John 13:31–35
31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. 32 If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. 33 Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, 'Where I am going, you cannot come.' 34 I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
The two words which have grabbed my attention are “glory” and “love.” Song writers have tried to put them together. The group Chicago (lead: Peter Cetera) wrote a song called, The Glory of Love, which was used in one of the Karate Kid movies. It was a sappy love story where “The Kid” (the knight in shining armor) fights for his and his girl friend’s honor. “…knowing together that we did it all for the glory of love…” Balladeer, John Prine wrote a song with Roger Cook called, “The Glory of True Love.” The opening line goes,
Oh the glory of true love Is a wild and precious thing It don’t grow on old magnolias Or only blossom in the spring No the glory of true love Is it will last your whole life through Never will go out of fashion Always will look good on you.
In the thirteenth chapter of John we have Jesus washing his disciple’s feet..which is followed by the prediction of the betrayal by Judas…which is followed by Jesus’ announcing his departure and his commandment to love one another …which is followed by his prediction of Peter’s betrayal. Love and rejection emerges as a pattern here. The glory of true love (agape) in John’s gospel is Jesus on a cross. Lutheran N.T. professor, Barbara Rossing writes, “The disciples will participate in Jesus’ glorification through their participation in his love.” We are so deeply rooted in our own self interests that it is nearly impossible to preach and live this selfless love that Jesus demonstrated. We tend to glorify love and sing about it in our own sappy ways. I wonder how we might preach this kind of love not so much as obligation but as promise. “Oh the glory of true love Is a wild and precious thing It don’t grow on old magnolias Or only blossom in the spring No the glory of true love Is it will last your whole life through….." Certainly, God’s love as promise will last our whole life through…..
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2 comments:
Thanks for the start Miami Vice. I find the love and rejection pattern fascinating. It reveals the vulnerability of Jesus actually has when it comes to his love for humans. So when he tells the disciples to love one another, that love also is one of risk and vulnerability. It is a painful love. It may look good. But it's painful. Like moving, or losing a loved one, or having people in your church go psycho on you.
I don't know how to preach this as promise, except to say that God's love is enough to sustain us in our vulnerability. And that if we want to experience the good love that this life seems to offer, we need to (obligation language) open up and risk a little.
I'm sure Michael Franti might have a line or two about this.
What interesting leads on this John text. . .
Thanks Rev. d'Basement, Dr. of Vice.
Went to my iTunes. Typed in "Love" on the search box. . .
Not many of them speak of vulnerability, really.
Perhaps most songs of vulnerability would speak of the deep pain of loving.
Noticed one song. "All You Need is Love"
Nice thought.
But, apparently love isn't enough.
We're still a mess.
We need something else.
Could it be that here in John 13 we hear Jesus call us to something else?
Rossing's thought that participation in the glorification of Jesus is participation in Jesus' love is compelling, isn't it?
I like P. Basement's drive to find the word of promise. His eye for the interplay of demand and promise.
Is part of the gift and promise of this Word in the fact that in the cross, the love of God penetrates into the places where love and glory seem least present? That not only does God's love travel into those places of vulnerability that lead to glorious experiences of love, but also into those places of vulnerability that end in hurt and loss, pain and despair?
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
The love of Jesus’ self giving is a more complete love - one we can sing in joy and sadness, one we can sing in times of deep commitment and fulness, as well as times of emptiness and exhaustion.
Perhaps the obligation lies in the following the one who took up his cross. Take up your cross. The God of the resurrection will imbue your loving with God's own presence.
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