5th sunday of Easter love others as Jesus loved us
Love one another as I have loved you!
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
Shortly before Jesus is arrested, on the night before he was killed, Jesus tells his disciples a new commandment, “Love one another as I have loved you.” Just take three things from this beautiful sentence-
1. The commandment,
2. The condition of the commandment, and
3. The outcome of the commandment.
1. The Commandment. This is Jesus’ last message, his last words, and the last important instruction for us. This is what we are supposed to do: love one another. There is no doubt no loops but, He says, “This is a new commandment I give you: Love one another.” That’s that. This is the job description for the rest of our lives. This is the work before us.
A farmer grew award-winning corn. Each year he entered his corn in the state fair where it won a blue ribbon. One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbors. “How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?” the reporter asked. “Why sir,” said the farmer, “didn’t you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn.” He is very much aware of the connectedness of life. His corn cannot improve unless his neighbor’s corn also improves.
2. The second thing to notice is that there is a condition to the commandment. The key to the commandment to love one another is the phrase “as I have loved you.” We have to love as Jesus loved. It may find easy to love but difficult to love as Jesus loved.
How did Jesus love?
Jesus allowed himself to be moved with pity and compassion when he encountered those in need. Many miracles performed by Jesus in the Gospels are preceded with the observation of Jesus being moved with pity. Jesus allowed himself to be moved to tears in the midst of sadness. He openly shed tears at the tomb of Lazarus. He shed tears over the city of Jerusalem. We may not be able to perform such miracles; however we can open our hearts, our minds and out treasure to help those in need. We can allow ourselves to feel fully the angst of those in need and respond. That is how to love. That is how Jesus loved.
Jesus loved by serving others, by helping others and by healing others.
Jesus did not condemn, but he also did not condone. This is exemplified in his words to the woman caught in the act of adultery -- Then neither do I condemn you, BUT go and sin no more. To love someone who has sinned is not to condemn them, but rather it is to forgive them and challenge them in a constructive, concrete way. Love seeks to heal, to build up, to challenge and to inspire. That is how to love. That is how Jesus loved.
Jesus sacrificed his life for us out of love. The sacrifice of life out of the love of others still occurs today; Parents greatly sacrifice for their children. Spouses sacrifice for each other, Priests, ministers, and religious brothers and sisters make sacrifices in the living out of their ministerial lives. To love is oftentimes to sacrifice. Love without sacrifice is no-Love. That is how Jesus loved.
How can we love like this? Where will we get the power to love Jesus in others in this way? In a letter to the people of Albania on 28th April 1997 Mother Teresa gives the key to being able to see Jesus in others. It’s a prayer. She wrote,
“To be able to love one another, we must pray much, for prayer gives a clean heart and a clean heart can see God in our neighbor. If now we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten how to see God in one another. If each person saw God in his neighbor, do you think we would need guns and bombs?”
We do not think every time we are talking to someone, “Jesus is in that person.”
In the lovely book, Chicken Soup for the Soul, there's a story about a man who came out of his office one Christmas morning and found a little boy from a nearby project looking with great admiration at the man’s new vehicle. The little boy asked, "Does this car belong to you?" And the man said, "Yes, in fact my brother gave it to me for Christmas. I've just gotten it." With that, the little boy's eyes widened. He said, "You mean to say that somebody gave it to you? And you didn't have to pay anything for it?" And the man said, "That's right. My brother gave it to me as a gift." With that the little boy let out a long sigh and said, "Boy, I would really like..." And the man fully expected the boy to say, "I would like to have a brother like that, who would give me such a beautiful car," but instead the man was amazed when the little boy said, "Wow! I would like to be that kind of brother. I wish I could give that kind of car to my little brother." Somehow that child understood the secret of Jesus' new commandment of love:” Love one another as I have loved you.” True love consists not in "getting" something from the lover, but in "giving" something to the loved one. "Wow! I would like to be that kind of brother.”
To love is to make oneself a gift for others and to receive others as a gift. That’s love and that’s how Jesus Loved.
3. Finally, notice the outcome of the commandment: “If you love one another as I have loved you, then you will be my disciples and everyone will know that you are my disciples.”
They would be known, not by the sign of the fish, or even of the cross, but by their mutual love, the fruit of their conversion. The depth, breadth, and force of the love we extend to others are the only tools with which we can measure the faithfulness of our actions and institutions. If I do not love, if I do not experience love, my life remains an enigma to me and empty of meaning. Love alone makes life worthwhile. Let us love each other as Jesus loved us.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
Shortly before Jesus is arrested, on the night before he was killed, Jesus tells his disciples a new commandment, “Love one another as I have loved you.” Just take three things from this beautiful sentence-
1. The commandment,
2. The condition of the commandment, and
3. The outcome of the commandment.
1. The Commandment. This is Jesus’ last message, his last words, and the last important instruction for us. This is what we are supposed to do: love one another. There is no doubt no loops but, He says, “This is a new commandment I give you: Love one another.” That’s that. This is the job description for the rest of our lives. This is the work before us.
A farmer grew award-winning corn. Each year he entered his corn in the state fair where it won a blue ribbon. One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbors. “How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?” the reporter asked. “Why sir,” said the farmer, “didn’t you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn.” He is very much aware of the connectedness of life. His corn cannot improve unless his neighbor’s corn also improves.
2. The second thing to notice is that there is a condition to the commandment. The key to the commandment to love one another is the phrase “as I have loved you.” We have to love as Jesus loved. It may find easy to love but difficult to love as Jesus loved.
How did Jesus love?
Jesus allowed himself to be moved with pity and compassion when he encountered those in need. Many miracles performed by Jesus in the Gospels are preceded with the observation of Jesus being moved with pity. Jesus allowed himself to be moved to tears in the midst of sadness. He openly shed tears at the tomb of Lazarus. He shed tears over the city of Jerusalem. We may not be able to perform such miracles; however we can open our hearts, our minds and out treasure to help those in need. We can allow ourselves to feel fully the angst of those in need and respond. That is how to love. That is how Jesus loved.
Jesus loved by serving others, by helping others and by healing others.
Jesus did not condemn, but he also did not condone. This is exemplified in his words to the woman caught in the act of adultery -- Then neither do I condemn you, BUT go and sin no more. To love someone who has sinned is not to condemn them, but rather it is to forgive them and challenge them in a constructive, concrete way. Love seeks to heal, to build up, to challenge and to inspire. That is how to love. That is how Jesus loved.
Jesus sacrificed his life for us out of love. The sacrifice of life out of the love of others still occurs today; Parents greatly sacrifice for their children. Spouses sacrifice for each other, Priests, ministers, and religious brothers and sisters make sacrifices in the living out of their ministerial lives. To love is oftentimes to sacrifice. Love without sacrifice is no-Love. That is how Jesus loved.
How can we love like this? Where will we get the power to love Jesus in others in this way? In a letter to the people of Albania on 28th April 1997 Mother Teresa gives the key to being able to see Jesus in others. It’s a prayer. She wrote,
“To be able to love one another, we must pray much, for prayer gives a clean heart and a clean heart can see God in our neighbor. If now we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten how to see God in one another. If each person saw God in his neighbor, do you think we would need guns and bombs?”
We do not think every time we are talking to someone, “Jesus is in that person.”
In the lovely book, Chicken Soup for the Soul, there's a story about a man who came out of his office one Christmas morning and found a little boy from a nearby project looking with great admiration at the man’s new vehicle. The little boy asked, "Does this car belong to you?" And the man said, "Yes, in fact my brother gave it to me for Christmas. I've just gotten it." With that, the little boy's eyes widened. He said, "You mean to say that somebody gave it to you? And you didn't have to pay anything for it?" And the man said, "That's right. My brother gave it to me as a gift." With that the little boy let out a long sigh and said, "Boy, I would really like..." And the man fully expected the boy to say, "I would like to have a brother like that, who would give me such a beautiful car," but instead the man was amazed when the little boy said, "Wow! I would like to be that kind of brother. I wish I could give that kind of car to my little brother." Somehow that child understood the secret of Jesus' new commandment of love:” Love one another as I have loved you.” True love consists not in "getting" something from the lover, but in "giving" something to the loved one. "Wow! I would like to be that kind of brother.”
To love is to make oneself a gift for others and to receive others as a gift. That’s love and that’s how Jesus Loved.
3. Finally, notice the outcome of the commandment: “If you love one another as I have loved you, then you will be my disciples and everyone will know that you are my disciples.”
They would be known, not by the sign of the fish, or even of the cross, but by their mutual love, the fruit of their conversion. The depth, breadth, and force of the love we extend to others are the only tools with which we can measure the faithfulness of our actions and institutions. If I do not love, if I do not experience love, my life remains an enigma to me and empty of meaning. Love alone makes life worthwhile. Let us love each other as Jesus loved us.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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