving love, a willingness to care for each other and to support and nurture each other without fear or manipulation or greed or other motivation. The baby born in a manger, “born that we no more may die,” is the man who now tells us to live for each other and as such to be an example to the world.

It’s a consistent message. Jesus shares it from the beginning to the end of his earthly life. The challenge for us is to live the same way.

Prayer: Lord, we do not always love one another as we should. Help us to be the people you have called us to be so that we may share your love with the world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

A New Commandment for Christmas

John 13:20-35

A quick trip to the mall yesterday turned out much better than I thought it would. It was the day after Christmas and there were hundreds of shoppers everywhere, but the stores were prepared and we were able to make our gift exchanges and buy our missing components and with little trouble. In some ways it seemed easier to shop the day after Christmas than it had been any day leading up to Christmas. Not only are we are still in the midst of the Christmas shopping season, we are still in the liturgical season of Christmastide. Yet our reading from John today puts us smack in the middle of Holy Week. Jesus is speaking to his disciples moments after Judas has left the room. “I give you a new commandment,” he says, “that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another” (John 13:34).

These words are the reason we call the fifth day of Holy Week “Maundy Thursday”. “Maundy” comes from the Latin word for commandment. But this is the second day after Christmas. Is this really an appropriate time to consider the days leading up to the crucifixion? Frankly, yes. On the one hand it is always appropriate to consider the crucifixion. As Christians we live our lives with the truth of Jesus’ sacrifice every day. But there is also an inherent connection between Christmas and Easter, between the birth and the death/resurrection that shapes the Christian life and experience. Without Christmas, the gift of “God with us,” there is no Easter, no demonstration of God’s love on the cross and at the empty tomb. In the same way, without Easter there is no significance to Christmas.

But finally, both Christmas and Easter give us ample reason and opportunity to “love one another” as Christ commands. Indeed there is never a season in which love is not God’s wish for us. So while we begin to pack away the decorations and take down the tree, it is already time to look ahead to the events of Holy Week and to focus on the love of God among us.

Prayer: Lord, help us to love one another as you command, that the light of your coming reign may be bright at all times in our world. Amen.