You can identify college alumni by their t-shirts and hats, bearing the name or mascot of their alma mater. You can often identify active military personnel by their uniforms or haircuts. You can identify members of service organizations by their pins or sashes. You can identify members of certain religious groups by particular necklaces, collars, hats, robes or other traditional clothing.

If you asked most people what would be the appropriate way to identify a Christian, they'd probably mention something like what I've just listed --- an article of clothing, an accessory or a pattern of public religious observance. They wear a cross, or they go to church most Sundays.

Jesus is very specific about what should be the mark of a Christian. "I give you a new commandment," he says in today's Gospel reading. "Love one another. As I have loved you, you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

Notice what Jesus doesn't mention as hallmarks of true Christians. He doesn't say that "all will know you are my disciples by your political views." He doesn't say that "the world will know you are faithful to me by what you wear or by your attendance at religious events." He doesn't say that "your faith will be made clear by what you say you believe about me."

Jesus does say we will be known to be Christians by our actions --- specifically, our love for one another.

This is a good time to ask just what our Christian communities are known for. Are we known for our love? Hopefully we are. Many, I suspect, are known for other things --- not necessarily bad things --- but not the one thing that Jesus says will point people to him.

There are a myriad of good and important things that churches and the Christians who build them should be concerned about. We should be concerned about morality. We should be concerned about education. We should be concerned about the church budget. We should be concerned about the programs, clubs, guilds and other organizations that do so much good work. But if we lose sight of the "new commandment" Jesus gives us, we risk losing the core component to our faith.

Jesus' new commandment is something that is impossible for you and I do alone. Loving one another is the act of a community, not an individual. That is just what Jesus calls us to be --- his body united, not a loosely affiliated collection of independent agents.

I don't know about you, but I prefer the anonymity and independence of being an individual. Making a commitment to a community means letting others have a claim on my life, my resources, my choices. But that is what Jesus calls us to be. It would appear from today's Gospel readings that while there are many things we can do alone, following Jesus Christ is not one of them.

Jesus loved us at great sacrifice. He calls us to love one another in the same fashion. He doesn't say it will be easy, and certainly it isn't. It would be easy to love one another if we were all perfect, agreed on everything, and had all the resources we needed to meet everyone's needs.

But Jesus asks us to love one another even in a very imperfect world. If we can do this, even a little, we may just find that we all are able to experience and demonstrate what Christianity is truly all about.

Bill Peatman writes from Napa.