The Upload
Posted on Apr 22, 2016 by
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
I pray you have had a blessed week.
Our son and daughter-in-law celebrated their eighth wedding anniversary this past Tuesday. That morning, Jill and I received a text from them wondering if we would be interested in having dinner with our two grandchildren while they went out to dinner to celebrate. Well, you don’t have to ask us twice if we want to spend time with our grandkids. Unfortunately for Jill, though, she had to work late that night. So, while she was working Tuesday evening, I got to spend about two and half hours with my grandkids. We ate dinner and then we went for a walk around the lake behind our house. It was so much fun to just walk along, skip rocks and listen to them chat away about whatever came to their minds. As we were walking back up to the house, out of the blue, Parker said, “I love you Papa.” Now that made my heart melt. Of course, right after he said that, he then said, “Papa, can we have some ice cream now?”
Well, as I write this note, I still hear those words, “I love you papa.” Love is something we all need and for the upcoming week it is the word of the week. Actually it is the command of the week. Our text for this coming Sunday is John 13:31-35. This is the story we read on Maundy Thursday. It is the night before Jesus was crucified. Jesus had washed the feet of his disciples. Judas had just left to go and betray Jesus and right after Judas left the group Jesus said, “ 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” (13:34-35).
Jesus could have gone on a rant about how wrong Judas was to leave to go betray him. Jesus could have spoken ill of Judas because of what he was about to do, but instead, Jesus speaks of love. Jesus said if you want the world to know you belong to me, then love each other. Jesus didn’t say like each other, no he said love each other. For Jesus, love is not a feeling but a way of living. It is about respecting and honoring others. Love is being patient and kind to others. Love is about being honest with others and always placing the needs of the other at the top of your priorities. This is a hard commandment to follow because Jesus isn’t just talking about loving those whom we like and whom we love. Oh, it is easy to love my grandson, Parker. He is cute. He is adorable. He is mine and so no matter what he does, I love him.
But, what about that neighbor who is so annoying? Or, what about that co-worker who always seems to be trying to “show you up?” Or, what about those atheists, or those Muslims, or those…? These people are so different from us and if I am going to be a faithful Christian, how can I love someone who doesn’t believe in Jesus? How can I love someone who is mean to me? That is what makes this such a hard command. Jesus is asking us to do something that seems unnatural, but if Jesus could still love Judas, can’t I find it in my heart to love those that are different from me?
In a world that doesn’t follow in the ways of Jesus, our Lord commands us be respectful, kind, thoughtful, caring, understanding, patient and honoring all people, even those who are dramatically different from us. This is the Christian way and this is the way the world will know we belong to Jesus. It’s not about our creeds, our denominational rules, our style of worship, or even how much scripture we memorize and can quote to the world. No, the world will now us by how we treat each other, with love.
Have a blessed week!
Shalom,
Pr. Dave