It Takes Two

Just a bit of liturgical trivia to start with. Does anybody know the connection between this morning’s Gospel and Maundy Thursday? This passage from John is not the Gospel reading appointed for that day. There are two options for Maundy Thursday Gospel readings: one describing Christ’s sharing of himself in the bread and wine of the Last Supper and one focusing on the foot washing. The connection is between this Gospel passage and the name "Maundy Thursday." In the old Latin service the first antiphon—a simple verse or refrain—appointed for the footwashing ceremony was: "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another." In Latin this verse begins "mandatum novum". Mandatum. Anglicized to Maundy. Now you know.

It is this phrase from this morning’s reading from John’s Gospel that I want to highlight. "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another." I give you a new commandment that you love one another. From this time forward if you wish to live as Christians, following Christ’s commandment, this is at least part of what you should do. Love one another. Which seems to imply, among other things, that it takes at least two for any one to be a Christian.

Most preaching and meditating on this text seem to stress the fact that we called to love and they explore the particular nature of Christian love. That’s important, and I’ll touch briefly upon Christian love. But what I really want to highlight is that it takes at least two… at least two… for any one to be a Christian. You have to love somebody else. You have to be in some sort of interactive relationship with another. You cannot follow at least this commandment of Jesus all by yourself. There are certainly a lot of other good, Christians things you can and should do by yourself like praying, or fasting. But remember what Jesus says: I give you a new commandment that you love one another. It takes at least two to love one another.

Love one another as I have loved you. The nature of the love we are to show one another is the same sort of love that Jesus showed towards his disciples. It’s a sort of love that C. S. Lewis calls "charity." It is not affection, or warmth of the heart, or even friendship. It is choosing to act with charity. It is being charitable. Seeking the good for the other person. Doing what we can to be the good for the other person. Caring whether or not the other person is receiving God’s goodness. Give charity to one another. Care for one another. Work to gain good for the other person… the other person or persons that you need to be in some sort of relationship with if you are to follow Jesus’ commandment. It takes at least two for either one to be a Christian, to live into the Gospel Good News that Jesus preached. And it takes an active, intentional, concrete relationship.

We had a vestry retreat yesterday. My primary goal for the retreat was to help the vestry see ways in which we as a parish are currently fulfilling our Gospel mission so that we can articulate, celebrate and share that mission. I think the vestry got tired of me saying that yesterday’s work was not about who we should be, but about who we are as a community. Which is not to say that who we are now is all that we are called to be. But the ways in which we are currently living the Good News are certainly worth celebrating and they are probably a pretty good clue about how we can continue to grow in mission.

One of the gurus in congregational development these days is Dr. Kennon Callahan. He makes a couple of relevant points. One is that today, in contemporary American culture, one of the most powerful things that motivates people to seek a church is a longing for community. This is not what motivated people, say, thirty years ago. Then, for example, one of the major driving forces behind church participation was a personal, individual desire for commitment, commitment to a noble or worthwhile cause. But today, in the crowded, impersonal world in which we live, people seek community. A sense of belonging, of having a place where we are known, where we can discover and build significant flesh and blood relationships marked by caring and Christian charity.

Callahan also identifies a number of qualities of effective, vital congregations. One is the existence, within the congregation, of what he calls "relational groups." Formal or informal, ranging in size probably from 4 or 5 people up to 12 or 15. Groups which gather from time to time and, in which, significant relationships of sharing and caring, of charity, develop. According to the guru a congregation of our size "should" have 10 to 15 relational groups. The vestry listed, depending upon how you count, 17 to 20 active relational groups here at St. John’s.

A new commandment I give you, Jesus said, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, so should you love one another. When we care for one another, when we show charity towards one another, when we build relationships within these relational groups, we make God’s love real in the world… we share God’s love with one another. The church is one of the few places where we have the opportunity to act with charity and to receive charity, beyond the bounds of friendship, common interest… even among people we may not always like. We still have the opportunity to act with charity. And we do. The body of Christ is a place where people of very diverse backgrounds, perspectives, expectations can and do come together in caring relationships. The church in general, and this congregation in particular, are places where we can care for others and be cared for, where each of us has the opportunity to show charity and receive charity, to bring good into the life of another and to be given good by a fellow Christian. And in these relationships of caring and charity, the Good News of God’s love for us, is shared and made real.

It is Jesus’ commandment. That we love one another. That we interact charitably with at least one other person. That we commit ourselves to caring, Christian relationships with one another. There are lots of opportunities among the relational groups here at St. John’s to find and participate in Christian charity. From the newly formed parish supper groups to the long-standing Wednesday morning ECW coffee and fellowship group. These are places where significant relationships of caring are formed. There are groups as formal as the Brotherhood of St. Andrew or as informal as the 9:00 newspapers and coffee conversation group or the after the 8:00 service breakfast group.

There are also many groups here whose stated purpose is not relational. Groups like the choir, whose "sole" purpose is to make music to the glory of God. The altar guild, whose "sole" purpose is ironing and polishing silver. The Education for Ministry group or children’s Sunday School classes, whose purpose is academic. Those of you who participate in these groups know, of course, that they can also be relational. Offering caring relationships beyond even the bonds of friendship, providing the opportunity for acts of intentional Christian charity towards one another. Those of you who are in these groups: celebrate and be intentional about facilitating the opportunities to exercise charity as part of your life together.

We all need Christian charity. Someone who cares and seeks the good for us. Some days we may need charity more than others. Some days we may be more aware of our need than others. But we all need to be cared for. And people out there, out in the world, people who have not yet found their way inside these walls, they desperately need a place where they are cared for. This community, this congregation, is such a place. A place where God’s love is shared in relationships built on charity, on a commitment to care for one another.

And just as we all need Christian charity, we all have the opportunity to give it. And it is more than just an opportunity. It is Jesus’ command that we offer… that we give Christian charity to one another. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. It takes at least two for any one of us to follow this commandment of Jesus. Here within this community, you will find two, or three, or a dozen…