Love won another

Leviticus 19. 17-18, 33-34; John 13. 31-38

We have been thinking about our love for God – in response to the majesty of who he is, and to God's love for us. We finished last time by realising that to respond with love to God, always involves loving people as well. We are going to look a bit closer at that today.

So we can sum up the commands in two: Love the Lord with heart, soul and strength (Deut 6. 4-5); and love your neighbour as yourself (Leviticus 19. 17-18). Neighbour in Leviticus is a wide-ranging word. “All our duties to our fellow men summed up in these words. Jesus and Paul agree about that. (Matt 22.39f Rom 13.9)

But then, Leviticus (chapter 19 verses 33-34) goes on to say “The foreigner living among you must be treated as one born among you. Love him as yourself”. The foreigner or stranger is the person who is travelling through, the person who has just arrived, the person who has no rights. And God's word says “Love his as yourself; love him the same as any other neighbour.”

William Temple says, “My neighbour is anyone with whom I have anything at all to do even by accident and even though he's the kind of person that I naturally hate or despise”.

And both neighbour and stranger, we are to love as ourselves. That is something we struggle with.

Some of us – self included – are not very brilliant at loving ourselves. We are taught to be “Self-effacing, self-denying” But I believe the Lord wants us to have proper sense of love for ourselves. Talking about marriage and Jesus' love for us, Paul says “no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church...” Eph 5. 29

I think we would all agree that self-harming is a symptom of something being wrong. Substance abuse, self mutilation (cutting, hair-pulling), eating disorders, and habitual overwork are all forms of self-harm. As Bible-believing Christians we tend to be more down on alcoholics than workaholics, so we need to be consistent. God doesn't want us to be self-harming. He wants us to live emotionally healthy lives, loving ourselves in the right way. The markers of love are:

• Esteem, and we need a right self-esteem. Secular psychotherapy says “You have to big people up. There are no moral absolutes. Nobody's a sinner: that's bad for your self-esteem.” But Christianity says “Jesus loves me and died for me: that's good for my self-esteem!”
• Enjoyment. Not to enjoy our own company so much we don't mix with other people, or to admire ourselves in the mirror for hours. But to enjoy being the people God made us to be.
• Extravagance. Perhaps that's not quite the right word for ourselves: it's not all about spending on ourselves, treating ourselves. But we need to be able to be kind to ourselves. We need to be able to receive.
• Expectancy. We need to believe in ourselves; to have goals,targets, an aim in life. That doesn't need to be crazy, unrealistic stuff or materialistic ambition; but we need to aim to be the best we can be, and to make the best of each day's opportunities and to be a blessing to other people. That rescues “Self-love” from being simply an exercise in self indulgence.

And loving my neighbour as myself means “I am to care as much of his interest as for my own.” (William Temple) That means loving our neighbours with esteem: we value something in their lives; with enjoyment (we learn to enjoy being with people); with extravagance and generosity; and with expectancy as we believe that whoever they are they can grow and develop and find faith in Jesus. We need to treat ourselves, our neighbours and our natural enemies with equal love.

In John, Jesus gives us a “New Commandment!”: “Love one another as I have loved you!”

This is what Archbishop Ussher called the eleventh commandment. It adds something to “Love your neighbour as yourself”. What is new about the “New Commandment”?

To answer that, let's note where and when Jesus said these words: in the upper room, after washing the disciples' feet and breaking bread with them. And before he goes on to talk about the future: the long-term hope of heaven “Do not let your hearts be troubled” (John 14. 1) the coming of the Spirit (John 14. 16) the call to fruitful service (John 15)

• It sets a new standard. It takes us way beyond “love your neighbour as yourself. Jesus says this after he washes the disciples feet, and says “You must wash the feet of one another. He says it after he takes bread and says, “This is my body, broken for you.” “As I have loved you” means “to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15. 13). That is a tough call. Where the Esteem disappears and the enjoyment cools, love continues to be extravagant, sacrificial. It takes us back to loving with all our strength.
• It needs s new power. William Temple says this new commandment is “The impossible thing. [Jesus] himself will make it possible but till then it is not possible.” Jesus promises the Holy Spirit to come and live inside his people. We need the Spirit's power to love as Christ loved us.
• It is based on a new covenant. The commandment is new because it is the law of the new covenant which Jesus is to establish to his death.
• It is for a new people. The new commandment is for the messianic community living between the advents of the Messiah.
• It is based on a new relationship with Jesus. In John 15. 10-12, Jesus says “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love... My command is this: love each other as I have loved you.”

The other thing “ new” thing troubles some people: it seems to have narrowed the focus down to “Love one another.” Is Jesus telling us to become a big, “holy huddle” when he tells us to “Love one another”? The answer is “No!”, a great big “No!” for a number of reasons.

Firstly, Leviticus – and Jesus – say “Love your neighbour as yourself.” And when a clever-clogs asked Jesus “Who is my neighbour” Jesus told a story about an outsider – a Samaritan – who showed love when cream of the insiders – priests and Levites – failed to do so. (Luke 10. 25-37) God's heart is always for the outsiders. Remember, “love your neighbour as yourself – even if he is a stranger.

Secondly, Jesus says “Everyone will know you are my disciples if you love one another.” How does that work?

• Loving one another makes the Church a wee, working model of the Trinity. We keep Christ's commands and love one another as Jesus keeps the Father's commands and loves the Father. What a wonderful privilege to be involved in the things of god!
• Loving community proves that the Good news of Jesus has changed our lives. Francis Schaeffer calls love “The final apologetic.” In the second century the pagans said "behold how these Christians love each other! How ready they are to die for each other. "
• To love like Jesus is to love inclusively indiscriminately and universally. Jesus loved us sacrificially, so the point of dying for us, before we were his people. So we need to love people, before they are our brothers in Christ.
• As we learn to love one another – with Esteem, enjoyment, extravagance and expectation, we gain the skill to love or neighbours – even if they are strangers, with Esteem, Enjoyment, Extravagance and Expectancy.

Jesus doesn't want us to love one another like a holy huddle. He wants us to love one another as a springboard to loving service that can win other people to him. Mother Teresa had a prayer as she ministered to the destitute and dying in Calcutta: “Jesus, my patient, how sweet it is to serve you.”

© Gilmour Lilly March 2016