[Propertalk] Gospel tips - John 13:31-35 - Part 6

[Joe Parrish]

Can one be commanded to love?  The verbs are in the subjunctive mood, but are typically translated as imperatives.  This is not inappropriate, but it appears that translation as subjunctives might be better.  The subjunctive mood has an element of contingency and conditionality, such as, in this case, "I have loved you so that you also might love one another."  
True love cannot be commanded because true love first requires moving beyond one's own egocentricity.  This is quite difficult.  Some people's love is not love at all, but dependence masquerading as love.  

http://www.progressiveinvolvement.com/progressive_involvement/2010/04/lectionary-blogging-john-13-3135.html

John Petty, 2010
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Indeed, Jesus means for us to follow the pattern he sets for us, which includes not only loving those who are easy to love, but those who are very difficult to love as well!  We are to show our love through humble service to the ugly as well as the beautiful, the filthy as well as the clean, the betrayer as well as the faithful disciple.  As scripture tells us, Jesus loved them - even Judas! - to the very end.  That's a challenge for us to be sure, but it's also good news.  Our lives are mixtures of faith and betrayal.  

http://reflectious.com/2010/04/26/first-look-john-131-35/

Lee A. Koontz
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Raymond Brown proposes that the idea of newness should be understood in terms of Jeremiah 31:31-34.1 Jeremiah speaks of the law being written on the heart. In John, the commandment to love is directly linked to Jesus' own life, as an expression of that love. The most immediate precedent is found in 13:3-16, when Jesus washes the feet of the disciples. Heard in concert with Jeremiah, we understand that love, which is written on the heart, will manifest itself in servanthood. The other troubling aspect of this command is that our love is to be directed toward "one another." Although this can be read as directed only toward the community of believers, John undermines this inclination with the reminder in 10:16 that Jesus has "other sheep that do not belong to this fold." 

http://www.goodpreacher.com/shareit/readreviews.php?cat=28

Holly E. Hearon
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I think Jesus' washing his feet was the last straw for Judas. More than any of his other exploits, washing grubby feet showed just how low Jesus was prepared to stoop. Enough is enough! Whatever good there might be in this fellow, he can't be the Messiah! Messiahs don't do that kind of thing. Don't get their hands dirty like that. Maybe that's why the 'glory' the church shows to the world isn't convincing either? But for the opposite reason to Judas': because we don't get our hands & our hearts dirty as Jesus does! 

http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/laterallyluke/LLKJN133135EAST5.html

Brian McGowan
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Can I say that my life models such a purity of heart ("Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God," Mt 5:8)?  Can I say that no matter what those around me will do, even if they seek my harm, that my life points to the glory of God?
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The greatest difference between the "Fresh Commandment" and the "Golden Rule" is that Jesus doesn't just tell us how we should behave; he presents himself as the model of that behavior. It is quite different for one to say, "Here is what you should do," and, "Do what you saw me do."

http://onefamilyoutreach.com/bible/John/jn_13_31-35.html

Jerry Goebel: 2005 © http://onefamilyoutreach.com
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     Chrysostom complained, in his day, that love was not evidenced in the life of the Christian community. "Even now, there is nothing else that causes the heathen to stumble, except that there is not love..... Their doctrines they have long condemned, and in like manner they admire ours, but they are hindered by our mode of life."
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Tertullian said of his generation that the heathen held his congregation in high regard. "'See', they say, 'how they love one another.'" 

http://www.lectionarystudies.com/studyg/easter4cg.html

Bryan Findlayson
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This is bedrock evangelism - Love One Another. It is bedrock for every on-going faith group (and probably any group one finds worthwhile).

http://kcmlection.blogspot.com/2007/05/fifth-sunday-of-easter-c4.html

Wesley White
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