Domes - Our Monthly Newsletter
Dunbar UCC
May 6, 2007
John 13:31-35
A New Commandment
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Before he died, Jesus gave the disciples a NEW commandment. Why? Weren’t the old ones good enough? Why is Jesus giving another law to these people who were already so overloaded with laws and commandments that they couldn’t remember them? There was a law that prohibited you from hardening your heart against the poor. But if we don’t care about poor people, is a law going to make us care? There are laws that tell us not to eat pork or shellfish. One law says if your son or daughter hits you, you must kill them. Who follows these?
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I heard that one confirmation class had to memorize the 10 commandments. What good does that do? How can you teach your child “Thou shalt not kill,” when you live in a country that makes a war with other countries whenever it wants to? You can’t. Why do we need more laws when we can’t follow the ten that Moses gave us? Like the sabbath. Who keeps that? Children play sports on the sabbath. We go shopping. So if we can’t follow ten laws, why did Jesus think we needed one more?
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“Love one another,” he said, “as I have loved you.” The Old Testament already gave us a law to love God and our neighbors and ourselves -- but it didn’t tell us to love as Jesus loved us. So it’s new in that way. And what makes Jesus’ love different? He loved the people that the old law said we should not love: murderers, extortioners, terrorists, lepers, homosexuals, pagans, adulterers, thieves, demoniacs. He shared communion with them. His best friend was a prostitute.
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So how can we love like that? Can we do that because he commanded us? No -- God has to break our hearts, and give us new ones. We all need a heart surgery that we can’t get at Yale or St. Raphaels. God will give us this new heart. With patience, and waiting, God will give us the gift to be able to love as Jesus did.