Love One Another

John 13:31-35 

“A new command I give you:  Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

Those are the Lord’s words. I’d better repeat what He says: “A new command I give you:  Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

Really?  Love one another? Then we start thinking.The Lord is obviously asleep at the back of the boat again!  Better send him a memo!  If Jesus only knew who I have to live with.  Work with.  Worship with.  Citizen with.  Go to school with.  Team with.  Have as a pastor.  Then He’d never say, let alone mandate, that I and we need to love each other.  After all, my boss is a headache.  My peers at work are the laziest.  I can’t stand the hypocrites in my congregation. You know, like Peter. What a piece of work he is!  Thinks he’s the pope infallible.  Never shuts up.  James and John with the help of their mother want to be the big shots in the kingdom.  Judas Iscariot – we all know what he’s been up to – stealing from the till.  Twin Thomas – he’s detrimentally troubled by doubts.  Simon the Zealot – he’s too much of a right wing political nut job.  And Matthew – the taxman. We could go on and on.

“Love one another? Love the people in my life who are so unlovable? Yeah, right!

No.  Don’t even go there.  Where we all need to go is the way of repentance.  Yes, that’s right, I dared to say it.  It’s time to repent.  “Of what?”  Really?  You had to ask that?  All right, let me spell it out.  Repent of our lovelessness.  Repent of our disobedience to the Lord’s mandate.  Repent of preaching a different word – a self-preached sermon that says – “I won’t love him.  I won’t love her.  I will choose.  I will decide whom I love and whom I won’t love.  I’m in charge.”

Against our words – contrary to our opinions – in contrast to our excuses stand the words of the Lord Jesus Christ: “A new command I give you:  Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

“As I have loved you.”  His love comes first.  Jesus knows what is in our heart.  We are prone to argue, to envy, bickering over who is the greatest, who’s in charge.  Jesus knows how opinionated we are.  How egotistical, self-centered, self-absorbed and curved in on ourself we are.  How we only worry about ourselves.  How unlovely and unloveable we are.

Jesus knows all this.  He loved His loveless disciples as He washed their feet, gave them a seat at the Lord’s Supper, and went to the cross to be the atoning sacrifice for their sin and the world’s sin.Jesus loves you too.  He gave His life into death for your salvation.  Your sin has been answered for!  He has washed you in Holy Baptism – the bath of the Holy Spirit’s rebirth and renewal of the dead sinner.  He gives you a place at His table – the Sacrament of the Altar and once again He promises that you are forgiven.  Jesus does all this out of love for you WHILE YOU ARE LOVELESS AND UNLOVABLE!  Jesus saves you – saves despicable me!

Loved by the Lord Jesus in that way you now “love one another.”  His Good Friday death and the power of His resurrection has its way with you as you “love one another.”

This love for one another is “more than feeling”.  It is more than being nice and polite.  So what does this love for one another look like?  It is a love like the Lord’s!  The love that reaches out to the person WHO IS MOST DIFFICULT TO LOVE.  WHO IS REALLY QUITE UNLOVABLE.  WHO IN FACT IS YOUR ENEMY.  Love that goes deep, very deep – to those who hurt you – to those who have hurt you in the past.

You love one another with the love of Jesus!  It is the love that lives for the sake of others.  “Love one another,” means to be kind and patient with each other.  To die to jealousy and boasting.  Not being pushy or rude.  Not demanding that everything go your way all the time.  Willing to let others have their way.  Fighting against irritability and resentment.  Putting up with one another’s weaknesses, shortcomings and quirks.  Rejoicing in the truth, not in the wrong.  Speaking the truth in love even if it comes at great personal cost.  “Love one another” means that you will bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, endure all things (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).  Why?  For only one reason – because that is exactly how God in Christ has loved despicable, unlovable you and me!

“As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”  

If Jesus doesn’t mediate between us with His blood, we would destroy each other.  Our pride, prejudices, desires to get even, our selfishness – our sin – keep us from seeing each other as people that need love.  It’s time for us to admit it.  Our sin prevents us from loving others.  Face it.  Our sin – our complete and total narcissism hinders us from loving our spouse, child, parent, classmate, the member or pastor of this congregation, or co-worker.  Sin cuts us off from God’s love and so it also cuts us off from one another.  Sin isolates us in fear and defensiveness.

So it’s time.  Time to repent.  To die to our sin and to believe the good news that Jesus has forgiven us.  That He doesn’t count any of our sin against us.  That He gave His life into death for our salvation.

Jesus  is the source of our love for others.  Only when you’re on the receiving end of His forgiveness – His being gracious to you – will you then see the other person as one for whom Jesus also gave His life.  Then you will be free to deal with others as God in Christ has dealt with you – forgiving, supporting, reconciling, caring, loving one another.

“As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” 

The “love one another” love is the fruit of faith.  Faith in Jesus.  Love for one another happens naturally when you’re on the receiving end of Christ’s promise that your sins are totally forgiven.  Love for one another happens when Jesus gives you His Body and His Blood in His Supper – the very tokens of His Good Friday love for you.  Love for one another happens when the Holy Spirit strengthens the trust in Jesus in our hearts.  As Jesus’ love has its way with us, we will learn to love one another.

In the Name of Jesus.