Sermon thoughts and other musings

Love first, ask questions later

Do you remember your first day of school? Some kids (maybe even you) were crying, unable to let go of their parents. For many children, this would be their first really extended separation from their parents. Parental love was being redefined at that moment, from a constant hands-on love, to what felt like love in absentia - despite the promise of being picked up at the end of the day.

This passage, a continuation of Jesus' "Farewell Discourse" (John, chapters 13-17) deals with Jesus' attempt to teach the disciples how to deal with his absence, and specifically with teaching them how to continue to have faith when he has gone. I believe that Jesus' answer is simple: love. In loving one another we remember that God is real.

For most people, asking for a sign from God to prove God's existence is about miracles ... but maybe love itself is a miracle. It's easy to dismiss a message about love as simple, but the fact is that love is very hard. To love one another - to love everybody, unconditionally - is the hardest thing God asks us to do. Mother Teresa did it, and we call her a saint.

What does loving one another look like? It means deciding, in advance, that you will love whomever you meet. Before you enter the store, you decide you're going to love the cashier. Before you board a bus, you decide you're going to love the person seated next to you. All because love isn't earned, it is simply given. And remembering that reminds us that God is real, and God's love is constant.