Wingham United Church

May 10, 2026

Love Divine

1 Peter 3:13-17

John 14:15-21

     Our gospel reading this week picks up where we left off last week, a continuation of Jesus’ Farewell Discourse, delivered to his disciples the night before he was arrested and killed. Jesus knows this is his last chance to share his message with his closest followers, so he naturally focuses on the most important aspects of his ministry and, subsequently, the most important aspects of our lives.

     In the verses we looked at last week, Jesus tries to assure his disciples that, if they just believe and trust in him and in God, everything will be alright. In spite of any hardships and struggles they might encounter in this life, Jesus will provide them with all they need to overcome them and then promises something so much better in the life to come.

     In these next verses, now that Peter, Thomas and Philip have stopped interrupting, Jesus gets back to the core message. These few verses make up kind of a sandwich of lessons. In the middle, you have his promise that they will not be alone – ever. When he is gone, an Advocate will come to them in his place. This Advocate is the Holy Spirit.

He adds to this a promise that they will see him again. And without those post-resurrection appearances that he foretells, it’s hard to say where Christ’s ministry might have gone. It is their encounters with the Risen Christ that provides the spark that ignites the disciples’ passion to continue on with the mission Christ has given them. Like many theologians, I firmly believe that without the resurrection, Christianity would have died at the cross. But, when his disciples see him alive after they had witnessed his death, they know beyond a shadow of a doubt that all he has told them about himself and God is true.  That is, perhaps, the meat in our sandwich.

     But the bread of this message, the part that wraps it all together is about love. He begins with “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Then he tells them that those who keep his commandments are those who love him, and in turn, love God and will be loved in return.

     It’s important here to remember that Jesus began this whole conversation with a new commandment, that his followers love one another as he has loved them. And, of course, we can never forget that, when asked, Jesus stated that the most important commandment was to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your strength, all your soul, and all your mind, and love your neighbour as yourself.

     So, if we put this all together, along with many other teachings, in fact, just about everything Jesus ever did or said, we come up with one inescapable conclusion. As followers of Christ, we have but one task to fulfill. Love. Just love.

     It sounds so easy, yet we know that it comes with some pretty big challenges. One of the most disturbing things I witness is how quickly self-proclaimed Christians turn to hate. It isn’t enough that people believe in Jesus, but if someone disagrees with even the slightest aspect of their faith, the Great Commandment goes right out the window. They respond with shouts, protests, violence, and condemnation, and when you add in the relative anonymity of social media, it gets even worse.

     Now I am all for standing up for your principles, but this is out of hand, and definitely NOT Christ’s way. Peter must have also seen these tendencies two thousand years ago because he wrote this advice in his letter: “And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way.” (1 Peter 3:15-16, NLT) Stand up for what you believe but do so with gentleness and respect.

Somewhere along the line, the church forgot that, as have far too many Christians. For centuries, the church has attempted to force people to believe its doctrine, and we ended up with tragedies like the Indian Residential School system and a society that largely distrusts the church because of this hypocrisy.

     So, what can we do about it now. Hundreds of years of harm cannot be undone. Any attempt to discourage hatred and bigotry from social media is condemned as an attack on people’s freedom of speech. What can we do to restore love in a world that seems to prefer confrontation?

     I think we must start small. I can’t fix Facebook or Instagram, but I can control what I post, which isn’t much. I can’t force people to be kind, but I can change how I treat people, especially people with whom I don’t agree. As Peter said, be prepared to defend your point of view with gentleness and respect.

     I think, though, that this goes even further. Just treat everyone you meet with gentleness and respect. Start with that, and the rest gets easier. A smile and a friendly “Hi! How are you today?” can make a tremendous difference in your day and that of the person you greet. And when everyone is in a good mood, we naturally tend to be gentler and more respectful. Mother Teresa urged us to spread love everywhere we go.

     Will you change the world? Not all of it. But you can change one small corner of it, and that could be quite an accomplishment. Mother Teresa went on to say something that is especially appropriate for this day, whether you call it Mother’s Day or Christian Family Sunday. When she said to spread love everywhere you go, she went on to say, “First of all in your own house. Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next-door neighbour” That would seem like a good place to start.

     How much unhappiness, strife, and even divorce could be avoided if we just learned to share our love with those closest to us, and to sort out our differences with gentleness and respect? Oddly, this can prove more difficult than doing the same with relative strangers. We spend a lot of time with those who live under the same roof. Their odd habits can get under our skin, and it is easy to take them for granted. We do our best to love our neighbour all day and maintain a certain level of professionalism in our workplace, then when we get home, we relax and let down our guard, then blow up at those closest to us.

     It's hard to be loving, gentle, and kind all the time. Stress builds and we need an outlet. We need to find ways of letting that go while still treating everyone in our lives with gentleness and respect, even when we are angry, or hurt, or exhausted. It isn’t easy, but I’m trying. I’m trying hard, and I’m getting better. I do practice what I preach, but I still need a lot more practice.

     But this is our great challenge if we want to call ourselves Christian. We need to learn to love better; to be kind to everyone, all the time.

     I think that is why Jesus created this sandwich of lessons, with the promise of the Holy Spirit wrapped in his command to love him and each other. We need the Spirit’s help with this, and it is through love that we can know the Spirit. When we start small, and ask for help, Jesus promises that he will be there to give us the support and guidance that we need. All we need to do is ask and obey his commandment to love one another as he loves us.

Rev. Colin Snyder, MDiv