Imagine if God came to earth and told us: "Listen carefully. I'm going to tell you exactly what will fulfill you as a human person. I'm going to tell you exactly what I'm hoping for from you." Would we listen? I think so.
In today's gospel Jesus just did exactly that. First, He tells us that His suffering, death, and resurrection will be His glory. Why is that? Suffering, after all, doesn't seem that glorious.
It all comes back to love. As St. Therese of Lisieux put it, God thirsts for our love. And the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus brought us back to God. It made it possible for us to receive God's love and to love him in return in a new way.
So, after laying this foundation, Jesus tells his friends that he'll only be with them a little longer. He is saying that when they've received the power of the Holy Spirit, they will be able to go out and practice what they've seen him do. Their basic training is almost over.
What is Jesus asking them to do? To love one another as He loves them. He gives them a series of intensifiers here.
- First, he tells them: "I give you a new commandment – Love one another." As Pope Benedict XVI said in his encyclical God is Love, love can be commanded because it has first been given. We are infinitely loved by God; therefore, we can be commanded to love others.
- Then Jesus says: "As I have loved you, so you should also love one another." How does Jesus love us? To the end. He loves us to the point of laying down his life for us. And because of his power in us, we can love others in the same way.
- Finally, Jesus tells us that love is the Christian's name tag. He says "This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
Love is meant to be our name tag as Christians. In the 3rd century, Tertullian said that when the Romans referred to the early Christians they often remarked "See how they love each other." This was how they recognized them as Christians.
And it's not just a love of good feelings. It's a love that brings us to lay down our lives for others, just as Jesus laid down his life for us. This is our great power; this is our great privilege.
God has come to earth and told us what will fulfill us. He has come to earth and told us what he's hoping for from us. "Love one another as I have loved you." Love is a Christian's name tag.
Running with Love
Brothers and sisters, you may know Rick Hoyt. He was born with severe brain damage that impeded him from speaking or using his arms and legs. The doctors told his father Dick Hoyt: "Forget Rick, put him away, put him in an institution, he's going to be a vegetable for the rest of his life."
But his father was determined to love him. He and Rick's mother took their son camping, cross country skiing, and swimming. They encouraged him to attend Boston University.
Then Rick decided he wanted to compete in triathlons. So, they fashioned a special boat and bicycle so they could swim and ride together in triathlons. Dick tows Rick in the boat as he swims, then carries his son to the bike — which has a combined weight of 400 pounds when both Hoyts are locked and loaded.
After they complete their bike ride, Dick carries Rick to the running chair and they tackle the run together. They've done 31 marathons and 252 triathlons together. Love is creative, love doesn't give up. No matter what the sacrifices, love keeps going.
An Ordinary thing with Extraordinary Love
Love is our name tag as Christians. How does our love become practical? Our love becomes practical by doing the little things with extraordinary love.
St. Teresa of Avila said that the devil wants to get us to focus on the past and on the future and forget about the present. But the present is the only time we can really love. It's vital to form the habit of asking the Holy Spirit to show us where he's asking us to love right now.
I'd like to propose one specific way that can help us to do one ordinary thing with extraordinary love. Prayer has a unique power. It may seem ordinary, but when we pray with love, its effectiveness is extraordinary.
So, this week, set aside 15 minutes to pray for someone else. We could pray a rosary for that person. We could go to daily Mass and offer it for that person. We could make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament for that person.
But whatever it is, stick to it. And then let that person know you've been praying for him. In the Eucharist we see how practical Christ's love for us it. He laid down his life for us in an outpouring of love, and he gives us the strength to follow his example.
"Love one another as I have loved you." Let's beg Jesus, really present in the sacrament of the Eucharist, to set our hearts on fire with love, and to give us the strength to love others as he has loved us: to the end.