Love and Hate in the Gospel of St. John

Homily for Saturday of the Fifth Week in Easter

Coming as it does immediately after the proclamation of a love commandment, this passage is like a blast of cold air. The disciples of Jesus probably still had “hosannas” ringing in their ears as Jesus tells them that the world would greet them with hatred. These are the words of one who was misunderstood, rejected, and finally killed by the Roman occupying authority at the instigation of local religious leaders. They are written by an evangelist who addresses a community of Jesus’s disciples who, decades later, would almost surely recognize their own experience in these words about being put out of synagogues and even threatened with death.

The word “world” is used here in the characteristically Johannine sense of the realm of unbelief: those who fail to recognize in Jesus Christ the word, life, and light of God. “Hate” covers a broad semantic spectrum in the New Testament, as it does in American usage today, but its meaning in this text is clearly focused and decidedly Johannine. “Hate” here refers to active hostility taking the form of persecution simply because these disciples are servants of Jesus Christ. It is the diametrical opposite of love, an example of the sharply dualistic thought characteristic of this Gospel. Jesus predicts that his disciples will face rejection bitter enough to be called hatred, just as he did. He points out that servants should not expect any better treatment than their master, a warning that includes good news: “if they kept my word, they will keep yours also.”

This commentary is written by and for persons who, with rare exception, have not been hated because they stand up for Jesus. However, there are many places in the world today where Christians are looked down upon, ostracized, and persecuted for their faith. Sadly, in today’s world Christians themselves are guilty of this kind of hatred toward certain ethnic groups in our society, people of color, and people whose sexual orientation is different than ours. It is important for us to remember that the love commandment of Jesus does not discriminate, does not reject, nor does it ostracize people who are different from ourselves. Jesus simply commands us to love one another.