REMAIN IN MY LOVE

John 15:9-17

            The days of Jesus in the world are almost over. He is preparing to go back to the Father and this beautiful and striking passage is part of His farewell discourse. This gospel gives us what I can call the summary of Christ's mission on earth. Jesus says: As the father loves me so I also love you. Remain in my love. Love one another as I have loved you. You are my friends if you do what I command you.

            Jesus came in order to show God's love to the world and he calls his disciples and us today to participate in this mission. He calls His disciples His friends and not His servants. What does it mean to be a friend of Jesus? Friendship with Jesus is based on love. Friendship with Jesus certainly entails a loving relationship which goes beyond mere duty and obedience. Jesus puts forward friendship as a new existential category by which we understand the commandment to love as flowing from God’s boundless love.

            Today, love and friendship are easily misrepresented by us. We tent to take love and friendship in a reciprocal way; we love those who love us, and we expect those whom we love to love us in return. In today's liturgy Jesus tells us that friendship is more than convenience, or mutual tolerance or mutual utility. Friends not only share secrets, goods and knowledge, friendship implies an intimate sharing of God's love. The commandment of Jesus is not “Love me as I have loved you” or “Love one another as they love you”, but “Love one another as I have loved you.” This is very challenging. The point is that our standard for loving is not the love we have received. Our standard for loving is not the love we see in others. Our standard for loving is the love we experience from the Lord Himself.

            Morton Kelsey, a psychologist and religious author, in his book, Set Your Hearts on the Greatest Gift. Living the Art of Christian Love, (p. 106) writes: “If we love, we create, heal and release in those around us a power that seldom fails. If we do not love, we join the forces of the evil one and destroy as effectively as if we were triggering a machine gun into a defenseless crowd. If we love, we step into the circle of the very creative life of God. If we do not love, do not in our hearts go out in compassion and show love in action, then we step into the down-draft of evil which is destroying the world we live in. What a terrible responsibility God and life have put into our hands.”