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6th January 2025
MondayReflection
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"Karyn Wiseman"
is an ordained pastor
in the United Church of Christ
"Commentary on
John 13:31-35"
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One of the stunning parts of this text is the location.
This passage comes on the heels of Judas leaving the other disciples at the last supper to betray Jesus.
It is an amazing moment in the text.
We know what is coming and we know where Judas is off to.
We wonder what Jesus will say and/or do next.
His response is to talk about the glorification that is to come (verse 31-32).
This glorification will be realized in his death on the cross and his resurrection.
Through these events God will be glorified in Christ.
This passage is limited in many readers' minds.
Jesus is talking specifically to those who have been with him throughout his ministry and he is asking them to love one another - each other - the inner circle of his followers.
But I believe that we must hear all of what Jesus is imploring his disciples to be about in this passage.
The new commandment in this text - to love one another - is arguably one of the more famous statements in the biblical text.
Even folks who are not active participants in the institutional church know this commandment or ones similar to it.
But is it new?
Hardly. Loving one another is part of Jewish tradition, is present in the Greco-Roman world around them, and is seen in other religious traditions as well.
Loving those with whom we agree or are partial to is the easy part.
Loving the rest of the folks we come in contact with is a much harder proposition.
But this will not be news to those sitting in the pews of your church or next to you in Bible Study.
It is said that John, in his old age, would remind those around him to love one another.
When questioned why he told them this so very often, his reply would be,
"Because it is what our Lord commanded. If it is all you do, then it is enough.
Our world changes when justice prevails.
When we love one another - no matter who they are - justice and peace become part of our reality.
When we work for justice and equality we are fully living into the love we are commanded to show one to the other by Jesus.
For Jesus, love did not mean a sweet sentimental feeling.
It meant action.
It meant actively loving - putting one's love into real world activities.
It is a touching reminder that the end of Jesus' time on earth will soon come, but he does this fully aware of the dismay it will cause.
He even acknowledges that the immediate impact of his glorification through death and resurrection will mean his absence from them.
And into this reality he leaves them this command and tells them they will only have him for a little while longer.
Here is an opportunity this week to talk about the requirement and justice of love.
We so often draw lines about who we will love and who we will be tempted to cast in the role of "less loving" in our lives.
This happens in the hearts and minds of both individuals - and the church.
An interesting thing to note in this text is that Jesus is reminding the disciples that they will be known to others by their acts of loving.
We would do well to listen to this commandment.
We also are called to love others as a mark of our own discipleship.
The way Jesus talks about loving each other is a precursor of the spread of Christianity.
As he loved and that love spread within his inner circle, so too will love spread after he is gone when love is done in his name.
Jesus makes plain his call to the disciples.
"Let me give you a new command: Love one another.
In the same way I loved you, you love one another.
This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples - when they see the love you have for each other" (verses 34-35).
Jesus was bold and clear then.
How much clearer do we need Jesus to be for our own lives of discipleship now?
><(((°>
This is an edited version.
The full article and Bible references are avaiable on request
"Dr. Wiseman"
is the Stuempfle-Folkemer Professor of Homiletics at United Lutheran Seminary in Gettysburg and Philadelphia.
She is an ordained pastor in the United Church of Christ, and she has pastored for over 25 years.
Her teaching focus is on preaching from the margins and through multiple mediums to engage new listeners.
The Working Preacher team has enlisted more than 500 hundred friends --
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