On Locked Rooms, Fear, and Love
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:12-13
Some of Jesus’ most beautiful words about love are spoken at a time of deep fear. It should not be lost on us that the Gospel readings for last week and this week are from Jesus’ farewell discourse, spoken to his disciples in the Upper Room where they were locked away before Jesus’ arrest, trial and crucifixion. In that moment of fear and division and love Jesus chose instead to preach to his followers about love and unity, compassion and understanding. Love. Sacrifice. Lifting up. Imploring his followers to go out and bear the fruits of love to the world.
Look around. We don’t have to look around much to see a world full of fear and mistrust. To see doors locked for fear of those on the other side. We protest occupation with occupation. We fight fire with fire. We blame, and shame, and mock, and ridicule those who disagree with us. We cast lots for their clothing.
But even in those moments Jesus asked his disciples to strike out in love. Jesus said to his disciples, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. To abide is an important term here. Because when we are surrounded with hate and animosity it can be hard to love. More specifically, it can be lonely to love.
Whether we are talking about Israel-Palestine, Trump-Biden, or even Brandon-Sheila, our culture does not tolerate a lot of ‘Love your neighbor’ thinking. That is why this language of abiding is so important. Because to Abide means to be with, reside with, take up cause with. When we abide in Jesus’ love we abide in Jesus himself and suddenly we are not alone.
You are not alone.
You are part of a community of love. One that looks at the world through Jesus’ eyes. We are not required to hate our neighbors or our enemies. We know that it does not help to belittle or demean or mock their causes or their attitudes, but only serves to create more separation, more otherness in the world. You are part of a community of love that asks questions out of curiosity and compassion, that seeks understanding and relationship, that understands that peace obtained easily is no peace at all, that grace given cheaply is no grace at all.
Jesus did some of his best work in times not unlike those we are living in today. It is my fervent belief that Jesus is still engaged in that same work, and that we, if we so desire, can be his hands, his feet, his heart, his mind and in his strength.