Writings: Love One Another

By: Dr. Gregory S. Neal

How hard could it be? Jesus lays out his commandment in clear, unmistakable, easy to translate terms. He gives us his commandment using the imperative grammatical case, and then ensures against any possible ambiguity by actually calling it his “commandment.” What could be simpler? It’s not complex or mysterious. We don’t have to go to great leaps and bounds to accomplish it; we don’t have to ponder its meaning, untangle convoluted lines of reasoning, or uncscrute the inscrutable mysteries of spirituality. It’s really very simple:

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)

In case you missed it, Jesus repeats his commandment four times: John 13:34 and 13:35, here at John 15:12, and again at John 15:17. And, as if that’s not enough, the Apostle Paul quotes him twice: at Romans 12:10 and 1st Thessalonians 3:12. Peter references it in 1st Peter 1:22. And John, reflecting back upon Jesus’ words, makes either direct or indirect reference to it no less than six times in his letters: 1st John 3:11, 3:12, 3:23, 4:7, 4:11, 4:12, and 2nd John 5. Indeed, I believe that this single commandment from Jesus is directly quoted more times by Biblical authors than any other statement that Jesus made. And that’s just in direct-wording references; there are nearly a hundred other Biblical applications and paraphrases of this commandment, including perhaps the most famous, coming directly from Jesus in the synoptic Gospels:

“Love the Lord your God … and love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39, Luke 10:27, Mark 12:30-31)

That makes this pretty important. So, why don’t we live it? Why do we not do it? Or do we?

Christians are often accused of not being very loving. If you’re on social media, it’s not uncommon to see all sorts of memes describing many of the negative aspects of Christian behavior, including one that I saw this week, misquoting a famous Christian hymn:

“They will know we are Christians by our hate.”

When I see things like this, and I understand why they get said, I mourn for us and for when we do or say things that cause this kind of horrible reflection. We are called to love, not hate. We are called to share God’s grace, not judgment. We are called to have faith, and to point others to Christ and his love. It’s not an option; it’s Christ’s commandment.

My mother is a list-maker. She loves to jot down lists of things to do, things to buy, and things to remember; grocery lists, shopping lists, chores lists, medicine lists … the possible candidates for her lists are almost endless. And this isn’t something that she only recently started doing to help her with her memory: she was a list-maker long before I was born. When I was growing up, her lists could be found all around the house; indeed, I had a to-do list taped to the inside of my bedroom door most weekend mornings, detailing my chores for the day; I can’t count the number of times it included “Clean your room” in dark, heavy, all-caps lettering.

Mom’s penchant for lists inspired me to make a list of the reasons why I love The United Methodist Church. People sometimes ask me: “Why are you a Methodist? With all the disagreements that our denomination is going through, why do you remain a Methodist?” So, I thought I’d follow my mother’s example and make a list. These are not in any order of importance, they’re just as they came to me.

UMCOR – “The United Methodist Committee on Relief” is responsible for organizing and providing humanitarian assistance to people all around the world. When hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, war, and other calamities strikes, UMCOR leaps into action to help people with immediate needs. The good that UMCOR does is beyond measure and is one of the best missions of our denomination. In many ways, UMCOR is an active example of how we fulfill Christ’s commandment “to love one another.”

Grace – Methodists tend to focus far more on the grace of God rather than on judgment and wrath. Rather than trying to scare people into salvation, we believe in loving them into a relationship with Christ. This is another way that we fulfill Christ’s commandment “to love one another.”

Liberty in Styles of worship – Many denominations have highly structured orders of worship which must be followed. The UMC also has formal liturgies, outlined in our Book of Worship and Hymnal; however, we have the liberty to adapt them to the needs and conditions of the place and time. While we follow well-defined liturgies in our church, we have the freedom to adjust them as the need arises. This liberty in worship styles is yet another way in which we fulfill Christ’s commandment “to love one another.”

The Wesleyan Quadrilateral – John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, had a structured approach to thinking and talking about God that was rooted in scripture, supplemented and interpreted through tradition, informed by experience, and articulated through reason. This nuanced approach to doing Christian theology, inclusive of so many views and approaches, is a dynamic way in which we fulfill Christ’s commandment “to love one another.”

Freedom of Thought – Methodists don’t all have to believe the same way about the fine points of faith, so long as we all love Jesus Christ. We can have many different opinions on many different matters, and so long as our focus is on God’s grace and faith in Jesus, we are fine. John Wesley famously said: “If your heart is as my heart [in love and loyalty to Jesus Christ] give me your hand.” This is another way in which we fulfill Christ’s commandment “to love one another.”

Church Government – The United Methodist Church is a representative democracy in which our congregations, clergy, and lay leadership all have a say in how the church is governed. Rather than having everything dictated from “on high,” we all get a vote at multiple levels in the life of the Church: in the various committees, like Finance, Trustees, Staff Parish, and Nominations; in Church Councils, Church Conferences, Charge Conferences, District Conferences, Annual Conferences, Jurisdictional Conferences, and General Conferences, we all have a say at some point in the process. By including all, we fulfill Christ’s commandment “to love one another.”

An Open Table – In The United Methodist Church the sacrament of Holy Communion is open to all people: not just to members, not just to those who are “in agreement,” not just to the “holy and the perfect” among us … good thing, or none of us would ever get to partake. Methodists practice an open table at Holy Communion because it is not our table, or a Methodist table, it is our Lord’s table of grace. In welcoming all, we fulfill Christ’s commandment “to love one another.”
Infant Baptism – Many other denominations – both catholic and protestant – practice infant baptism; in that, we are not unique, but are part of the larger body of Christ. Methodists practice infant baptism as an expression of God’s prevenient grace … of God’s love and favor that goes before any and every affirmation of faith. God’s love is offered, freely, to all, and in this way, we fulfill Christ’s commandment “to love one another.”

The United Methodist Women – This organization within the church is one of the most important parts of any congregation. The United Methodist Women are the saints who get everything done; without women, the church wouldn’t exist. Without the UMW, teaching and leading in mission and outreach, education and spiritual formation, the church would be dead. Through the ministries of the UMW, we fulfill Christ’s commandment “to love one another.”

65 years of Women’s Ordination – Yes, it was in 1956 that the Methodist Church ordained its first woman with full clergy rights. True, from the very beginning women have been deeply involved in the ministries of the Methodist movement; women had long been licensed to preach and teach, consecrated as deaconesses and missionaries, and ordained as Deacons, but it wasn’t until 1956 that women were granted full clergy right when the Reverend Maude Jensen was ordained as the first woman Elder. It didn’t end there: in 1980 the Reverend Marjorie Matthews was consecrated as the first woman Bishop of any church, anywhere, and four years later the first African American Woman Bishop, the Reverend Leontine Kelly, was consecrated. By including women at all levels of leadership within the church, we fulfill Christ’s commandment “to love one another.”

There’s a Method to our Spiritual Life – For Methodists, the spiritual life isn’t some haphazard, make-it-up-as-you-go-along, idea; our spiritual disciplines are rooted in the historic practices of the Christian faith, reaching back into the church’s deepest antiquity, informing our growth as Christians. The methods defined by the means of grace: prayer, the reading of scripture, worship, service, giving, the sacraments, all inform and empower our spiritual growth. In using them, we fulfill Christ’s commandment “to love one another.”

We believe that God truly does change lives – Methodists believe in sanctification: we believe that God’s grace so moves through us that we cannot help but be changed into greater and greater likenesses of Christ, enabling us to “love one another.” We know that, by our own abilities, we will never be perfect; however, we believe that Jesus is always moving us on toward perfection in God’s love. And, in cooperating with God’s sanctifying grace, we full Christ’s commandment to “love one another.”

One of the most important reasons why I am a United Methodist is that we make a concerted, dedicated, faithful attempt at living out Christ’s commandment in our lives. We don’t always follow it perfectly; we make many mistakes; but, when we do, we repent and do, truly and honestly, try to “love one another.”

© 2021 Dr. Gregory S. Neal
All Rights Reserved