Sermon Tone Analysis

Exodus 12:

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Something New

At the end of the gospel passage we just read, Jesus says that he’s giving the disciples a new commandment.

It recently struck me what a funny thing that is for Jesus to say.

It’s odd because the commandment that he gives sounds a great deal like another one he recently cited from Deuteronomy, which even back in Jesus’ day was nothing new.

Jesus says here at the Last Supper to “love one another.”

It wasn’t that long ago that Jesus was asked by local religious leaders to tell them what the greatest commandment was and Jesus said, “To love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your mind, and all your strength.”

And then Jesus went on to say that the second greatest commandment was to “love your neighbor as yourself.”

So what’s new about loving one another that Jesus says he’s leaving a new commandment with them?

Clearly, Jesus has told the disciples on at least one occasion that loving others is an important mandate from God. What’s the difference between this one and “love your neighbor as yourself?”

Why does Jesus say this is something new?

This time, Jesus changes the model after which they are to love one another.

Before, he quoted scripture – a long-standing commandment of loving neighbor as you love yourself – but this time, Jesus is asking them to take it a step further.

Now, he says, you aren’t just to love one another as you love yourselves, but love one another as I have loved you.

Love one another like the one who just knelt to wash your feet, dear disciples.

Love one another like the one whose body was broken like the bread at the meal for the sake of others, dear disciples.

Love one another like the one whose blood was spilled like wine for your sake, dear disciples.

And when you do these things. . .

they will not go unnoticed.

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We celebrate communion as a community to remember, to seal, to experience the love that Jesus showed us and in turn, we take that remembrance, that seal, that experience of love out into the world.

That is how people will notice.

The difference that makes this new commandment new is that this is love that has Jesus as the model.

We can’t really know God without Jesus Christ.

There is only so close to real love we can get by our own effort.

By our own effort, we might be able to often love our neighbors as ourselves, but to love one another as Christ loved us requires us to participate in the life of Jesus.

The one who washed feet, who died for the sake of others.

We tend to prefer the “old” love commandment.

The one where we love one another as we love ourselves.

Human love is more comfortable.

Human love says to make sure the other person has water with which to wash their feet.

The love of Christ washes their feet for them.

Human love says to go to great lengths for the well-being of other.

Jesus’ love says to make the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of others.

Human love gets a pat on the back for doing a noble thing.

The love of Christ gets noticed as being something completely different.

And this, says Jesus, is the mark of a true disciple – a mark visible to all of the people around you.

We will celebrate communion in just a few moments.

This is not something that we do because it saves us.

This is not something we do to be good Christians.

This is something that we do as a sign and a seal of God’s grace – the grace that offered us wild, unfettered love – humble, serving love that went to the cross for us.

Love one another.

Just as Jesus has loved you, you also should love one another.

By this everyone will know that you are Jesus’ disciples, if you have love for one another.