"... You also should love one another."

In our reading this evening from the Gospel of John [13:1-17 & 31b-35] we have heard the story that most of us know as “the last supper.”  This meal is to be the last meal that Jesus will be sharing with all 12 of his disciples before he is to be crucified.  In preparation for this last meal Jesus has washed the feet of his disciples, but we also have heard that Simon Peter asked Jesus to wash clean all of his physical body.  Jesus tells him that there is a responsibility for each of us to clean ourselves, and that Jesus was only interested in symbolically cleaning that part of his disciples that they could not keep clean themselves.

How often do we ask God to do for us what we truly should be doing for ourselves?  How often do we ignore our own responsibilities, and then ask that God or others take on these tasks?  How often do we, with a clear conscience, pretend that we are free of sin, and thus we can hold our heads and our pride high before God and everyone else?

However, we have also heard Jesus clearly telling his disciples, “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.”[1]  But do we love one another?  Are we honest with one another?  Are we willing to extent honesty to each other in a gentle and kind manner?

Do we willing encourage, embrace, and help one another?  Are we willing to make sacrifices for one another?  Are we willing to reach out to those who are different from us?  Are we willing to help those who might not look like us, talk like us, or worship like us?  

We know that we are human and that sometimes we make mistakes.  Sometimes we wonder if we are good enough to be a member of God’s family.  Do we really understand that God loves us?  Do we really believe that God loves us?  Do we really accept that God loves us?

Before we prepare to share with one another in a time of Holy Communion, I would ask that we spend a few moments remembering that Jesus washed the feet of all 12 of the disciples, that Jesus shared the bread with all 12 of the disciples, and that all 12 of the disciples shared in the cup.  Yes, the feet of Judas were washed.  Judas shared in the beard and the cup with Jesus and the other disciples.  The love of God is withheld from no one … the choice of rejection is left up to each individual.

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[1] John 13:34b NRSV