Love One Another – Yeah Right!



 Gate Pa
Easter 5 – Year C 2019
Readings:
First Reading:   Acts 11:1-18
Psalm:               Psalm: 148 
Second Reading: Rev 21:1-6    
Gospel:              John 13:31-35 
  
What I want to say:
Discuss what questions and ideas people bring to this readying
-          In what way is this new?
-          How did Jesus live love?
o   removing cloak authority, status, leadership, honour, power
o   humbly washing the feet of those who deny, betray and dessert him
Loving one another is not easy – as New Testament (Acts, Pauls writing) show or as history church shows
failure to live out this “simple commandment” has led directly to us to remembering what happened here
explore examples of Henare Wiremu Taratoa and Heni Te Kiri Karamu as examples of the risk of loving as Christ loves
how we don’t do this stops us being a missional community

What I want to happen:
People to consider as hear this simple command today
-          how and who are we invited to love as we are loved
-          how might we live that out? 
The Sermon

1.     Introduction:

“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.”
o   what questions
o   what stood out
o   how do you understand this?
neighbours
plenary

2.    A New commandment

What is new?
    not love
Leviticus 19:18 -  You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the Lord.

Deuteronomy 6:5 - You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.
-         Not quite the same
-         theme of love in Torah
what is new?
love as Jesus loves!

3.     How does Jesus love?

all John’s gospel
rest last speech
what does just before this
-         washes disciples feet
o   removing cloak authority, status, leadership, honour, power
whose feet humbly wash?
-         Judas – betray him
-         Peter – deny his relationship with him 3X
-         rest disciples run away and abandon him
as he is humbly washing their feet he knows he is washing the feet of those who deny, betray and abandon  him
in doing so he glorifies God, and is glorified
that is -  he makes divine presence real in their midst
we are invited to love in the same outrageous way
make divine presence real in our midst

4.    Some stories of what that looks like

what does that look like?
storied what happened here
Taratoa and rules engagement
took off outer robe animosity , outrage at an invading army, need to win at all costs
limits field of battle
limit to how many brothers and sisters would be included in this war
limit deaths
Taratoa and or Heni and or others
-         take off outer robe of violence, battle, animosity, enmity, safety
-         risked lives give water to their brothers who they had just been fighting
Ngakuku on Tuesday
father of Tarore
took off outer robe of revenge for his daughter’s murder

spoke against utu
cited Leviticus
open door to love his brother
became one missionaries in the Bay of Plenty

5.    What about us?

this is hard
today’s reading from Acts makes that clear
issue of who can eat with huge
not easily resolved
-         Galatians
know this issue was not decided so easily
one saddest things when we forget all this
our basic position not love
not trust
but suspicion
distrust
self-preservation
defence
holding tight our ideas how things should be
not love that defines us
but animosity and antagonism
happens across the church
missional community?
divine presence not made real in our midst

6.    Invitation

As we hear this simple command today
“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.”
-                     what stands out
-           how and who are we invited to love as we are loved
-           how might we live that out?

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