“My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.” Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!
John 13:33-38

Dear God, I obviously don’t know how verbatim this quote of Jesus by John is, but assuming John wrote this intentionally, I noticed something new this morning. Peter was so distracted by the idea of Jesus going somewhere he couldn’t go that the words Jesus spoke about the disciples loving one another got lost: “By this they will know you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

So what does loving one another look like? There is a patient at our clinic who we have been trying to figure out how to love, but she has boxed herself into a corner through a myriad of life decisions that has left us with very few options. We don’t know how to help her. Is it possible for us to show her live without being able to help?

Of course, the bigger implication here is how we treat each other as Christians. Jesus knew it was rare for people to really love each other because he knew that the disciples loving each other would stand out to the world. At the same time, I’m sure he was looking around the table at this group of people and wondering how they would ever get along without him. They would argue about who would be greatest. How would they do after he was gone?

I think one thing that helped galvanize them together was the crucifixion, the time Jesus was dead, and then the resurrection and subsequent time until Jesus ascended. At the last supper with Jesus, they were on the precipice of the greatest refining fire of their lives up to that point. Of course, for each of them, martyrdom (except Judas Iscariot and John) would come later. This was only the beginning.

Father, help me to be prepared for the refining you have in store for me. Help me to not waste a thing. And most of all, help me to always automatically lean into you in every moment.

I pray all of this under your authority,

Amen