"This is how all will know . . . if your have love for one another"
John 13: 31-33a, 34-35
The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/051522.cfm
St. Augustine of Hippo was one of the most influential theologians/philosophers of the early centuries of the Church. His early pagan hedonistic life was profoundly turned around through his eventual conversion to Christianity. Yet, as we well know, it took some time, persistent prayer by his mother, and a journey towards awareness. He was not baptized until in his 30’s.
So his famous
quote: “Love and do what you will” may raise a few eyebrows and some
confusion. For a time, Augustine did
indeed do what he wanted. He
participated in a pagan lifestyle, was active sexually, fathered a son out of
marriage, etc. So, what exactly is Augustine referring to when he says: “Do
what you will?” The first part of the statement about love for God is clear but
“do what you will” sounds like permission for freedom without boundaries? Not at all.
Here are Augustine’s words: I give you this one short command: love, and do what you will. If you
hold your peace, hold your peace out of love. If you cry out, cry out in love.
If you correct someone, correct them out of love. If you spare them, spare them
out of love. Let the root of love be in you: nothing can spring from it but
good. … (Sermon #110: A Sermon on Love)
This Sunday in our Easter journey our Gospel from John 13
takes us back to a moment with the Apostles at the Last Supper. Judas has just left the upper room to carry
out his destiny. We can only imagine the
disciples sitting there in some confusion about why he left – or so the Gospels
imply such. Jesus had spoken of betrayal
but clearly none of them, except Judas himself, could imagine what Jesus meant
– betray? How could they?
There was no love for God behind his motive and at the
very best a now warped sense of loyalty to Jesus. Although Jesus well knew his
fateful future, he speaks of glory: Now
is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. This was the moment of decision when Jesus
embraced the fullness of his mission for humankind and submitted himself to the
cross which has brought “glory” to Jesus and through him to all humanity
through the resurrection. Now, however, Jesus speaks of a new commandment - of
love.
So, it is the end of Jesus ’earthly life that brings
everything he said and did to its ultimate meaning – that of love lived
out. A love lived out in self-sacrifice
and in relationship with his Father, which motivated Jesus constantly to carry
forward with his mission to repair forever the divide between humankind and
God, originally established before the fall of Adam and Eve. His will was conformed to that of his Father
because of the love he had. So Jesus did
what he wanted, which had become his Father’s will to pour out his life as
savior and bring hope to a humanity lost in the darkness and separation of sin.
He wills to do what the Father desires and does so motivated purely by love.
That love in action is what Jesus wants for his
disciples: “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved
you, so you also should love one another.
This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love
for one another.” The power do what we will out of love, as St. Augustine puts,
will be the distinctive mark of those who believe in Christ Jesus. That behavior has the power to transform
society and establish his kingdom values on earth.
The distinctive mark of the ideal Christian community is
that we become so noticed that others are attracted to us and inspired by how
we live and pray together. What we want to do is to carry out our Christian
mission to repair brokenness, welcome the lost, and heal wounds in the “field
hospital,” as Pope Francis has coined, of the body of Christ, the Church. But
it is far more than just being nice people.
Jesus’ own wish is that we give witness to his life by
imitating his way of love as he has loved us. It is not a love based in
feelings and emotions but a love of conviction and faith in the person of Jesus
the Christ. To see this kind of love in community life such as marriage and
family and visibly expressed in parish life is our ideal. Why do people walk
away from the Church or find it not attractive enough to join? A variety of reasons but one of the most
fundamental is that they either have felt wounded and rejected or they simply
do not feel welcome.
As Paul moved from ancient city to ancient city, as we
hear in the first reading from Acts 14, he found himself confronted with the
diverse cultural prejudices, philosophies, gods and goddesses, with Greek
speaking and Hebrew speaking peoples of Jew and Gentile. Paul brought this “new” Gospel of Jesus – the
new command of love into these communities.
With the faith of Christ himself, crucified and risen, Paul and his band
of other missionaries such as Barnabas, rooted these ancient peoples in the power
of the Spirit as the Gentile world began to explode with this new vision of God
and new way of relating to our fellow men and women. What brought this
diversity into one Body of Christ was the universal call to love.
Many noticed how that was most beautifully expressed in
their gathering for Word and Sacrament, when they broke bread together, with
faith in Christ’s own presence among them, they saw who they were and had
become. As they grew in love for God they did what they wanted, which was to
carry out his mission in the world.
The same is true today, perhaps even more, as we face the
challenges of our own day and culture.
The indifference towards religion, the materialism, the lack of
attention towards God, the hostility for mention of religion in public life and
on and on should be a wake-up call and an opportunity to live by what we
believe. We attract more by how we live
and act than by the words we say. The clear effort to divide and the
inflammatory language and protests make one wonder about the diabolic influence
driving this.
Jesus has given us a new commandment; a new way of seeing
God and one another. We have power to
transform our lives and those around us so: Love God and do what (he) wants.
Almighty ever-living God,
constantly accomplish the Paschal Mystery within us,
that those you were pleased to make new in Holy Baptism
may, under your protective care, bear much fruit
and come to the joys of life eternal.
- Collect of Mass -
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