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John 13:31-35 – “Love One Another as I Have Loved You”

In our lectionary passage today (John 13:31-35) we hear very familiar words of Jesus: 

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

They are familiar, but we seldom read them in context.

In John 13 we find ourselves in the Upper Room. Jesus has washed his disciples feet, Judas has just left to betray Jesus, and the final hours of Jesus’ earthly life are unfolding. John’s Gospel is deliberately and often explicitly symbolic and so when John tells us in verse 30 that it was night we can read this both literally and symbolically. Darkness is falling around Jesus. 

In the shadow of farewell, with the weight of betrayal in the air, Jesus speaks not of fear, but of love. Not of escape, but of glory. “Love one another,” he says, “as I have loved you.” Reminding us that love is only truly love when it continues in times of darkness and difficulty.  

But this commandment to love is also a new commandment – it is not just a commandment to love in a polite and distant kind of way, it is a new commandment because it is a command to love as Jesus himself has loved them.  “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

As we see across all the Gospels, this is a love that transcends ego, clinging, and condition. It is not based on the worthiness of the other, nor on shared beliefs, nor even on affection. It flows from a different source, the wellspring of a deeper divine awareness. It is the space in which Jesus lives and breathes – he lives constantly in the Divine Awareness at the centre of his being. 

And so the love Jesus commands is not so much a striving, but a recognition.  It is to see the Eternal Divine I Am in all things and in all people. It is also to see this same Eternal Divine I Am dwelling in the depths of our own hearts.  As Jesus says to the Jewish leaders who are interrogating him a few chapters before in John 10:34 “Do your own scriptures not say that you are gods” (in other words, you are Divine, Divinity dwells within you).  Like Jesus, we too have been made to be expressions of the Divine Logos, the Divine Wisdom and Love that we see in the opening verses of John’s Gospel.

Jesus commandment to love one another as he has loved us is to to discover the Divine I Am dwelling within us, that flows up like a spring of water - welling up with eternal life love (John 4:14). 

And so to love like Jesus is to see the world and other people with the eyes of Christ, the eyes of Divine Love, to see everything as an expression of the Divine Logos through which all things are created and come into being, that Divine Logos which is a light that enlightens every person coming into the world, shining upon and shining within every person even thought they may live in ignorance of it. 

To love as Jesus has loved in John’s Gospel is also to be willing to take on the role of a servant, to be willing to identify with the least and the lowest, as Jesus does at the beginning of the chapter 13,when, even though he is the host of the meal, he takes off his outer garment and bends down to wash his disciples feet, even the feet of the enemy, Judas, the one he already knows is going to betray him. 

To love as Jesus has loved in John’s Gospel is also ultimately also to be willing to suffer in the cause of love as Jesus was willing to do in his crucifixion.  In John’s Gospel the Glory of Jesus is that even in his darkest hour he does not let himself be overcome by evil, but steadfastly continues to live in the awareness of Divine Love. 

And that connects us with verse 32 which comes just before Jesus gives the disciples his new commandment when Jesus says: “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him”

What exactly does he mean when he says “Now the Son of Man has been glorified,”? 

As we have mentioned, Judas has just left. Betrayal has been set in motion. And yet, for Jesus, this is the hour of glory—not because suffering is good in itself, but because his love remains steadfast and unmoved and begins to shine brighter even in the face of betrayal. Glory, in John’s Gospel, is not splendour in the worldly sense, it is the shining forth of Divine Light through human vulnerability. It is the shining forth of Divine Love even as the depth of human darkness seems to be growing. This is the whole focus of John’s gospel: the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it – we know how this story is going to end. 

In a world where it sometimes feels like darkness is growing again, where battle-lines are being drawn, where enemies are being more clearly defined we face a choice: Do we get drawn into the darkness, allowing ourselves to be overcome by it, allowing fear, darkness and hatred to creep into our own hearts and minds, narrowing our hearts and narrowing our love, or, do we hold onto the glory of Divine Love that shines unrelenting in the face of darkness and evil. 

When darkness descends this is the time for true Divine Love to begin to shine within them. 

Note how in our passage today in verse 33 Jesus addresses his disciples as “Little children.” It is a tender phrase. Not patronising, or condescending but intimate. On the one hand it might reminds us that the spiritual journey, is a return to childlike seeing, not childishness, but the openness of one who trusts the presence of God in all things. It is perhaps also an indication that the disciples still have some spiritual growing to do. 

Jesus is leaving them, at least in physical form, but not in truth or in spirit. The whole of the Farewell Discourse of John’s Gospel from chapter 13-17 is an invitation to move into a new kind of relationship with Jesus. “I will not leave you orphaned,” he will later say. “Abide in me as I abide in you.” The spiritual path is to realise that Christ is not elsewhere, but can be discovered here and now, in the heart of the one who abides in Christ-like love. 

But what is one to make of the words that follow on in verse 33 “Where I am going, you cannot come”? It sounds a little exclusionary.  But in verse 36 we see that Jesus is speaking of a lack of readiness. “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.” (John 13:36). Where Jesus is going, is not so much a place, but rather a state of being. They may not be ready to enter fully into that state of being now, but one day they will.  They are still like children on the spiritual path. They are only just beginning to learn the path of Christ-like love.  

They may not be ready yet to truly love as Jesus loves, but the path of transformation will open to them, as they abide in Christ, as they practice his way, and as the Spirit awakens them to the Christ within.  For such love is not ours to produce. It is already present. It is the very energy of God at the heart of being. To “love as I have loved you” is to awaken to the truth that there is only One Love, and it lives in and through all.  

The Sufi poet Rumi once wrote: “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”

And so this commandment should comes to us, not as a burden, but as an invitation to live from the centre, from that place where Christ and the soul are not two, but one. As Jesus will say later in John’s Gospel – “On that day you will know that I am in you and you are in me.”  (John 14:20)

But for now, like little children who are still learning and who falter, fail and fall, like the disciples, we practice this way of Christ-like Love – and above all things we practice the art of abiding or resting in Christ for it is in abiding or resting in Christ that the fruit of Divine Love will begin to grow in our lives.  Amen.

John 10:22–30 – Dedication of the Inner Temple (Oneness with Source/Father)

Today’s Gospel reading brings us into a moment of tension and revelation. Jesus is walking in the temple during the festival of Dedication (Hanukkah),when some Jewish religious leaders surround him and ask, “If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

They want a clear, black-and-white answer. But Jesus, as he so often does in John’s Gospel, doesn’t give them what they expect. Instead, he points to something deeper, something that goes beyond words or titles. He says, “I have told you, and you do not believe... My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.”

In other words, those who are truly listening, those who are open-hearted and ‘attuned’, alert or aware, already know. They’ve seen it in his actions, they’ve felt it in his presence, they’ve recognized it in their hearts. It’s not about figuring it out in your head, it’s about hearing and responding from the heart.

And then Jesus says something truly profound: “I and the Father are one.” John 10 is not merely a debate about messiahship; it is a deeper unveiling of union, between Jesus and the Father, and ultimately, between the Divine and those who “hear his voice.” 

And so this statement is not just a theological statement about who Jesus is. It comes as an invitation to see the deeper reality of all things. John’s Gospel is full of this kind of language from the very beginning, when we’re told that the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and that Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

John isn’t just telling us stories about Jesus. In the writing of his gospel, he’s trying to open our eyes to something bigger, that God is not far away, but right here, right now. That divine presence is woven into the fabric of life. Yes, Jesus shows us the face of God, “If you have seen me you have seen the Father” (14:9). but he also shows us the true face of humanity: “Don’t your own scriptures tell you ‘You are gods’” he says to them just a few verses later in vs 34. His unity with the Father is meant to draw us into that same unity – As Jesus says in John 14:20 “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”

The mystics across many traditions, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, have spoken of this same deep truth: that underneath all our differences, there is a single divine reality, and we are all part of it. Some call it the perennial wisdom, the understanding that the heart of all spiritual paths leads to the same place: to love, to union, to the realization that we are never truly separate from God.

When Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice,” he’s not just talking about a chosen few. He’s speaking of anyone, who is willing to listen with the ears of the heart. And when he says, “No one will snatch them out of my hand,” it’s a promise of deep spiritual safety. That whatever storms we go through, whatever doubts we wrestle with, we are held. We belong. But we will not truly know these things until we listen deeply with the ears of the heart. 

In verse 26 when he says to his questioners “you do not believe because you are not my sheep”. It is important to note that this is not exclusionary; rather it is descriptive of interior disposition. To “belong” is to be attuned, to be receptive to the voice of the Shepherd, which calls from beyond our egoic thinking into presence.  At this point they are unable to respond to the One who is their true shepherd because they are not listening deeply enough with the ears of their hearts.  They are still listening to and being defined by the voice of the ego in their heads.  They do not yet know their Oneness with God. They have not yet been able to intuit this deeper truth. 

The Feast of Dedication, or Hanukkah, is not an insignificant detail in the story. It commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem around 164 BCE after it was defiled by foreign rule during the time of the Maccabean Revolt. The temple, once desecrated, was purified and rededicated to the worship of the God of Israel. In our passage today, the listeners are being invited into the deeper meaning of Hannukkah,  the cleansing of the heart and the rededication of the heart as the true inner Temple where the Divine dwells within each of us. 

So perhaps the question for us today is not, “Do we understand it all?” or “Can we explain who Jesus is?” Maybe the better question is, ‘Are we listening deeply’? Are we attuned to that still, small voice, the voice of the Good Shepherd, that calls us beyond fear and division and into deeper trust? 
At the end of our passage Jesus says, “I and the Father are one.” And in a very real way, so are we. And not just us but every human being even if this deeper truth has been obscured and hidden.  We are not alone. We are part of something greater than ours small egoic selves tell us. We are held in love, grounded in being, and if we are listening deeply, guided by the voice of the Shepherd.

In verse 28 we read these words of reassurance: “No one will snatch them out of my hand...” Here we glimpse the security of our spiritual belonging. For those who have awakened to the Divine within and beyond, there is a deep knowing that cannot be undone by external circumstance. It is the deep realisation of the divinity within us that is never separate from its Source.

And so to reflect on John 10:22–30, then, is to be invited into the heart of the Christian mystical tradition, which proclaims, that the goal of spiritual life is not belief with our heads alone, but rather a deeper union of the heart, a deeper inner knowing of the Divine from within that transforms how we see God, ourselves, and the world.

As we meditate on this Gospel passage, perhaps we can hear the voice of the Shepherd not as a voice from outside, but as the inner voice of love and truth, calling us beyond fear, beyond separation, and into the freedom and security of the One in whom we live and move and have our being.  Amen.

​Prayer - 
O Holy One, Over all, in all and through all, whom we have encountered in the face of Jesus, may we listen deeply to hear the voice of the Shepherd within, as the inner voice of love and truth, inviting us to rededicate our hearts as Temples of the Divine, calling us beyond fear, and beyond separation into a deeper knowledge of our own Oneness with you in whom we live and move and have our being and the deep inner knowing that nothing can ever snatch us away from Your hands. Amen.

"What is a Non-Subscribing Presbyterian approach to Communion?"

Friends, today as we gather around the communion table, I would like to explore a Non-Subscribing Presbyterian approach to Holy Communion, in light of our Ethos and Constitution.

Now it’s important to say from the outset that it is not easy to give a single definitive view on communion from a Non-Subscribing Presbyterian perspective. That’s not due to uncertainty or a lack of reverence, but because one of the core convictions of our church is this: the right of private judgement and individual conscience in matters of faith.

Within the Non-Subscribing Presbyterian Church of Ireland, there is room for different understandings, personal interpretations, and diverse experiences of this sacred meal. There is no single dogmatic statement that defines how each one of us must understand or approach communion.

To help us each discern for ourselves our own understandings of communion it is perhaps helpful to briefly consider how other Christian traditions view communion.

In Roman Catholicism, for instance, communion—or the Holy Mass—is seen as a literal transformation of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ (called transubstantiation). The sacrifice of christ 2000 years ago is said to be made present in the here and now under the guise of bread and wine. Outwardly the elements may look like Bread and Wine but in truth they are now the body and blood of Christ. They would say that when Jesus instituted communion at the last supper he didn’t say: “this is a symbol of my body… this is a symbol of my blood”, but rather “this is my body” “this is my blood”. Some High Anglicans hold the same view.

But for Lutherans and some other Anglicans, there is slightly different understanding - a belief in a real spiritual presence of Christ in the elements of Bread and Wine. However, the bread remains bread and the wine remains wine but they have now been infused or energised with the Real Presence of Christ.


But still other Anglicans would hold the view of the Reformer John Calvin who believed that Christ is truly present in Communion but not connected specifically to the Bread and the Wine.

Other Reformed traditions emphasize communion simply as a memorial; a remembering—a powerful reminder of Christ's death and resurrection, a symbol of grace rather than a mystical event, an act of sacred remembering.

This would also be the view of most Unitarians. A sacred remembering. But while most traditions would emphasize the atoning death of Christ, a sacrifice for sin, Unitarians would emphasize communion as a remembering of Christ’s shared love around a table and the supreme example of his life of sacrificial love.

And then the question arises: Who can receive communion?

In the Roman Catholic Church, only those who are baptised members of the Roman Catholic Church in good standing are permitted to receive Communion – only those who have been taught to recognise that the Bread and Wine are no longer just bread and wine, but are now the actual Body and Blood of Christ under the outward form of Bread and Wine. This is in part to ensure that due reverence is paid. That is why preparing for first communion is so important in the Roman Catholic Church – to ensure that children show due reverence and have a correct understanding that the bread is no longer bread and the wine is no longer wine but rather, the actual body and blood of Christ.
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Up until the ecumenical movement of the 1960’s most denominations would have had some kind of exclusionary approach to communion. Only baptised members in good standing in the denomination could receive communion. So for example only baptised Anglicans in good standing could receive communion in an Anglican Church. Only baptised Lutherans in good standing could receive in a Lutheran church. Etc... But in more recent decades that has loosened up – now many mainline Protestant churches would say you can receive communion as a visitor if you are a baptised member in good standing in your own denomination.
In many evangelical traditions there are also further restrictions; communion in Evangelical traditions also often serve as a test of worthiness, with a strong exclusionary tone—those who are not "right with God" are encouraged not to partake until they have repented or conformed to particular beliefs.

Having considered briefly how other Christian traditions might understand communion, what might a Non-Subscribing Presbyterian approach to communion be that is grounded in our ethos as enshrined in our Constitution?

Firstly, Non-Subscribers tend to focus on the teachings of Jesus over and above the teachings about Jesus. Whatever else Communion is about it should over and above everything else connect us with the teachings and the way of Jesus. If there is a conflict or discrepancy for example between the teaching of Jesus and the teaching of St Paul, our obligation is to follow Jesus.

Secondly Non-Subscribers focus on the inalienable right of private judgement—the right of each person to interpret Scripture and respond according to their own conscience. There is room for differences of opinion in understanding exactly what is happening is communion… of how Christ is present – or even not present if that is what one believes. Most non-subscribers have probably over the centuries understood Communion more along the lines of a simple memorial, but there is room in the NSPCI for those who might have a more mystical view of communion. If in Ephesians, the writer speaks Christ’s presence now filling the whole universe there is room for those who might affirm and believe that Christ is truly present in the bread and the wine. There is room for each of us to come to our own conclusions on these things. At the very least it might be said that Christ is present where two or three gather in his name and break bread to remember him. But some Unitarians who emphasize the humanity of Jesus over his divinity might question that interpretation… For unitarains it is the shared experience of love around the table that reminds us of the spirit in which Jesus lived and loved… and there is room for all of these perspectives in the NSPCI.

Thirdly Non-Subscribers have tended to emphasize the supremacy of love—both as a key attribute of God and as the mark of true discipleship (John 13:35). In this regard Non-Subscribers have tended to emphasize the boundless grace of God, as shown in the parable of the Prodigal Son – where the wayward prodigal was welcomed in and included in the celebratory meal of his return home. The older brother however has excluded himself from the celebratory meal of his brothers return and in response the Father leaves the celebratory meal to invite to urge and to encourage the older brother to join them.

Fourthly Non-Subscribers have tended to emphasize the call to do the will of God, not merely to profess faith with our lips (Matthew 7:21)… ‘You will know they are Christians, not by what they profess to believe, not by how well they know their Bible’s or how many verses they have memorised. Rather, you will know them by their love. Jesus said, “By this shall all know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)

And so these broad principles form a kind of spiritual compass for how we might approach communion—not with fear or obligation, but with love, reflection, and a deep reverence for the teachings of Christ.

We remember that Jesus welcomed all to his table: the faithful and the faltering, the confused and the confident. He broke bread with those who would soon deny him, betray him, and abandon him – Luke’s Gospel emphasizes that the hand of the betrayer was with Jesus at the table at the Last Supper. His invitation was an act of radical grace extended to all.

It is for this reason that Non-Subscribing Presbyterians as well as Methodists together with Unitarains are among the few traditions who practice what is called an Open Table. All are invited to partake without restriction whether baptised or un-baptised, whether worthy or unworthy – for both Communion is an expression of unearned grace, of God’s love freely extended to all without exceptions.

And so we believe that communion is not a reward for the righteous, but a reminder of grace for the seeking. It is not a test of doctrinal agreement, but a shared experience of Christ’s love, and a moment of spiritual nourishment. It is not a sacrament fenced off by dogma, but a shared meal open to all who seek to walk in the spirit and love of Jesus.

In the parable of the Prodigal Son, we see the heart of the God whom Jesus reveals: a God who runs to meet the lost, who rejoices over their return, who throws a feast not as a prize for perfection but as a celebration of reconciliation. The lost son has come home.

At this table, no matter who we are or whatever our understanding, we too are invited to come home. To come home to love. It is here, in bread and wine, that in remembering Jesus we enact a simple truth: we are loved, we are welcome, we belong. Amen.