“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Jesus in John 14:15 – 21
“We all live in this environment, we have the same struggles. We help each other in everything. It is very important, so that no one carries too much themselves.” Belinda in Dagoretti, Kenya, one of the communities supported by Christian Aid.
In chapter 13 of John’s Gospel, Jesus gives his disciples ‘a new commandment’: “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples.” John 13:34-35.
This commandment comes just after Judas leaves the Last Supper to betray Jesus and it comes just before Jesus predicts that Simon Peter will deny knowing him. The commandment to love is surrounded by failure to show love in action. Yet love persists, even as the disciples fall short of what they are called to do.
The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, says of Peter’s denial: ‘Peter stands for all the human characters whom Jesus confronts – the apostles, the witnesses, the Church, ourselves.’ His failure is our failure. And yet like him we are continually called afresh to try again in our service of the God of love. In ‘Meeting God in Mark’, 2014.
You may have heard the saying: ‘Love conquers all’. What Jesus offers is not a conquering love that pushes past and ignores what we get wrong. Instead, he gives us a love that endures. This love will be offered to us precisely in those moments when we feel we least deserve it.
In the Gospel today, Jesus expresses this unfailing care. He tells the disciples that they will never be alone, or ‘orphaned’. The Spirit is coming and they can be assured of God’s faithful, constant presence forever. And Jesus tells the disciples too that the love he has given to them is theirs to share.
If we love Jesus, then we will keep his command to love one another. This love does not have neat boundaries. We are not asked to love only those whom we like or only those who have never wronged us, or only those who offer us something in return. If we are to love Jesus by loving as he does, we must love abundantly and radically. We must love in action. We must transform the world with our love. This is what marks out the followers of Jesus.
We will make mistakes. We will fall short. But we will be called again and again to the work of love. Love in action can change the world…. You might be surprised by just how much of a difference you can make!