"I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy might be complete.
This is my commandment: love one another as I love you."
 
In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus “commands” us to express our love for others in the same manner as he has shown his love for us. It’s not a suggestion, it’s a command. 
  • A command to love one another with no qualifications, conditions, or limitations.
  • A command to love one another without judgment, measurements, or expectations of a return.
  • A command to love one another even though we feel that individual is undeserving.
  • A command to love one another, even the mean-spirited, the ungrateful, and the unreasonable.
The love that Christ “commands” of us finds its source in the heart and spirit, not in whatever rules and conditions we or others self-righteously dictate. Loving as Christ has loved us begins by putting aside our hopes and wants to realize instead the hopes and wants of others; 
  • It begins by caring for and about others with humility and understanding, regardless of the sacrifice demanded of us. 
  • It begins with our willingness to make the first move to forgive and to heal, no matter how undeserving we feel the other person is.  
In following the example and command of Christ to love others as he has loved us, we realize the powerful sense of resurrection and renewal one can bring about by embracing the spirit of Christ’s love in our attitudes toward relationships.
 
The love that Jesus demands of us, his disciples, is both simple and profound. He asks us to love one another as he has loved us: to put ourselves second for the sake of others, to find joy in bringing joy to others, to honor and cherish others simply because they are, like us, sons, and daughters of God. The love of Christ endures throughout the most painful and difficult steps of life’s journey, continuing to burn long after the flame of romance diminishes, when the private candlelight dinners for two are replaced by eat-and-run suppers of macaroni and cheese for four.
 
Discipleship is centered on the same instinct shown in our love for our family and children; followers of Jesus find their joy completed in their ability to bring joy to others, in a loving and gracious imitation of the Risen Christ.
 
In our second reading (1 John 4:7-10) John writes, "Let us love one another, because love is of God." And so, it is. In our Gospel reading this Sunday, Jesus says to his disciples: "As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love."  Jesus is saying the same thing to you and me today. As the Father loved him, as Jesus has loved us, let us continue to share that love with one another. It will not only become our loving imitation of the Risen Christ, but our way of remaining in his love, and fulfilling his command.
 
Amen? Amen!
"Remain in My Love" 
A sermon by Rev. Jack Miller based on John 15: 9-17
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