Acts 14:21-27/ Ps.145: / Rev. 21:1-5/ John. 13:31-33a, 34-35
Fr. Daniel Evbotokhai
Love as He has loved us
All the readings today present us with the theme “Newness”. What is new? In the first reading, it is the new communities founded by Paul and Barnabas. In the Second reading, it is the new world that will be free from tears and sorrows – the heavenly Jerusalem. In the gospel, it is the new commandment. Jesus says “..love one another. Just as I have loved you…” Love is the new commandment and the newness consists in loving one another “as I have loved you”. If new communities must emerge we must begin to love, if this church must grow in number and spirit, we must begin to love. If we must participate in the new world and enjoy all its promises we must love. Lastly, if we must prove ourselves as worthy disciples we must love. Therefore, we shall be talking about creating the new order through the power of Christ’s love.
Jesus says in John13:34 “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” In Matt. 22:38 and Mark 12:31 Jesus says Love your neighbor as yourself. But in John’s gospel Jesus says love one another as I have loved you. Perhaps John knew that there are those who don’t even love themselves. Therefore, love of themselves is not a model for loving another. Suicide bombers, drug addicts, envious minds, unforgiving hearts, do not love themselves. Their kind of love is not a paradigm and so Jesus leaves us with a model, he says “love your neighbour as I have loved you.” How has he loved us?
Jesus loves us selflessly: Most times when we express love we do so with some reserve. True love is the complete giving of the complete self to the other. But today we find it difficult to give small part of ourselves; time, resources and attention to those we love. How many selfless lovers do we still have? Where are the martyrs of this generation? We do things for gain; we love for benefits, we even love God in order that he might satisfy our needs. Christ offers a model; he says in John 15:13 “No one has greater love than to lay down his life for his friends.” Can you die for love? Not suicide but martyrdom and heroic death. Can you lay down your life for the gospel? In John13:1 the Bible says he loved them to the end. That is, he never stopped loving them. In fact, he loved them to the extreme, that is, to the point of death. This love was beyond joys and pleasure. It was sacrificial. At the table he loved them and fed them, when the cross came he loved them, even when they stopped loving him; he loved them. How must I love my neighbour? I must love my neighbour selflessly. For Christ’s love is sacrificial not artificial. Any Christian therefore, who cannot love sacrificially, is not wise.
Jesus loves us forgivingly: Jesus understands his disciples through and through, he knew their weaknesses and yet he loved them. But for us once we know somebody’s weakness we begin to hate that person. Those who really love us are those who know our worst and still love us. Jesus kept loving his disciples in spite of their repeated mistakes. Mark’s gospel enumerated the errors of the disciples; in Mark 4:13 they could not understand the parables of Jesus, in Mark 8:14-21 they could not understand his teaching, in Mark 8:32-33, Peter rebuked Jesus, in Mark 9:14-29 they failed when they try to perform miracle, in Mark 9:33-34 they argued about who is the best, in Mark 14:50-52 the disciples fled when Jesus was arrested. In all these Jesus kept loving them. Sometimes we say love is blind; but a love that is blind is not real love. Real love sees. It sees good and bad yet continues to love. Therefore, let us seek to forgive ceaselessly, in order to love better. Nearly every Christian claims to love God but when you look at his or her relationship with others you will discover that he or she is a liar. 1John4:20 “those who say I love God and hate their brothers or sisters are liars…cannot love God whom they have not seen.”
Beloved, “love as I have loved you” is the new commandment. It is the criterion for the new heaven, and it is the brain behind success spiritual and kingdom development. Christianity preaches love, but any religion that lacks love exhibits all that is inhuman and ungodly. The recent experience at a College of Education in Sokoto was uncalled for; may the soul of Deborah Samuel rest in peace. Lastly, any Christian that cannot love betrays Christ. Love is our identity and so Jesus says John13:35 “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples.” Beloved, our true uniform is love. We may wear expensive uniforms to the church as members of one faith or one society; but if we cannot love we shall not be recognized in heaven.
