“As I Have Loved You”
“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35 (NRSV)
What began as a throat lozenge has become one of the staples of the Valentine’s season. I am speaking of what we now know of as “Conversation Hearts.” You know, those chalky, pastel hearts with messages such as “Love You” and “Be Mine.” While some may not care for their taste or texture, I always enjoyed receiving a box or two when I was a child. As with so many things, the ones which you find in stores today are not quite the same. The messages may be similar, but it seems as though they lack that taste which made them unique years ago. It is that time of the year once again when we express our love toward others through the sharing of cards and candy, flowers and fancy dinner reservations. In just a couple of weeks, we will celebrate what is known as “Valentine’s Day,” an annual observance which dates back to the fifth century. Often referred to as the “patron saint of romance and happy marriages,” Valentine’s story was not exactly what it has become today. The emphasis upon love and affection developed during the Middle Ages and the tradition of sharing cards with others is traced to the nineteenth century. Valentine was a third-century priest who experienced imprisonment for marrying young soldiers against Emperor Claudius II’s decree (He presumed this to have weakened his soldiers.). This was still about forty years before Emperor Constantine would embrace Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire. Today, February 14 is observed in Valentine’s memory as that was the date of his martyrdom in 270.
Our movement into February is also a reminder that four days after Valentine’s Day (at least this year), is Ash Wednesday which will begin the forty-day journey of Lent toward Holy Week/Easter. Although the verse quoted at the top of the page is associated with Maundy Thursday during Holy Week, it came to mind as I was recently looking at Valentine’s Day merchandise and thinking about the quality of love which Jesus has for us. It is of such a precious nature that he longed for his disciples (then and today) to embody it in relation to one another. Maundy Thursday (April 2 this year) commemorates the events of the upper room when Jesus washed the disciples’ feet and gave them this “new commandment.” The term “Maundy” has its origins in the Latin word from which the English equivalent of “mandate” is derived.
It seems rather strange that Jesus should have provided the disciples with something new at the end of his earthly ministry. We do not typically think of educators introducing new material the last week of school, so what was so special about this moment and what made the commandment all that different from similar Jewish beliefs? After all, God’s people acknowledged the love which one was to have for both God and neighbor. The difference in this moment was the inclusion of “Just as I have loved.” There is the qualifier that this love must be of equal value to that displayed by Jesus. We have the advantage of looking back on the story, but for the disciples this would have begun to make sense in the hours which followed: arrest, beating, mock trial, carrying the cross…death.
To emphasize the implications of this new command, Jesus stated it would be by such actions that other people would know the identity of his disciples. “By this,” Jesus stated, “you will give evidence to the rest of the world that you are undeniably one of my closest followers.” Nothing is mentioned in Jesus’ discourse about the ability to win arguments or having the mental capacity to memorize lengthy passages of Scripture. “If you love the same way that I love you,” Jesus said, “it will be clear to others.” It is what we call being sacrificial. That is to say, love is not simply a noun (something we possess or are given). It is a verb, an action which must be done for the benefit of another. The motivating factor is not self, but rather the denial of self in a manner which blesses someone else. Yes, we are called to have a healthy “love for self,” but cannot and must not be driven by what our actions do for us or what someone can do for us.
As Valentine’s Day and, soon after, Lent approach, think of something sacrificial which you can do for someone else. It need not be anything expensive or over the top, but let it come from your heart. Show them the same quality of love which Jesus has shown for humanity. That does not mean you have to die physically, but you do need to die to self.
Together in Christian Love,
The Reverend Kelley Smart