Love each other - Yeah right!

There is Jesus, with his trusted friends and disciples. Gathered in a room for one last time. One of them is about to betray him and begin the short march to crucifixion. One will three times renounce being his disciple. Ï do not know him!” Most of the other men will run away and hide behind locked doors when it gets really dark and threatening. Only the beloved disciple and some of the women will stay with him. There is Jesus with these friends and disciples. He acts as a slave and washes each of their feet, even Judas’ feet. He feeds them. He shows them the kind of care and love that exists between himself and the father. And then he says “I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other.” (John 13:34-35, Common English Bible). Love even those who betray you, deny being your follower, desert you. Love them care and generosity.

There is the writer of John’s gospel, his community persecuted, marginalised and divided. John writes those words to them as well. “Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other.”

Loving each other is hard work. None of these men with Jesus seemed to deserve it. Yet Jesus chooses to love. There is no other way. The members of John’s community struggled to love one another. Too many had skipped away. Those others did not deserve it. But there it was. “Love each other.”

History shows that Christ’s followers have too often struggled to show love for our fellow Christians. We find all kinds of reasons not to. The colour of their skin. Their theology. Their sexual orientation. Their language and culture. If only they were like us. We really struggle to love those not “one of us”. We struggle to even describe what this love is.

Jesus acted like a servant and washed feet, calling that love. Jesus died a humiliating and excruciating death on a cross, and called that love.  What then is love? When we live love we live resurrection.

A few weeks ago we remembered those New Zealanders who faced a foreign invading army and fought in defence of this land and their way of life. We remembered Henare Taratoa and Heni Te Kiri Karamu who both show us the risk of loving, and who we are to love. How do we as the people of this place continue to honour their memory and example in our loving?