2025-05-18 Easter 5

Scripture Readings

Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed! Alleluia!

Have you ever noticed that we are a culture of people who are fascinated with “new?” New stuff, new things, we even have entire greetings that center around it – we want to know “what’s new?” We have become completely obsessed with newness as the feeling of new is always fresh and exciting! Think about how happy you are when you have a new baby, or a new puppy for that matter! Commerce and advertising revolve around the hype that “new” creates. Everybody wants and “needs” new clothes and the latest fashions, new cars with all the bells and whistles, new luxurious 10 bedroom 5 bathroom homes, all the newest products on Amazon and of course, all the newest and latest technology fresh off the boat from China. We just love that feeling of new! People love it so much that it actually caused the discovery of the “new world” - people left the old country in search of a new and better life. In the “new world” people started up new towns and new cities. New York. New Jersey. New Hampshire. Or, even New Berlin – once the title of Toronto, [CORRECTION EDIT: It was actually Kitchener, NOT Toronto] Canada’s biggest city! But now in 2025, there’s pretty much nothing new on planet Earth. But has that stopped us in our quest for newness? Heck no! Rocket Man Elon Musk is planning on making humanity inter-planetary! You’ll be able to be first in line to buy new real estate on Mars! It is indeed exciting, all of this new stuff! But it can also get people into a great deal of trouble too. When people get tired of their old spouse and go looking for a new one or a new fling – that spells nothing but trouble and problems. Also, as times change, more and more people are leaving Christ and the church in favour of new spiritualities and religions and gods. This spells big trouble for people’s eternal well being. People are indeed addicted to all things “new.”

The concept of “new” actually comes up a whole lot in the Bible too. In the Old Testament, God did a “new thing” (Isa 43:19). The Psalmist writes “sing to the Lord a new song” (Ps 96:1). God said that He would make a “new covenant” with His people (Jer 31:31). Also, we see such newness in the New Testament! There is new wine for new wine skins (Mt 9:17), if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation (2Cor. 5:17), we are told that there will be a new heaven and a new earth and that God makes all things new (Rev. 21:1 & 21:5). And, to top it all off, today in our Gospel lesson from St. John, we have Jesus giving a bright and shiny “new” commandment: “Love one another!” But whoa, hey now Jesus, that’s not so new! In fact, that is a very old commandment! I’m talking Leviticus old! (Lev. 19:18). This so called new commandment would have been known by the disciples since they were toddlers. That fact has always struck me in this passage, the disciples don’t seem to pick up on it. They seem somewhat distracted by one of Jesus’ other comments: “where I am going, you cannot/you are not able to come” (JN 13:33).

I remember back to a time when I was younger and the older neighbourhood kids were going skateboarding. I wanted to go but I was too little and I couldn’t keep up with the big boys. I was so sad and disappointed! My face was down cast. All I wanted to do was tag along but I couldn’t. I’m sure the disciples felt much the same way. They wanted to go with Jesus. He was like the big brother or the older boy who was always doing neat stuff. They’d also been following Him for 3 years and now, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, they cannot go too?! But the good Lord Jesus was right, of course. The place where He would trod was to the cross. He is the Word made flesh! He is our Savior, both fully God and fully man. He alone was able to go and do what was needed. Only His precious, sinless blood could save us from our sin. This is none other than the awesome grace of God and the love of God in a Savior who would die our death. He is the Redeemer!

But this “new commandment” that He gives to love one another, isn’t really “new” as much as it is bigger and better and fulfilled. Like a divine dictionary, Jesus defines love for the whole world by His life, His death on the cross and His glorious resurrection from the dead. It is the supreme image of God’s love, Divine love that is self sacrificial. It illustrates fully the line from the Lord’s prayer: “thy will be done.” It is also a very tall order for the disciples then and now. Will we put aside our own agenda and ideas for others? How has such a command played out in your life? Often we pray “thy will” be done but secretly we mean and want “my will be done”.

Part of the problem is our English idea of love. It’s got more layers than a sack of onions. For instance, I love cheese cake! I love my puppy! I love my wife! I love God. I use the same word “love” for all of those examples, but do I really love cheese cake like I love my wife? Or love my puppy like I love God? Probably not. Yet Jesus gives us this plain command: “just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (JN 13:34). This means to love each other with the very fullness of Divine love. Notice that Jesus doesn’t say “tolerate” each other. He says love! But is such a command even possible to achieve?! By human power, no way. But in Jesus, it indeed is possible. Our loving God conquered hell to make it possible! And actions speak louder than words. “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (13:35). That is one honkin’ big IF! Yet this commandment communicates a divine purpose. Love enshrouds the church, and by it all people know that you are His.

However, if you act mean and sawed off, if you are hate filled or pride filled, or you refuse to forgive people or admit that you are wrong, what does that say? If you have disdain in your heart for young people, or old people, or people of different colours and backgrounds, what picture of God or our church do you paint with your life and actions? Is it a picture of glory to God or glory to self? I urge you to go and cuddle up with 1 John for a good Bible study on Love. Here is a brief sample: “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love” (4:8). Here is another, “If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen” (4:11). Or this one: “And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother” (4:21).

So the question becomes, what does Christ’s love look like in your life? Is it talking the talk or is it walking the walk? John gives us more spiritual food for spiritual thought in 3:18 “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth! It is indeed the love of Christ that changes our hearts from the inside out. Be the new creation that you are in your Baptism! Love each other, forgive each other, bury the whole hatchet over past sins – and don’t leave the handle sticking up! This command from Jesus helps us as we wait for His return and final resurrection. Just as our Baptism marks us, the love of Christ active in our life marks us too.

Roman Emperor Hadrian had this to say about the Christians way back in the early 100sAD:

That’s the kind of people we want to be like today too. But that’s the good news. We are those people!

We’re deep into the Easter season now, still rejoicing in our Risen Lord and Saviour. But the wild thing about the resurrection is that our Lord’s body still bore the marks of the cross. Remember how St. Thomas touched them and knew that it was really Jesus. The scars were the marks of love on His hands and feet and side. Do we not also bear those marks of love? We surely do, especially when we give money to the church and to missions, when we donate food to the food bank, when we support our Outreach Team by volunteering to feed the hungry, when we tell others about Christ and what His life and death and resurrection mean to us, when we put the best construction on each other’s reputation, when we reign in the cutting remarks, when we forgive and forgive and forgive and actually say the words “I forgive you” to our kids and family members – all of these are the marks of Christ’s love and the effects of faith. Martin Luther once said, “As there is no fire without heat and smoke, so there is no faith without love.” Love is mark of faith.

This “new” commandment from Jesus to love one another is really a survival guide for our life together in this fallen world. It breaks down the barriers that are built by sin. It heals the wounds that sin makes. It restores what sin lost. It gives hope that sin steals. It gives life that sin killed. It gives joy that sin down cast. God’s love changes lives. It changes churches. It changes schools. It changes workplaces. It changes communities. It changes the whole world. How about you? How has it changed you? How will it continue to change you? Love is what builds God’s kingdom here among us while we wait for Jesus to come. And above all else, love is a reflection. “We love because He first loved us” (1 JN 4:19). What else can we do who follow Christ? “Love one another: just as [Christ has] loved you” (1JN 13:34). Amen! Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed, Alleluia! Amen!