In today’s gospel from John 15:12, Jesus says;”This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.”
It seems to me that there are two important aspects to what Jesus is saying. First is that he loves us ! His love is unconditional and everlasting! He showed us this on the cross as he died for our sins. What greater love is there than this ! This love is so powerful that it can change even the hardest of hearts. Look at how he loved the woman caught in adultery or his persecutors as he hung on the cross. He even looked lovingly at Peter as he denied knowing him three times. How many times do I deny him in my daily routine, yet he still loves me.
The second aspect of Jesus commandment however is the hardest, love one another. He doesn’t just love us, but he expects us to do the same. Loving the way Jesus loves is hard. It means putting the need of others ahead of our own especially when it hurts to do so. It means loving those who look different than ourselves or those who have hurt us deeply.
So let us take Jesus words to heart and remove those barriers that divide us and those rivalries that separate us !
DeColores, Deacon Doug