THE WAY JESUS LOVED_John 15, 9-17

SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER (B) 13 May 2012
 
John 15, 9-17

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.  If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.  I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.   Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.    You are my friends   if you do what I command.   

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.   

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you   to go and bear fruit   —fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.    This is my command: Love each other.
 

THE WAY JESUS LOVED

José Antonio Pagola

 Jesus is bidding his disciples farewell. He has loved them passionately. He loved them the way the Father loved him. Now he has to leave them. He is aware of their selfishness: they do not know how to love one another; he sees them arguing among themselves for the top honors. What will become of them?

   The words of Jesus take on a solemn tone for they must remain ingrained in all of them: “This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you”. Jesus does not want his model of love to be lost among his own.  If one day they forget it, no one will be able to recognize them as his disciples.

   Jesus left an indelible impression on them. The first generations summarized his life thus: “He went about doing good everywhere.” It was good to meet him for he always sought the good of people. He helped them live;  his life was Good News. One could find in him the loving nearness of God.

   Jesus has a unique way of loving. He is very sensitive to the suffering of people. He cannot pass by anyone in misery. One day on entering the little village of Nain, he chances on a funeral procession. A widow is on her way to see her only son buried. The love of Jesus for this unknown woman surfaces from within him: “Woman, do not cry.” Whoever loves like Jesus takes care to alleviate suffering and wipe away tears.

  On several occasions the gospels recall how Jesus took in with his gaze the suffering of people. He would see them and be deeply moved: he saw how miserable or disheartened they were, like sheep without a shepherd. He would at once set about healing the most sick, or encourage them with his words. Whoever loves like Jesus learns to look with compassion at the hardship revealed in the faces of people.

   Jesus’ readiness to do good is admirable. He does not think of himself. He attends any call, always prepared to do whatever he can. On his way,  he reaches out with these words to a blind beggar asking him to take pity on him: “What do you want me to do for you?” Whoever loves like Jesus goes through life with this attitude.

   Jesus knows how to be at the service of the most destitute. No one need ask him. He does what he can to heal their ailments, free them from guilt or transmit faith in God. But he cannot solve all the problems of those people.

   He then devotes himself to doing acts of kindness: he embraces street children: he does not want anyone to feel orphaned; he blesses the sick: he does not want them to be forgotten by God; he touches and comforts lepers: he does not want them to feel excluded. These are the acts of one who loves like Jesus.

Spread the way Jesus loved

 

Jose Antonio Pagola,  vgentza@euskalnet.net , San Sebastian, Guipuzcoa, Spain.
English Translation by  Valentine de Souza S.J.  Mandal, Gujarat , India.394650
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