"This I command you, that you love one another.". Thus concludes Our Lord's beautiful Gospel that we heard today, and today's second reading, also from St. John, insists on the same idea: "Dearly beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.".
But Jesus' logic is also precious, as we discover in today's Gospel text. Loving others begins with knowing that we are loved by God: "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.". It also begins with our experience of the Father's love, through the Son's love: "Abide in my love".
Love is not just a feeling. It is constantly doing the will of Christ and following his commandments: "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love". And this leads to joy. The joy of living in Christ's love gives joy to others when we share this love with them. "I have spoken this to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.".
The love of Christ not only implies loving others, but also trying to love at the level of Christ: "Love of Christ is not only to love others, but also to try to love at the level of Christ.Love one another as I have loved you.". This includes the willingness to sacrifice ourselves for others, even to the point of death, giving our lives for our friends. And we should strive to be friends with everyone, to the best of our ability.
In fact, the love to which we aspire is the love of friendship, elevating everyone around us from servants to friends:"No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing: I call you friends, for all things that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.". This friendship involves sharing with others our faith, all that we have learned from the Father. A friendship that does not include sharing God with others is only a superficial friendship.
We could even say that true love involves "sending," as Christ sends us. "It is not you who have chosen me, it is I who have chosen you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain.". Love empowers, brings out the best in others and develops their qualities and talents: it is never reduced to passivity. Our love must lead others to bear fruit in Christ. "So whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you."Our love will ultimately connect others to God the Father so that they too can pray to him in the name of Christ.
Homily on the readings of Sunday VI of Easter (B)
The priest Luis Herrera Campo offers its nanomiliaA short one-minute reflection for these Sunday readings.
