Emmanuel Suhard, Cardinal Archbishop of Paris in the mid-twentieth century, declared that "To be a witness does not consist in engaging in propaganda, nor even in stirring people up, but in being a living mystery. It means to live in such a way that one's life would not make sense if God did not exist."
Jesus was not lifted up on the cross so we could skate selfishly into heaven. Our salvation is not all take and no give. We are not just the beneficiaries of Christ's passion; we are the on-going instruments of his sacred mission. The purpose that brought Jesus to the cross is our purpose now.
Douglas John Hall of Canada's McGill University notes that the law of Christ makes tolerance not enough: "It may be good enough, legally and politically, but it is not good enough for the one who did not say, 'Tolerate your neighbor', but rather 'Love your neighbor.'"
From the perspective of two millennia, the fact that some guy named Lazarus gets to walk around Bethany an extra twenty or thirty years is no big deal. But the fact that Jesus has conquered death for all eternity is a very big deal… the biggest deal that ever was or ever will be.
There’s no wiggle room here. This is not a suggestion or a helpful hint. It is Christ’s commandment. Nobody said it was going to be easy. Some people are harder to love than others. Start with those labeled as life’s losers: The drunks, the addicts, the hookers and the crazies. Jesus knows and loves every one of them.
Edgar Guest got it right when he said: "I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day; I'd rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way." Jesus' life was a living sermon. To know how to love one another is simply to walk in his footsteps and follow his lead.
(This sermon was delivered to a group recovering from alcohol and drug addiction.) Bill Wilson said his alcoholism was as if he was chained hand and foot to the back-wall of a very dark cave; and try as he might, he couldn't break free. But when his friend Ebby visited him – he saw his first little ray of light.
At this point Jesus had very little time left to teach his disciples. To leave the world with followers who would truly "get it" he had to demonstrate the importance of unconditional love. If the disciples didn’t love each other, how could they possibly build God’s Church? How could they possibly teach others how to love?
Sure enough, the Synoptics agree, Judas doesn’t leave until the meal is complete. But, according to John, once Judas was exposed, he left the room in a huff. Ever since then, I’ve been wondering what to do with Judas. Is there room in the kingdom of God for a traitor, a thief, an unrepentant sinner?
No bones are too dry. No grief is too deep. No stone at a tomb entrance is too heavy. God can resurrect an executed man--revive a heartbroken family--restore a dry bones community! Sometimes what we must do is to stand back, and wait for God to work.