Commentary on the Gospel of
Loving Until It Hurts
Read:
The missionary passion of Paul and Barnabas brings the gospel to wider regions, especially to the non-Jews. John sees God pitching his tent amidst human beings to wipe away tears from their eyes and make everything new. Jesus gives the “new commandment.”
Reflect:
What is so new about the “new commandment?” In essence, it does not seem different from the “old.” Deut. 6:4 spoke of loving God with one’s entire being and Lev 19:18 spoke of loving one’s neighbor as oneself; and Jesus reaffirmed them as the “great commandment” (cf. Mt. 22:37-40). Yet, the “new commandment” is definitely new in terms of its model, scope, and semiotic value: We shall do this loving as Jesus has done – “Just as I have loved you, you must….” If, in the Leviticus the “neighbor” applied tribalistically to members of one’s own group, here Jesus leaves it open-ended, to include even our enemies (cf. Mt. 5:44; Lk 10: 25-37). Finally, love of such scope modelled after Jesus shall be the sign by which the world would know a Christian.
Pray:
Pray for the grace to love until it hurts, as recommended St. Teresa of Kolkata.
Act:
Reach out and mend a broken relationship today.
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5th Sunday of Easter - "Love one another, as I have loved you".
As we listen to the Word of God it becomes denser and more overwhelming and creates a space of silence and examination. "If we love one another. "We have to listen to the words of Jesus carefully, and let his voice fill us. "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you" (Jn.13,34).
The Lord wants to tell us what we need: "love", because love is a law in our nature; it is the law written in the heart.
For he who does not love, not only fails to keep a commandment, but he does not live, he is dead. We are a vegetable, a parasite in society.
"In the evening of life you will be examined for love" (St. John of the Cross). If we reflect a little, it is true that nothing is as demanding and as new as love, because we have to be new every day. The novelty is: "to love each other as God has loved us", that is what is new, because to love like Jesus seems to be an unrealistic utopia. But in the Eucharist we have the community of "lovers" of the brethren. Christ's love is universal, without limits: "even to our enemies".the great ideal of evangelical brotherhood must be realised daily in our real and concrete existence.Christianity is not a theory of love, but a way of living for the person next to us.the passage of the Good Samaritan makes this clear to us. The Lord did not want his own to be admired as wise or gifted, nor for the honours they might receive, but only for the sake of love.
We must ask ourselves, to what extent is love our sign?
Let us keep in mind the testimony of the first Christians who, when they saw them, said: "See how they love each other! And because we all want our lives to have meaning, this is only possible if we "love".
(Psalm 144) I will bless your name for ever and ever, my God, my King.
HAPPY SUNDAY TO ALL.
