In today’s Gospel Jesus tells us to “Love one another as I have loved you.”
Love.
It’s a strange word. We use it in so many different ways. We say, “I love you” to our spouse, our children, our siblings, and parents. Bet we also say, “I love ice cream”. We say, “I love a certain TV show”. We say, “I love a movie star (insert any name) whom I’ve never met”. And then we say, “I love you Grandma”.
With such a wide spectrum of uses for the word Love, they all can’t mean the same thing. Americans have basically two words, love and like, however we usually use the word love to describe liking something.
Many countries have multiple words for love that have a very specific meaning for different levels of love. The Greeks had up to nine words for different levels of love. Based on the word used, a person knew the level of love the speaker meant.
One level is love of self. We all dislike the person who is arrogant and overbearing, the person who is completely self-centered and critical of everyone else. Many people think that Love of Self is wrong, but a person must love themselves in a positive way to be able to love others. A person must have the peace that God gives within their hearts to share God’s love with others. People who hate themselves or think poorly of themselves generally have a negative attitude toward and about other people.
The other eight words the Greek language uses define different levels of love towards others. The Greeks used “Agape” to describe God’s love. But what is God’s love?
Cyril of Alexandria gives us some insight when he wrote
“I give you a new commandment, said Jesus: love one another.” But how, we might ask, could he call this commandment new?
Through Moses, he had said to the people of old: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”
Notice what follows. He was not content simply to say, “I give you a new commandment: love one another.”
He showed the novelty of his command and how far the love he enjoined surpassed the old conception of mutual love by going on immediately to add: “Love one another as I have loved you.”
To understand how we should love others; we must comprehend how Jesus loved us. Jesus loved us so much that he willingly suffered the pain and agony of scourging and crucifixion on a cross. His passion and suffering such a terrible death, to give his life for us to save us from sin, was so that we might have eternal life with him in Heaven. This is a love that I don’t know how to describe.
When Jesus said, “Love one another as I have loved you.” he was teaching a completely new concept to the Disciples and to us today.
John Pilch tells us
“Other farewell addresses in the Bible and other ancient literature usually exhort the survivors, the “children,” to practice moral virtue or to remain obedient to the Law. Jesus’ farewell address lays down a “love command” which is described as “new.” “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another”
“What is evident in all these passages is that love is extended only to other members of the inner circle, the community, and not to those outside. “By this everyone [else, outside] will know that you are my disciples [insiders], if you have love for one another”
This example of mutual love among insiders should be a stirring example to all outsiders.
God’s covenantal love is spontaneous, unmotivated, directed to sinners and others unworthy of love. Israel experienced this love of old in Deuteronomy. In Jesus’ death and resurrection, God’s love is known in a totally new dimension.
A new command to love others, everyone, as I have loved you! This same love is mentioned in the second reading from Revelation, “I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will always be with them as their God.”
God promised to always be with us as our God. Since God is love, then this supreme Love will always be with us for us to share with everyone we meet.
That is not easy to do when people are mean and hateful to us. But Jesus said that others will know that we are his disciples if we have love for one another. Sharing God’s love will become even more critical in the coming days when people may try to disrupt mass and attack Catholics for our faith. The early Christians were persecuted and many of them were martyred for their love for God. They followed Jesus’ example of quiet, patient suffering for their faith. We must do the same.
This is the real mission of the Church. The eighty-nine young people confirmed here at St Joseph’s yesterday are empowered by the Holy Spirit to love one another and to take God’s love to the world. And we must join them and follow Jesus’ command to love each other as Jesus loved us.
How do I love the dirty unkept person on the street corner begging for food? How do I love the person spreading hate and gossip at work? How do I love the neighbor who lets their dog run all over our yard when we have asked them not to do that? How do I love the family member who always gets on my nerves?
The world is hungry for love. They have sought it in wealth, success, power, and fame; yet nothing seems to satisfy. When we have God’s love within us it flows out to those around us. Our love for each other is a witness of God’s love that will make the world want what we have.
Jesus taught us how to lead others to him: “This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Jesus us a new command, “Love one another as I have loved you.” The question we must ask ourselves is “Do I love others as Jesus loves me?”
