“Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Leviticus 19:18.
It is an old commandment.
But Jesus does it in a new way.
Think on these images:
Feet. This new love gets low.
A basin of water and a towel for wiping. This new love
gets dirty.
A cross. This love gets bloody.
The world loves in a rational way,
Expecting something in return.
The world gives and expects to get back.
This new love is foolishness.
It gets low, dirty, bloody,
Without expecting to get anything back.
…
This new love is not motivated by
external reward
But is propelled
from within.
It is not a
concerted effort, a superhuman white-knuckling.
It is inspired by
some unutterable sense of being loved by God
That is so
compelling, it becomes a way of life.
As we are loved, so
we love.
Jesus sensed this
love at his baptism.
That is the
beginning point of his ministry,
The moment when his
love really got low, dirty, and bloody.
…
At this time in the
service,
We remember our own
baptism
And our belovedness
in the eyes of God.
If you are willing,
I invite you to come forward at this time
To dip your hands
in the basin in front of the altar,
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