As I loved you...

[AI translation] Let me announce right from the start that today we are holding our annual "Old and Sick Sunday" in our congregation. What this means, as you know, is that we think especially fondly of and pray for those members of our congregation who, because of illness or infirmity of advanced age, are unable to come to us. From here, from the church, we send them a letter and a bouquet of flowers as a greeting from the congregation. And to us who are here, let the Word just read be spoken! Let us try to understand from it what the Lord is warning us through the elderly or the sick around us.Somewhere on the outskirts of a big city, an old man lived in great, quiet solitude, once a prosperous tailor. He had a strikingly sad expression on his face. He worked hard as long as he could. His wife died and his daughter married. "Does your daughter ever visit you?" the pastor asked. His sad features turned bitter as the old man told him that he did not. Once, when the pastor went to see him again, he saw the old man wearing a nice new woolen coat. "Where did you get that fine coat?" said the old man. "Did she send a parcel? Well, how nice of her!" the pastor rejoiced. "Yes," said the old man, "she takes care of me, provides me with the necessities, I can't complain. There were a lot of nice things in the parcel, but...". "Well, what do you mean, but...?" urged the pastor. The old man, infinitely sad and silent, replied only: "There was no love in it."
Well, yes, that's too bad! And I am afraid that this would be the main complaint of the old and sick in our neighbourhood, if they would ever say, if they would ever tell someone, that they do not receive enough love. They may have their housing, they may have their food, they may have their clothing, they may have their medication, they may be looked after, but perhaps there is no love there. There's not enough love. And that new coat doesn't keep them warm enough, that medicine doesn't really work, even the most lavish care doesn't do much good - if there's no love in it. As the apostle Paul says: "Even if I speak with the tongues of men or of angels, ... even if I give up all my possessions ... I have no love in me, and it profits me nothing" (1 Cor 13:1-3). The most important thing you can do for them, what you must do for them, is to love them. If there is an old person or a sick person somewhere, look at them immediately as if they were your first neighbour, and you must act towards them according to the new commandment of love.
Thus Jesus said, "as I have loved you, so you also must love one another" (John 13:34). So how did He love us? First of all, Jesus loved us in a creative way. In those who are caught up in the rays of His love, something beautiful, something good, something of eternal value blossoms. Zacchaeus, for example, was despised by everyone because he was a truly vile, ragged man. Jesus was the only One who, when He looked at him, did not see in him a blackmailer, but the Son of Abraham, the heir of heavenly glory. And Zacchaeus became what Jesus saw him to be, where Jesus' love lifted him up. He brought him out of sin, into the grace of God. He made Zacchaeus fall in love with the good, the beautiful, the righteous, the pure, so that the Zacchaeus who had been a curse to others became a blessing to them. So then, "as I have loved you, so you also love one another," says Jesus. One of the greatest dangers of old age and prolonged illness is that people fall into the trap of thinking that they are no longer needed. He is a burden to those around him, he is no longer useful, he is a hindrance to everyone, he has been relegated to the stage of life. He's like an old locomotive that's been derailed. If need be, it might be used for a short trip here and there, but nobody takes it seriously any more, nobody counts on it. It is cut off from life. There are many people who can no longer cope with the crisis of this very disconnection. They can't bear it, they fall into it. If you ever heard the honest complaint of an old or sick person, you would wonder how much bitterness has accumulated in that soul.
Well, then: it is from this deathly bitter feeling of inferiority that we must extricate our brethren, see in them, make them see that their life is very necessary and not superfluous, that their presence is a blessing and a benefit, not a burden and a burden! For example, an old man has life experiences that a young man cannot have. We need their wisdom, their love, their prayers, their advice. Young people can be so cruel in what they say, like this: "You're not good enough because you're old!" Such a statement can wound someone to death. And apart from being cruel, it is not true! Because the old person might be much better at it than the young. They need them much more than people usually think. There is, for example, the problem of the generation gap: fathers and sons often live in two different worlds, with a deep gulf between them, and they are becoming increasingly distant. And how wonderful: the distance between parents and children is best bridged by old grandparents! They are closer to the little ones than parents, perhaps because old age is, as they say, a second childhood. How nice to have a grandmother or grandfather in the family! Someone who educates the child, teaches him to pray. There is someone who preserves and passes on to the future those spiritual values which parents still consider beautiful and good, but which they can no longer pass on to their children because they have no time. Oh, but the old man is not superfluous! But it is very good to have one! And an illness in the family can be a source of great blessings! The faith, prayer and sense of belonging of the whole family can be deepened around the sickbed. Love the old and the sick in such a way that they feel how much their presence in the house is not a burden, but a blessing indeed. "As I have loved you, so love one another," says Jesus.
Another feature of Jesus' love is that He never loves for anything, but always loves the person himself, the very being of the person. He does not love this or that quality, but the self. He does not love us because He finds us lovable in some way, but in spite of the fact that we are not lovable at all, He loves us. He loves us simply because He knows that we need Him to love us. Well, "as I have loved you, so you also must love one another". This is His legacy to us. Who needs to be loved more than the old and the sick? Because they have less joy than other people. Have you ever seen a summer bathing place in winter? After the season? Once upon a time, in high season, it was so lively, colourful, great, and now you hardly recognise it! The hotels are closed, the shops are quiet. There are only a few people in the streets... - Old age. The season of work, of achievement, of happy, vibrant, colourful life is over, time has passed, cold, prosaic days alternate with great monotony.
Well, when one is like this, after the season, it is just at this time that one needs more love. And look how great is the human frailty that it is to such people that people tend to show less understanding, patience and tenderness. It is not enough that life itself is more burdensome and painful for a person who is old or suffering from illness, but even those around him are more nervous and impatient. It is as if someone cannot get water because he is thirsty. It is no longer human frailty on the part of the younger and healthier, but cruelty, evil. The fact is that it is harder to love someone who is helpless, who needs care, who has a compulsive obsession. Someone who needs to be served because he cannot care for himself, who is physically disgusting, perhaps, in his illness, who is cranky, morose, full of complaints, whining, pain. So: it's harder to love such a person than, say, a small child with smiling eyes and curly ears.
But, my brethren, this is where Christianity begins! Jesus once said, "For if you love those who love you, what reward will you receive?" (Mt 5:46) In other words, if we love those who are easy to love, who are loved by everyone because they are so nice, charming, beautiful, pretty, fresh, because they are young and healthy, then that is not love! It is nothing. That is not Christianity. Well, it is in our attitude towards the old and the sick that our Christianity is tested. Here is the real, great opportunity to practice Christian love. This is where you can measure how much of the love that Jesus taught, that Jesus died for, that Jesus left you as a legacy, can be put into practice. It is here that you find out how much of a Christian you are. "As I have loved you, so love one another."
And let me mention one more feature of Jesus' love! This love is love that is truly expressed in deeds, in sacrificial acts. No one can really have any doubt whether Jesus really loves him, because he simply points to the cross of Calvary and says: "See, I did that for you!" Let our love also be a visible sign and trace! If anywhere, it is here that the Apostle John's admonition really applies: 'Little children, let us not love with words, nor with the tongue, but with deeds' (1 John 3:18). Sometimes a word is like a caress on the soul. But let us not only love with words! With a parcel, a warm meal, a heated room, medicine, a flower, a thousand little signs of kindness, while you can! Because when you can't, you'll be hurt by the neglect, you'll reproach yourself for not giving more to the poor old or sick while you still could.
On the Sunday of the old and the sick, Jesus says to us now, "as I have loved you, so love one another". What Jesus commanded, he always gives us the strength to do. You can always draw strength from his love, and then you will always have enough for love, patience, sacrifice for everyone.
Amen
Date: 12 June 1960.