All You Need Is Love

By Rev. A. C. Brock

John 13:1-17, 31-35

Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already decided that Judas son of Simon Iscariot would betray Jesus. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from supper, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had reclined again, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, slaves are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them…

When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

In July of 1967, at a time when individual songs were commonly released, the Beatles released their song “All You Need Is Love.” The group was asked to provide a song with a simple message that could be understood by everyone. Brian Epstein, their manager at the time, said, “It was an inspired song, and they really wanted to give the world a message. The nice thing about it is that it cannot be misinterpreted. It is a clear message saying that love is everything.” 

The chorus is very simple and repeats the line, “All you need is love,” over and over. 

While All You Need Is Love is not a “religious” song, it carries a similar message and, in many ways, offers an ultra-condensed version of what Jesus was saying to the disciples. If you want to be one of my followers, I only ask that you show love to others. They won’t know me because of the job you have, the amount of money in your bank account, the house you live in, or any of the other things people often value, but only by the love you show to someone else. 

We don’t have to look very far or for very long to see people longing to be loved. Maybe it’s the person holding a sign who simply wants to be noticed, the teacher who feels worn down by the demands of the job and needs someone to show appreciation, or the cashier at the local store working three part-time jobs just to get by. 

All you need is love—but not just any love. It’s a love rooted in the love that Christ has for each of us—a love that looks at someone and says, “You, my child, are not defined by what you have or don’t have, where you live, your education, what others think of you, or even what you sometimes think of yourself. You are defined by one thing: you are a beloved child of God!” 

Let us live with that kind of love—a love that reminds us that you and I are beloved children of God. 

Reflection Prompt: Where in your daily life can you intentionally show someone the kind of love that reflects Christ’s love for you?