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31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. 32 If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. 33 Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, "Where I am going, you cannot come.' 34 I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:31-35 New International Version)
Judas has left the building. Yes, he is the "he" that "had gone out." But this passage is not about Judas, it is about you and me. The establishment of Communion had just happened, and this is the commandment that added the word Maundy to the Thursday on which it was celebrated. The glorification to which Jesus refers is the revealing to the Twelve then later to us that great event of knowing that Holy Communion has a three-prong focus; to celebrate the remembrance of Christ giving of His body and blood, the celebration of the moment of receiving His body and blood now, and the looking forward to the coming celebration of that same feast but in Heaven in the presence of all saints who have died in the Lord. Christ shares instructions about what we do in the meantime, which is to tell someone about what He continues to do for us. And with it comes the commandment that we are to love one another. It is one of those you WILL do statements, not one that allows liberty not to, such as you may love one another, or you may love one another if you want to. This is a definite commandment, which reads, "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another." I remember the days of my having been a delegate to many a church conference, our annual conference, our jurisdictional conference, and even general conference, where I sat in committees where countless discussions and arguments centered around the language of The Book of Discipline, and the meaning of words such as will, shall, and may. No argument allowed here, dear friends, we are to love one another, and in the same manner that Christ Jesus has loved us, and in such ways that others will know that we are disciples of Jesus because we love just like Jesus.
I did a wonderful internship with an incredible pastor. Many of my mannerisms and practices in the years when I was a minister were impacted and shaped by The Rev. José Galindo, and for many years I would hear from his contemporaries that they could tell I had studied under Rev. Galindo. I was proud to hear that, for I strived to be as effective, as loving, and as faithful to the Lord as I believe he had been in his ministry. In the same way, I want people to mistake me, and to mistake you, for having been in the presence of Jesus; and that they may see the love in you as the same love they've felt from Jesus. What could go wrong with that?
Ours is to love every. single. person. on. earth. No exceptions, no allowances or conditions by which we can excuse ourselves from being "Little Jesus's," for our name is Christians with the same intentions by which the people of Antioch came up with the word. (Acts 11:26: "and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called "Christians.")
PRAYER: Loving God, blessed is Thy name on all the earth and may we add a blessing by the love we show to all people. Lord, we confess we sometimes find it hard to love some people; forgive us for that and grant us new courage and boldness to love others; this we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen!
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Love everybody today in the Lord!
Receive my blessings of joy and love,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
