Love One Another
John 15:12-16
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. v. 12
Maundy Thursday gets its name from the reading of this gospel where Jesus not only gives a new commandment but also lives it out in the washing of the disciples’ feet. The breadth of the Hebrew Bible proclaims the steadfast love of God. Jesus lives out that steadfast love in his life in the world and now gives those who follow him the challenge to do the same.
“Love one another.” We come full circle to the parable with which we began. The actions Jesus lifts up as done for the least of these and subsequently for him are the acts of love and service that are done almost anonymously. These actions aren’t done to garner publicity, to fulfill some duty, or to gain a diamond in a heavenly crown. These actions simply are what people do when they are grasped by love of God.
When we feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, visit the sick and those in prison, we join in the work that God is already doing in the world. God is the source of food, water, welcome, clothes. God is present with the sick and the prisoner. With our own acts of love we both join in God’s work and also bear witness that God dearly loves the world that God has made.
May God find us at Jesus’ right hand, among the sheep, at the final judgment. May the final reckoning of our lives be found in our living of Jesus command to “Love one another.”
Pray: God of love and service, we pray for the Christian church throughout the world that it might dedicate itself in the Three Days to living Jesus’ command “to love one another.” Amen.
Fast: From hatreds.
Act: Make a list of three new ways you can join God in serving others.
...the least of these... 