“Jesus and the Beloved Community”
33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall see me and as I said unto the Jews, whether I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. 34 A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
John 13: 33-35
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Little children, yet a little while I am with you. John 13:33a
In these challenging and changing times in which we live, it is encouraging to know that we are not alone. The Lord Jesus is yet with us through his ways, his will, his word, and his wonderful Spirit. Thank you, Lord, for it all. Thank you because of who you are.
The words of the text leap at us from the lips of Jesus and the pen of John. Jesus said in verse 33, “Little children, yet a little while I am with you. The words “little children” as spoken by Jesus are terms of endearment, as he is speaking to his disciples.
There was a book some years ago entitled "I - Thou". The basic premise of the author is that we relate to existence in one of two ways. I toward an it, an object that is separate in itself, which we use or experience. Or we can relate as I toward Thou, which moves our existence to another level of perception. One of the major themes of the book is that human life finds its meaningfulness in relationships. All of our relationships, Buber contends, bring us ultimately into relationship with God, who is the Eternal Thou.
"I-Thou" is a doctrine of the full, direct, mutual relation between beings, as conceived by Martin Buber and some other 20th-century philosophers. The basic and purest form of this relation is that between man and God (the Eternal Thou), which is the model for and makes possible I-Thou relations between human beings.
Consider what it means for the Lord to relate to you in terms of affectionate endearment and what it means about how you treat others.
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“Ye shall see me and as I said unto the Jews, whether I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.” John 13:33b
The individuals who had followed, learned from, served with, and shared with Jesus in ministry for a time at this point in the text. Jesus knows them and they know some things about him. Therefore, Jesus could and does refer to them as “little children” because he knows them. He knows their character, he knows their personality, he knows their temperament, yet he cares, he is concerned, and demonstrates compassion and kindness toward them.
When we think of children we often think of honesty and innocence. The disciples' “little children” qualities were also evident during their time with Jesus, because they did not fully understand Jesus’ mission as assigned to him by God his father. They thought and believed as other Jews, from their cultural perspective. They did not see him as the Son of God.
Consider what it means that we as disciples are like children who are constantly learning what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
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A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. John 13:34
Then Jesus said in verse 34. “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another, as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” Jesus’ statement, Jesus’ commandment is not merely a suggestion, but an action item. “Love one another”.
Yes, before Augustine, the African Bishop of Hippo wrote his classic Confessions, or his seminal text, The City of God and implied that the idea of grace, which is a form of love could and should hold sway in a community, a beloved community, Jesus admonished his followers to love one another as he has loved them.
Augustine argues that Christians, as part of a government, need not be ashamed of protecting peace and punishing wickedness when forced to do so by a government. Augustine asserted that this was a personal, philosophical stance: "What is here required is not a bodily action, but an inward disposition. The sacred seat of virtue is the heart."
The City of God is a book of Christian philosophy written in Latin, by Augustine of Hippo, in the early 5th century AD. The book was in response to allegations that Christianity brought about the decline of Rome and is considered one of Augustine's most important works, standing alongside The Confessions, The Enchiridion, On Christian Doctrine.
Consider what it means to love others as Jesus has loved us.
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Wednesday, March 24, 2021 |
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A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. John 13:34
Before Josiah Royce, the United States philosopher described the “beloved community” in his text, The Philosophy of Loyalty, as a place which “has a special quality and unique type of infinity or conception of the absolute. It reflects a will to embrace more than what is, but more especially what is to come”.
In 1913 the American philosopher Josiah Royce wrote, “My life means nothing, either theoretically or practically, unless I am a member of a community.” Royce observed that, besides the actual communities we experience on a daily basis, there was also an ideal “beloved community” made up of all those who would be dedicated fully to the cause of loyalty, truth, and reality itself. Royce founded the Fellowship of Reconciliation, a movement that was later joined by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Rejoicing Spirits).
Consider what it means since we live in the context of contact in community with one another to have an ideal of loyalty, truth, and reality that influences and shapes the beloved community.
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A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. John 13:34
Before Martin King, Jr., the Twentieth Century prophet, and preacher of non-violence wrote his final text, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? and proclaimed the beloved community “a microcosm of the future where genuine love of all humanity resides,” Jesus’ words were already witnessing and working in the world.
The beloved community implied by Augustine, and cited by Royce and King is an idea, an ideal, a place where female and male, elderly and youth, conservative and progressive, gay/lesbian and straight, love and respect each other. It is also a place where credentials, class, and color are not prioritized and placed on a pedestal. It is a place where all humans are loved because Jesus is love.
In Facing the Challenge of a New Age, Dr. King wrote, “But the end is reconciliation; the end is redemption; the end is the creation of a beloved community. It is this type of spirit and this type of love that can transform opposers into friends. It is this kind of understanding and goodwill that will transform the deep gloom of the old age into the exuberant gladness of the new age. It is this love which will bring about miracles.”
The message of transforming love and the beloved community is as current now as it was then. For many of us, the church is a place where the beloved community can emerge and flourish. For many of us, the church is a place where the beloved community is as current now as it was then. Much, much earlier, writing to the Galatians in 3:28, Paul put it like this:
“It is through faith that all of you are God’s children in union with Christ Jesus. You were baptized into union with Christ, and now you are clothed, so to speak, with the life of Christ himself. So there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, between slaves and free people, between men and women; you are all one in union with Christ Jesus.” (Rejoicing Spirits)
Consider what it means to be brothers and sisters in community with one another reflecting the image of God’s love as expressed in Christ to each other.
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A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. John 13:34
I contend and proclaim this day a few observations with respect to the beloved community. In verse 34a, John writes: “Love one another”.
In the Greek language and culture, the word agape or love, is the form of love that Jesus and John are referring. The love that expresses redemptive goodwill to all humanity. When agape love is set forth, the beloved community is the result.
When we love one another we are indeed actively participating in fulfilling the present and future ushering in of the “Beloved Community”. Embedded in the word beloved are the words "be" and "love(d)". Jesus said to these disciples, and to us, “love one another”; love o-n-e another as I have loved you. In other words, demonstrate, embody, exemplify, model, and show love. Be about love. Let it (love) become your life and your way of life. Make it happen by acting out love. Love is also an act and an action.
~Love is Caring
Care about others. Care about the homeless and the hopeless.
Care about the less fortunate, the strangers, and the “least of these”. Why? As life lasts, we could become any or all of these.
~Love is Cleansing
Love can/does and will cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Jesus spoke in verse 35, “By this (love) shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another”. Yes, because the love of Jesus, this love w-o-n another. Did not Jesus say, “I have drawn thee with bands of love” That is to say, just as we were w-o-n to Jesus, drawn to Jesus with love, we can also win another or others to Jesus by modeling Jesus’ love. The world’s way is not the Lord’s way; but what the world needs now is love, Jesus’ love!
Then Paul reminds us in I Corinthians 13: 4-8a about love. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, v.4. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs, v.5. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth, v.6. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres, v.7. Love never fails, v.8. The love Paul describes in the I Corinthians text is the agape love demonstrated by Jesus.
Consider what it means to act out your love as caring for one another.
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By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. John 13:35
Well, the beloved community, like Jesus, is founded and formed on Jesus’ love. It is a community that aspires to practice Jesus' words; love one another, because in so doing, love w-o-n another.
It is a community that reaches out to all humanity and reaches up to God. The Beloved Community is a caring and sharing community.
It is a cleansing and healing community.
It is a comforting and honoring community.
It is a ceaseless and peaceable community.
It is welcoming to Breonna Taylor and Myles Cosgrove.
It shares a place and a space for George Floyd and Derek Chauvin.
It is open to Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley, the bombing victims of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL 1963 and the terrorist who committed the crime.
It welcomes Treyvon Martin and George Zimmerman.
It welcomes Michael Brown and Darren Wilson.
It welcomes Medgar Evers and Byron De La Beckwith.
Ultimately, the beloved community embraces Jesus Christ and all who are guilty of His crucifixion. Yes, it is by His sacrificial death that the beloved community came to be.
Consider what it means that the beloved community is a community that embraces all people in love.
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Conclusion
It was Catherine Hankey, who penned a familiar hymn of the church. Hankey had a serious illness as a Missionary while on a mission in Africa. During her long days of convalescence, she wrote an epic poem on the life of Jesus in 1866.
“I Love to Tell the Story”
I love to tell the story, of unseen things above
Of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love.
I love to tell the story because I know tis true.
It satisfies my longings as nothing else can do.
I love to tell the story, “Twill be my theme in glory,
To tell the old, old story of Jesus and His Love
…Of Jesus and the Beloved Community.
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Los Angeles, CA 90011
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