• As I Have Loved You, John 13:31-35     (see below)
  by Rev. Randy R. Quinn 
   

• Heaven, Here and There Revelation 21:1-6, by Dr. David Rogne        
   

• Trouble Back At Headquarters Acts 11:1-1, Thomas Hall                
   

• Something New,  John 13:34, By Rev. David Rogne    
   

• Catching Up With God, Acts 11:1-15, Frank Schaefer                  

• When Vision Is Inadequate, Revelation 21:1-6 and Acts 11:1-18, Jon Tsubi      

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As I Have Loved You
a sermon based on John 13:31-35
by Rev. Randy R. Quinn

John writes his gospel in such a way that we sense something very mystical is taking place.  It's as if John himself has stood at the threshold between the world we know and the world that God knows.  Jesus seems to be the one person who has gone from one realm into the other, from another dimension into the world we know and back again to the other world.

Jesus stands throughout his life with one foot in our world and one foot in another world, a world where God reigns and is praised and glorified by all creatures.

There was a time when it was thought that people on their death bed also stood with one foot on earth, in the here and now, and one foot in heaven, in the eternal presence of God.  It was because of that belief that people stood expectantly at the side of those who were dying in hopes that God would speak and be overheard by those who were present.

I suspect that there are still places in the world where that belief continues, but we no longer have that sense in our society.

But if we did, I fear that we would be like those who encountered Jesus in John's Gospel.  They never quite understood what he was saying.  He was speaking in metaphors about eternal truths and they were confused by a literal understanding of his words.

That is seen even in this passage of scripture.  These words are spoken by Jesus to his disciples during the last supper.  Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, then Judas left.  Now Jesus turns to these, his closest friends and tells them that he will be leaving them.

If ever there was a person in whose presence we would overhear the voice of God, it's Jesus.  And the message he gives is a word of hope, a word of encouragement.  He is providing final instructions to those who would continue to proclaim his message of the coming Kingdom of God.

But the disciples respond by asking where he is going and promises that they will follow him.  They don't seem to understand the importance of this message from God.

Jesus has given us a new commandment, that we love one another.  But this is not just a simple, mushy kind of romantic love.  Jesus says that we are to love one another as he has loved us.

This love of Jesus was expressed most recently in the way Jesus washed the feet of his disciples -- even the feet of Judas whose feet would take him out to betray Jesus.

What kind of a love is this?  A love that is expressed in service toward others -- friends, family, even enemies (whether they be suspected enemies or known enemies).  It is a love that knows no limits, no bounds.  It is a love that is expressed best in the little deeds.

Mother Teresa used to say that "we can do no great things -- only small things with great love."

It is the small things that Jesus did that serve as guideposts for us who desire to love as he loved.  He not only washed the feet of his disciples, he also spoke freely with social outcasts like the Samaritan woman.  He shared meals with saints and sinners and common folks like you and me.  He took children on his knee and blessed them.  He wept for his friend who had died before calling him forth from the tomb.  He was not afraid to touch the lepers nor speak words of hope to the oppressive Roman soldiers.

Even as they were driving nails into his hands and feet, Jesus continued to express love in small acts.  He prayed for those who were crucifying him.  He found a way to care for his mother after his death.

If ever a person loved others in every aspect of life, it was Jesus.  And I wonder if that is what it means to walk with one foot in this world and one foot in the next.

Jesus says that it's when we love one another that others will know that we belong to him.  It isn't what God has done for us that makes a differ­ence.  God has acted on behalf of all people everywhere.

No, what makes a difference is in the way we share that love with those around us.  In the 'random acts of kindness' that we perform for one another as well as in the inten­tional acts of love... [continue]