Love as Jesus Loved: Obey, Serve, Teach, Forgive

Brad Sullivan
Maundy Thursday, Year A
Thursday, March 20th, 2008
Emmanuel, Houston
Exodus 12:1-4(5-10)11-14 (not 5-10 at our service)
Psalm 116:1, 10-17
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
John 13:1-17, 31b-35 (only 13:1-15, 34-35 at our service)


“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” (John 13:34) “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” (John 13:8b) These two statements of Jesus are tied together, the command to love is tied to the act of service.
Jesus’ command to love seems fairly straightforward. “Love one another.” Ideally, our response is equally straightforward. “Yes Lord, we will love one another.” Immediately after giving the command to love one another, however, Jesus adds an addendum to the command. “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” Now, our response should still be, “yes Lord, we will love one another as you have loved us,” but Jesus’ command also leads us to the question, “how has Jesus loved us?”
Well, as seen in the act of washing the disciples’ feet, Jesus loved by serving, but before Jesus loved or served, he was first loved himself. Jesus gave love, having first received love from the Father. Jesus has been and is loved by God the Father, and therefore Jesus gave and gives that love to us. If we are to love as Jesus loved us, then we are to love one another having first been loved by Jesus. We must receive Christ’s love before we can give Christ’s love. This is how the command to love is tied to Jesus’ statement to Peter, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” (John 13:8b)
Jesus was serving his disciples in the act of washing their feet. He was giving them the gift of his service and love. If they had not let him wash their feet, then they would have been rejecting his gift. Notice two things Jesus said to Peter. “One who has bathed does not need to wash,” and “unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” (John 13:10a, 8b) Peter wanted Jesus to give him a full bath, and Jesus was telling him, “No Peter, you’re missing the point. I’m not bathing you to clean you off; I’m washing your feet in order to serve you.”
The purpose of the foot washing was not cleanliness. The purpose of the foot washing was for the disciples to allow Jesus to serve them. Unless they allowed Jesus to serve them, they had no part in him. Unless we allow Jesus to serve us, we have no part in him. If we reject Christ’s service to us, we reject Christ’s love of us. If we don’t accept Christ’s love, then we don’t have Christ’s love to give. We only give as much as we are willing to receive. Love one another as I have love you, Jesus says. Receive my love, that you may love one another.
We love as Christ loved us first and foremost by being willing to be served and loved by Jesus. As we hear from the first letter of John, “We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19) So, letting Jesus love us is the fist step in loving each other as he loves us. Doing so may not be that easy. Letting go of our ego, acknowledging the fact that we need to be loved by Jesus can sometimes be difficult. Accepting the fact that Jesus loves us, that we are worth Jesus’ love, can be a difficult thing. Love one another as I have loved you. Accept my love, Jesus tells us. The questions then remains, how are we to love and serve others? How did Jesus love and serve others?
He served in many ways, only a few of which I will mention now. First and foremost, Jesus loved and served others by obeying God’s commandments. As we hear in fist John, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments.” (1 John 5:2-3) Jesus kept his relationship with God the Father strong, seeking first to do God’s will, loving God first, and then loving others.
Jesus also served people by teaching them. He taught people to people to obey God as he obeyed God. He taught people about God, about God’s kingdom. He taught people how to live in God’s kingdom, and he let people know when they were living counter to God’s kingdom. He loved people enough to guide them into proper living, to their relationship with God and others. Jesus loved people enough not to sit idly by and let people continue moving in the wrong direction. When Jesus saw folks living counter to God’s kingdom and commandment, he lovingly pointed them toward God and showed them how to live according to God’s commandments.
Jesus served others also by forgiving them, taking away the burden that is held when people are unforgiven. He forgave individuals of their sins during his life, and he forgave all of us of our sins through his death.
Jesus served others by healing them and praying for them. He had time for people, and he gave of himself to people in need.
If we then, want to love and serve others as Jesus loved and served us, we too, will obey God’s commandments. We will seek first and foremost to love and obey God. Then we can serve others by helping to guide people in their lives, offering correction with love. We can serve by meeting needs when they are expressed as we have ability.
Loving and serving others as Christ loved and served others may seem a monumental task, but remember, we love because he first loved us. Allow Christ to wash you, to serve you. Accept Christ’s love and service so that you will have love and service to give. Finally, listen to Paul’s words in his letter to the Colossians in thinking of how we are to love one another and serve one another.
As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:12-17) Amen.