6th Sunday of Easter                           

John 15:9-17

As the Creator has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept God’s commandments and abide in God’s love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that God will give you whatever you ask in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

Municipal Court

I have a confession to make. For a little more than a year, I have been driving without car insurance. I wasn’t doing it on purpose; I didn’t get my renewal notice, so I didn’t know that it had expired. I would never do that on purpose; I am way too paranoid, and ever since I was a kid, I’ve been afraid of breaking the rules. But, the fact of the matter was, I didn’t have any car insurance. So, I got a ticket. And, on Wednesday, I had to show up at municipal court for the first time in my life.

I honestly didn’t know what to expect. It wasn’t something that I ever thought about, it wasn’t something that I’ve ever talked about with anyone, I didn’t know people who spent a lot of time there, I think… I guess I just thought that the people who would show up that morning would be a sort of an average cross-section of the citizens of Helena? You know, people like me who had unintentionally made some kind of little mistake and had to explain to a judge what happened. I wasn’t expecting it to be a big deal.

And, it wasn’t a big deal, at least for me. But, as I sat in the waiting room and looked at all of the people who had to show up to court that morning, I realized that it was very much nota cross-section of the people of Helena. There was maybe a dozen of us, I think, and as far as I could tell, there was a reason why each and every single person that was there was in that room. And, I’m not talking about the law that they broke or the warrant for their arrest. I’m talking about the deeper reasons. The existential reasons.

 Every single person in that room either had a mental disorder or was neurodivergent, had some kind of addiction, was out of a job, living out of a hotel, there was something that was preventing them from living up to the standards that society had set for them. And, I think I have to include myself on that list, because I’m sure that my ADHD played some part in why I was driving around without car insurance.

Everyone in that room needed help in some way, shape, or form. But, instead of receiving help, we were all being punished for the things that made our lives more difficult than the average person. As I sat there, looking at my fellow municipal court attendees, I started to wonder if this is what God wanted me to see, that morning. Maybe that was real reason why I got the ticket. This was a part of American life, American society, that I had absolutely zero experience with. To be completely honest, I don’t even think I knew that municipal court existed before this week. I think God wanted me to be in that room on Wednesday morning. God wanted me to have just a peek behind the curtain, to see some of the struggles that the people in our community have to face every day. These are people that we pass by on the street, people who shop in the same grocery stores that we do, people who drink coffee and walk their dogs. Municipal court is how we treat people who are already down on their luck. The people who can afford it the least. Surely, there has to be a better way. Surely, we can love each other better than that, like Jesus tells us to do, in our gospel reading today.

There’s a repetitive quality to the gospel of John, as if the writer wasn’t sure that the audience would understand what they were trying to say the first time through:

• As the Creator loved me, so I have loved you, abide in my love.
• You will abide in my love, just as I abide in God’s love.
• I have said these things so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
• Love one another as I have loved you.
• No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
• I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

These are just variations and permutations of the two great commandments: Love God, and Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. But, why the repetition? Why does Jesus have to keep saying the same thing over and over again?

The mystery of Jesus’ great love for us cannot be said in one sentence. It’s too big, and there are divine and infinite aspects to it that we can never really understand. But, with each repetition, with each explanation, there is more nuance. With each sentence, another layer is peeled back, showing us who Jesus is.

But, just as Jesus’ love is many-layered, the reason for the repetition is also many-layered. We’ve seen in many different stories throughout the gospels about Jesus and the disciples when the disciples just don’t understand what Jesus is trying to say. He tells them over and over and over again. Love each other. Love each other. Love each other. And, then they ask, “Well, what about this? What about this?” They ask about corner cases, and unlikely scenarios, and “Do I really have to love this person? Do I really have to love this person if this is what they’ve done?”

And, Jesus’ answer is always the same. Love each other. Love each other. Love each other.

We need the repetition. We don’t want to do it! We don’t want to love each other! We want to hold on to our righteous anger! We want to punish people for the wrongs that they’ve done. We want justice. We want fairness. We want to balance the scales. It doesn’t matter that threat of punishment isn’t the best deterrent; if someone is trying to get away with something, it’s usually because they think they can get away with it. I remember as a little kid, I would never do my homework. It didn’t matter how severe the punishment might be, because that was problem for “later” Charles. “Right now” Charles wanted to play.

And, the punishment almost never undoes the wrong that was done. Look at what’s happening in Gaza right now. There is righteous anger on both sides. Both sides want vengeance, both sides want to balance the scales. But, an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. Imagine what would happen if everyone decided “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” was the better way.

Municipal court was definitely not a happy place, but it could have been worse. The bailiff seemed to be a nice enough guy, and I could tell the judge had a kind heart. The woman who was called up right before me was there for the same reason that I was: she had a ticket for driving without insurance. But, unlike me, it was her third ticket. And, her registration had expired. And, her license had been revoked. Her charges came with jail time. I don’t remember exactly the maximum amount of jail time she could be sentenced for what she was being charged with, but it was a few months. The judge reduced it to ten days of house arrest, which apparently has to be paid for by the person under house arrest, but at least you can work, unlike when you go to jail.

I could tell that the judge was doing everything in her power, within the constraints of her job, to be kind to the people who came before her. She reduced fines and sentences as much as she could. She was polite, and she listened. She was doing her best to bring love and light into a situation that I’m sure is scary, or overwhelming, or even crushing for a lot of people. She’s working within the system to do what she can to bring God’s love to the downtrodden of Helena.

I don’t know what the solution is. I didn’t even know about municipal court until this week. But, I know we can do better. As a society, I know we can do better.

This is why Jesus has to tell us over and over and over again to love each other. We still haven’t figured it out. So, let’s figure it out. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Be kind to your neighbors, especially the ones who need it the most. Listen to people. Try to understand where they’re coming from, instead of jumping to conclusions. Call and write to your representatives, and tell them that you want peace in the world. Talk to someone if they look scared or lonely. Be the face of Jesus for the world. Amen.

~ Rev. Charles Wei