By THIS Everyone Will Know That You Are My Disciples

²⁰Very truly, I tell you, whoever receives one whom I send receives me; and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.’

21 After saying this Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared, ‘Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.’ ²²The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking. ²³One of his disciples—the one whom Jesus loved—was reclining next to him; ²⁴Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. ²⁵So while reclining next to Jesus, he asked him, ‘Lord, who is it?’ ²⁶Jesus answered, ‘It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.’^* So when he had dipped the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot.^* 27After he received the piece of bread,^*Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, ‘Do quickly what you are going to do.’ ²⁸Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. ²⁹Some thought that, because Judas had the common purse, Jesus was telling him, ‘Buy what we need for the festival’; or, that he should give something to the poor. ³⁰So, after receiving the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.

31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. ³²If God has been glorified in him,^* God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once.³³Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, “Where I am going, you cannot come.” ³⁴I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. ³⁵By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’

John 13:20-35

“By THIS Everyone Will Know That You Are My Disciples”

I’m not sure about you, but in so many different ways, the news of the last few days and months has threatened to overwhelm me and shut me down. The news of violence and threats against our sisters and brothers who practice different religions and whose skin colors and whose sexual practices vary, the reports of hatred and harsh words used against people who dare to express varying political beliefs, the fear expressed by folks who are scared about their present or futures because of they fear lack of access to health care or education or accessibility to our country—it is all simply overwhelming. The seeming loss of empathy and kindness and gentleness in our country has left me, has left so man of us, at a loss for words, confused, dumbfounded. In the last few weeks, I have wanted to shut down after experiencing fear in our own generally quiet and peaceful Auburn community as a white nationalist came to speak on campus, causing his own supporters and anti-facists to clash with each other; I’ve wanted to shut down after hearing one of our United States congressmen from Alabama imply that folks like myself with pre-existing conditions bring them on ourselves and deserve them by the way we live our lives.

While I went to DC in January to march for the right health care for all folks no matter what, and while I have called our congressmen and women over and over to express many concerns, I am still left with a feeling of emptiness, a feeling of hollowness, a feeling of not knowing what to do or where to turn. It feels like we as a country are being swallowed up by hate, by a lack of empathy, by selfishness—and it seems so hard to know what to do about it, so tempting to just let ourselves be shut down by it, to just quit.

A few weeks ago, however, I read a viral facebook post that has provided some hope for the yearning, and I hope many of you did, as well. It was written by our former Surgeon General, Dr. Vivik Murthy. Dr. Murthy, the grandson of a farmer from India, was asked by President Obama to serve as the 19^th Surgeon General for the United States. In his post the day after he resigned in the midst of a new administration, he talked about what an honor it was to serve the American people, and how delighted he was to see America as the descendant of an Indian immigrant, to teach us and help us, to serve us and to learn from all of us. He wrote these things about what he learned during his tenure, and I think, especially in this day and time when it is so easy to be overwhelmed by the darkness of the world, we all need to hear them. He wrote to all of us that

1. Kindness is more than a virtue. It is a source of strength. If we teach our children to be kind and remind each other of the same, we can live from a place of strength, not fear. I have seen this strength manifest every day in the words and actions of people all across our great nation. It is what gives me hope that we can heal during challenging times. 

2. We will only be successful in addressing addiction – and other illnesses – when we recognize the humanity within each of us. People are more than their disease. All of us are more than our worst mistakes. We must ensure our nation always reflects a fundamental value: every life matters.

3. Healing happens when we are able to truly talk to and connect with each other. That means listening and understanding. It means assuming good, not the worst. It means pausing before we judge. Building a more connected America will require us to find new ways to talk to each other. 

4. The world is locked in a struggle between love and fear. Choose love. Always. It is the world's oldest medicine. It is what we need to build a nation that is safe and strong for us and our children.

What words he gives us here, folks, for us, for our country. I have thought about them everyday since. Kindness is a source of strength. We are gathered here as Christians today, and we need to be reminded that kindness is our source of strength. If we truly believe this and teach our children this—and that is what we are in the business of doing—then we can’t and won’t live in fear. We must live in kindness. When kindness is manifest our lives, it can’t help but be manifest in our nation. When kindness is manifest in our lives, it can’t help but heal us in challenging times such as these.

As Christians, we will only be successful in addressing not only addiction, but also depression and illness and selfishness and so many other things that threaten to overtake us only when we recognize the humanity within all of us. When we take the time to truly look into each other’s eyes and realize that each one of us is hurting in some way, that each one of us has a story to share, that each one of us in this room and outside of it is dealing with something in our lives, then we will realize that each person is valuable and worthy. That is the way we make sure our nation is successful, and more importantly whole—when we make sure that every single life is important and valued and human and loved.

Healing happens when we stop assuming the bad in each other and start looking for the good. When we open ourselves up to see each person around us as a created and loved child of God, then we free ourselves up to look for the good in each other. That is where healing happens. Looking for the good in each other is where connection happens.

And all of that happens because we have been so greatly loved—and when we choose to love in return. Dr. Murthy is so right here. The world is locked in a battle between love and fear. And when we’re locked in a battle, something, some side has to win. He calls us to choose love and make it win. Always. Love is the world's oldest medicine. Love is what we need to build a nation that is safe and strong for us and our children.

The world is locked in a battle between love and fear. We see it every day, every time we turn the tv or look at social media or even walk down the street.  We are locked in a battle, and we have a choice. As people of faith, we are called to choose love. Always to choose love. I would say that I’m not sure that anyone could say it better than Dr. Murthy has, but as we all just heard in our Scripture, there is always someone who does say it better than any of us ever could.

On that night, in that room, as Jesus knew that these folks around him were locked in a battle and would ultimately choose fear, Jesus chose love. Jesus knew what was about to happen, and he chose love. He shared a meal with the disciples, then he washed their feet. He set an example for them and then said to them one of the last things he would say in the world, making it the most important: “Where I am going, you cannot come. I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you should also love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Friends, we are gathered here today, gathered to worship, to laugh and debate and discuss, gathered to eat and share and sing. We are gathered to ask questions and challenge and welcome. As presbyters, we are gathered here for business. But let us take some time to look around because we are gathered for something so much more important. Let us take time to see and breathe in what is before us. We are gathered around the font full of water, the table set with Christ’s meal, gathered at the foot of the cross, the cross that reminds us of God’s great love for all of us. Let us remember the words we have sung, “He came down that we may have love.” There aren’t words much better than those—we are gathered because we are so greatly loved by God, and we are called to go out as disciples and choose love in the world, to go out and be God’s love in the world. Thanks to God for that amazing gift. Amen.