Holy Week: John 13:34-35
A New Commandment
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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.
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It is Holy Thursday.
Time for a quiet service of sacrament and meditation.
Time for clergy like me to say the sacred words of institution:
On the night in which he gave himself up for us,
Jesus took bread, gave thanks to you, broke the bread,
gave it to his disciples, and said:
"Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you.
Do this in remembrance of me."
When the supper was over, he took the cup,
gave thanks to you, gave it to his disciples, and said:
"Drink from this, all of you;
this is my blood of the new covenant,
poured out for you and for many
for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this, as often as you drink it,
in remembrance of me."
A sacrament is a mystery.
It is not magic.
There is no heavenly stardust up my vestment sleeve.
And yet...
When we kneel before this mystery and receive together,
something awe-filled happens.
We are changed.
Tonight I cannot gather with those who seek that power.
I cannot offer bread and wine via zoom or webex.
The altar will be strangely silent and empty.
But that does not mean the power is gone.
It means that tonight we are called to a different focus.
Same Lord. Same scripture. Same power.
Different focus.
It wasn't enough for Jesus to give us the Last Supper.
That night he also gave us a new commandment.
It sums up all the other commandments, and surpasses them:
Love one another.
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples,
if you love one another.
All the bread and wine in the world is useless if we miss that commandment.
Love like Jesus loves, and everything else falls into place.
Isn't that what this quarantine is meant to show us?
Right now, wouldn't it be sweet to be able to shake a friend's hand?
Wouldn't it be great to greet a neighbor?
Won't it be an awe-filled moment when the walls come tumbling down?
And right now, we get to practice in the toughest mission field of all.
Our own homes.
With those we love the most...
Those who may be getting kinda sick of us by now.
This is where God wants us to practice.
God wants us to embrace that new commandment.
God wants us to love like Jesus.
That kind of love is the closest thing to magic we'll ever see in this world.
It is the warmth of a mother's arms.
It is the strength of a father's voice.
It is the presence of God.
It seems so simple, but it is an awe-filled gift.
Through that love, we are changed.
Maybe that is the real sacrament, after all.
Maybe that is the only change that really matters.
And if that change goes on after the virus is gone,
Then this will have been the best Holy Thursday ever.
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Lord, you loved us before we ever knew you.
You gave your life that we might have life,
and have it more abundantly.
This proves your love for us.
Let our lives show our love for you.
Change us, and change our world,
by the light of that love. Amen.