"Remain in my love... This I command you: love one another."
John 15:9-17
"Something's happening here, what it is ain't exactly clear."
Buffalo Springfield, For What It's Worth
This week's Gospel completes a call heard in John's Farewell Discourse which was started last week. It also adds another layer to the Gospel lesson the week before where Jesus describes himself as the Good Shepherd.
Recently I was asked a few times, in different circumstances by different people, why I attend church worship services rather faithfully. I believe a careful reading of this John passage may provide me clues on how to answer that question.
For example, Jesus says here "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends." At first glance, an immediate, obvious meaning was caught in my Shōgun and the Good Shepherd blog entry. It revolves around a physical, end-of-life moment or decision. I don't think I am alone in this understanding. I wrote, "Yes, the shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. It is a noble gesture but it also leaves the sheep without a primary defender against their predators and the elements. How a threat is stopped when the shepherd is dead remains unresolved."
Yet something is happening that is not clear. Jesus did not say, "No one has greater love than this, to die for one's friends." Laying down one's life may also involve sacrificing personal ambitions, providing unwavering emotional support, defending one's friends against injustice, and standing up for their rights. It might involve being a reliable, trusting friend or taking risks on their behalf. It may involve making tough choices that prioritize their well-being over your own.
Quoting the Pope today, "A true friend never abandons you, even when you make mistakes. They correct you, perhaps scold you, but they forgive you and do not leave you. In this Gospel Jesus tells us that this is exactly what we are to Him: friends."
In essence, "laying down one's life for one's friends" is about selflessness, sacrifice, and putting the needs of others above your own, whether that involves physical sacrifice, emotional support, or other forms of assistance and care. Thought of in this way it can be seen more as a life-long commitment and responsibility. Keeping the commandments you hold dear may involve something like that end-of-life decision but it may also be how you choose to live throughout your life, remaining in love in complete joy as best you can while bearing the fruit that will last.
Sunday Worship Service Setting - Now The Feast
Pastor Emillie sermon highlighted examples of Christians who exemplified physical and emotional support for those they encountered in their lives. She praised the love of the church who supported Pastor and her family when they first came to the United States. This church is St. Mark's By The Narrows in Tacoma.
She next preached about how a woman who fled Rwanda was able to come back and forgive the man who killed her family because she followed Jesus' commandment. Pastor Emillie also cited the families of the Emanuel 9, who were killed by a member of an ELCA congregation.
In 2019 the ELCA Churchwide Assembly, adopted a resolution designating June 17 as a commemoration of the martyrdom of the Emanuel 9—the nine people shot and killed on June 17, 2015 at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C.
Hearing Pastor Emillie commend those family members for forgiving the killer packed an emotional note, particularly after the Rwanda example. Pastor Emillie asserted that John's Farewell Discourse provided a spiritual nourishment and reminder to the disciples of how Jesus emptied himself in his love for others.
It would become essential in their lives after Christ and may it be the same for us.
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