At our parish Palm Sunday service, the theme “Love Like This” was introduced as symbols of Jesus’ suffering and death were placed around a cross at the front of the church. Over the centuries, the cross has been used to symbolize various things to different people such as torture, control, punishment, or guilt. In our services this Easter weekend, we followed the story of Jesus from his last meal with his disciples, to the Garden of Gethsemane, to his trials and crucifixion, and to the empty tomb on that first morning of resurrection, exploring what each part of the story tells us about God’s love for us in Jesus.
At our Maundy Thursday service, we heard the story of Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples where he washed their feet and instituted the meal we know as the Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion (John 13:1-17,31b-35). We gave worshipers the option to have their feet washed as part of the service. People can often be uncomfortable with having their feet washed for a few reasons. We can worry that our feet are too dirty or smelly, that they are unattractive or ugly, or maybe we don’t like our feet being touched by other people.
We can think of our feet as representing those parts of our lives that we might want to keep hidden from others, or we might be ashamed of, or we don’t want people to see how ugly or messy they are. However, Jesus sees those parts of our lives we try to keep hidden, takes them in his hands, and washes them clean. Washing feet can be a profound expression of grace, as we allow another person to encounter the hidden parts of our lives, see us as we are, and love us with all our flaws, dirt or ugliness. When people see us as we really are and still love and accept us with the love of Jesus, then we experience what Jesus’ love is all about in our relationships with each other and our communities of faith.
On Friday morning we heard the story of Jesus’ suffering and death in John chapters 18 and 19. Every step of the path Jesus walked that day tells us what God’s love in Jesus is like. His prayers in the garden before his arrest tell us that love relies totally on God and looks for God’s will in even the most difficult circumstances. Jesus’ silence in his trial before the Jewish High Council shows us that God’s love stays strong even when people were accusing him of doing wrong or telling lies about him. Peter’s denials of Jesus tell us that God’s love persists even when Peter turned his back on him and let him down. Jesus’ trial before Pilate tells us that God’s love takes the punishment that was meant for others, so the guilty can go free. Jesus’ suffering on the cross shows us the depths of God’s love as Jesus endured so much but at the same time showed compassion to his mother, to those being crucified with him, and he even prayed for forgiveness for those who were killing him.
The authors of the New Testament point us to Jesus’ crucifixion as the clearest display of God’s love for us. Paul wrote, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8NIV). In the same way, John wrote, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10 NIV). While we can look at the cross of Jesus in various ways, when we see it as God’s ultimate expression of his love for us, we see a kind of love that sacrifices everything for the sake of others, especially those who need it but don’t deserve it.
To love others in the way Jesus teaches us (John 13:34) is to stand at the foot of the cross in faith, learning how this love makes a difference in our lives, and then showing that kind of love to the people in our lives, including those we don’t think deserve it or we find hard to love. It might mean trusting our heavenly Father and seeking his will, loving others even when they turn their backs on us, or being silent when people accuse us or tell lies about us. Loving like Jesus might mean taking the consequences of someone else’s wrongs so they can find freedom from what they’ve done, or suffering at the hands of others while still praying for them, forgiving them, or showing compassion towards them. We can’t demand this kind of love because love needs to be given freely. However, as we encounter and dwell in the love God has for us in Jesus, the more we can love others, even when it’s hard or painful.
While the cross is the clearest expression of God’s love for us in Jesus, God’s love isn’t limited to the cross. In Jesus’ resurrection, we can continue to discover and learn what God’s love is like. Jesus’ victory over the grave tells us that God’s love is stronger than those things we experience that try to take life from us. God’s love is stronger than death!
Everyone suffers in one way or another, at one time or another. It might be from physical or mental illness, broken relationships, worries, hardships of many kinds, loneliness, uncertainty about the future, and the list goes on. At times these struggles can seem overwhelming, never-ending, or insurmountable. The good news of Jesus’ crucifixion tells us that God suffers with us in those times. The good news of his resurrection tells us that God’s love in Jesus is bigger, stronger, and more powerful than them all! Because the risen Jesus lives in us through faith, we can trust that he will bring us through the challenges, hardships and suffering we face to a new day when we will live in the light and blessing of his love.
The resurrection of Jesus also tells us that God’s love for us never fails, as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:8 (NIV). The struggles, disappointments and pain of this life is temporary. Even though at times it might seem like we can’t see an end to them, Jesus’ resurrection tells us that God’s love will outlast our suffering and sorrow. Like Jesus’ time in the tomb, they will come to an end. God’s love is endless, reaching to the heavens, as we read in Psalm 57:10. While we might not be able to see our way through some of the things that challenge us or weigh us down in this life, the resurrection tells us that God’s love will outlast them all and will bring us at last into the light of God’s peace and joy through the power of his love which raised Jesus to new life for all eternity.
The Easter story, from Jesus’ last meal with his disciples, through his suffering and death, to the joy of the empty tomb, is the story of God’s love for his Son and for all people through his Son. This love makes us clean, sets us free, lifts us up, and makes us new. This is the love Jesus teaches us to extend to each other so others can experience God’s love for them through our words and actions, in our relationships with each other. This love doesn’t come easy. The Easter story tells us that this love is costly in lots of different ways. Ultimately, though, when we encounter a love like this in Jesus and show this same love to others, God brings us into new life which lasts forever, and gives this life to others through us.
And the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our King. Amen.
More to think about or discuss:
- Where do you encounter God’s love for you through Jesus in the Easter story?
- How can trusting in this love make a difference in your life?
- As you trust in Gods’ love for you in Jesus, what is one way you can show this same love to someone else in your life this week?
Pastor Eugene Online 
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