Easter 5

Acts 11:1-18
Psalm 148
Rev. 21:1-6
John 13:31-35

Do you watch the news? Listen to it on the radio? Read the headlines in the newspaper this week? There have been some interesting stories recently. A few that caught my attention: Sunday morning a bomb was found in a car in New York City’s Times Square. Had the bomb gone off, it would have caused incredible damage, and likely hundreds or thousands of deaths. The country of Greece has just agreed to the terms of the financial bail-out – to the amount of 145 BILLION dollars. While most of us cannot even begin to fathom that amount of money, the Greek population continues to have general strife over these issues, and protests and riots are ongoing, with people being injured on a regular basis. The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico – currently about the size of Jamaica - has now reached the Louisiana shore – and is wreaking havoc with the wildlife there, killing or injuring thousands of creatures as well as devastating the sealife. And, they’ve learned that the underwater well is spewing oil faster than they had first believed, so this environmental disaster will be worse than expected – and there has yet been no real call for governments to increase environmental policies and procedures against large corporations to try to protect our fragile ecosystems. Closer to home there are two US states that have recently passed laws that threaten existing human rights; in Arizona, a new immigration law actively persecutes Mexican-born citizens and migrant workers, while in Oklahoma women’s reproductive rights are being diminished; doctors are not required to inform a mother-to-be of a fetus’ illness or deformity if they think it may lead to termination. Here in Canada, Omark Khadr refuses to attend his military trial as he alleges that he is being treated with less than basic dignity required for all humans. Former Base Commander Williams of CFB Trenton, accused of 2 brutal murders, has been charged with an additional 82 charges of breaking and entering, obviously ignoring the great honour known in our Canadian military. And a man in BC has been sentenced for his hate crime – he disliked another man’s actions so strongly that he beat him savagely while hurtling insults.
This is NOT the good news of the gospel. This is not the message of hope and peace and love that Christ came to share with us.
Let’s go back to the hate crime for just a moment. These days we tend to use the word ‘hate’ very lightly. If we aren’t fond of dinner, we say we “hate” the brussel sprouts. If we aren’t enjoying what’s on television, then we “hate” reality TV. True hate, however, is a constant state of being completely devoid of love, compassion, basic respect. It’s so pervasive that it takes over a person so that it’s all someone feels. It’s a horrible thing that overpowers all else, and eats away at a persons’ soul. So a crime based on hate is a terrifying concept.
Let’s turn this around for a moment. Let’s imagine that instead of being filled with hatred, one is so completely filled with love that it seeps out of every pore. If there were such a thing as a ‘love crime’, would you be charged and tried? Would you be convicted?
Recently a young man died unexpectedly, likely of an aneurism. James was the type of person who always had a smile on his face, always offering a kind word or sharing a joke. He brightened the room just by entering it, and even on a bad day would try to remain positive so as not to bring down anyone else’s mood. After his death, naturally his family and friends were devastated, and set up an online memorial page. There were the expected comments of grief and support and love. What was perhaps unexpected, however, were the comments from James’ wife’s ex-husband. Normally, one might not expect there to be good feelings between current and former spouses. This man, however, commented on how he appreciated James’ concern for the whole family, how James had made his wife happier than he had ever done; how James’ influence in raising the child from the first marriage was to be commended, how James had been a good help to him personally as they family continued to struggle through its changes. Quite remarkable in this day and age to see such an outpouring of positivity where one expects conflict. James was the kind of man who would easily be charged for ‘love crimes’ upon humanity.
Jesus commands us to love one another. To be clear, he does not expect us to like everyone. We’re human, we are not all going to like the actions of every other person we encounter. But we are called to love them. There’s a difference between liking (or disliking) a person’s actions, which is a temporary and change-able sentiment, and loving someone, which is a permanent state of being. We like someone for what they do, we love someone for who they are. And they are, as we are, children of God.
So when we prevent ourselves from loving another person fully – with the unconditional, all-encompassing agape love of God, we are judging another person. And who are we to judge? If we choose not to fully love someone because of words they have said that we dislike, we are putting up a barrier. If we consider ourselves better than another based on fashion style or what car we drive, we are putting up another barrier. Each time we judge, it is like we are putting a brick between us. We gradually build a wall as we refuse to offer love. But that wall will also prevent us from receiving love.
With this wall between us, we are denying ourselves quite a bit. Because if we take our baptismal vows seriously, we are seeking the Christ in all persons. So this wall we have built is acting as a barrier for us to know Christ. Each brick is a step away from the God that we claim to be seeking to walk beside.
Jesus came to earth to be with us. He died a gruesome death for our sake – because He fully loves us – each and every one of us – even though we weren’t anywhere near being born yet. If Jesus could do that for us, then unthought-of strangers, what can we do for Him? How do we engage our friends, family, neighbours, and remove those barriers? How do move beyond that to strangers, people whose actions we dislike, and admit that we love them as our family in Christ?
Our challenge in this new commandment is to recognise when we are not fully loving someone, and to remove that brick from the wall. The first time will be difficult – but it can be done. And the second one will be easier, because we’ll have started learning how to do it. As we continue, and the wall gets smaller, we’ll earn a greater and more complete relationship with the risen Christ. And I believe that when those walls are down, we will see the New heavens and New earth that we are promised. I believe that “to love another person is to see the face of God” - all we have to do is learn how to look.
Amen.