May 19, 2017

Gospel: Jn 15:12-17
Jesus said to his disciples: ”This is my commandment: Love one another as I have loved you! There is no greater love than this, to give one‘s life for one‘s friends; and you are my friends, if you do what I command you.
”I shall not call you servants anymore, because servants do not know what their master is about. Instead, I have called you friends, since I have made known to you everything I learned from my Father.
”You did not choose me; it was I who chose you and sent you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. And everything you ask the Father in my name, he will give you. This is my command, that you love one another.”

REFLECTION:
Loving is easy when it does not need much effort and stays on the level of feelings only. It is tested when such loving has a cost. Jesus identified the type of love that His disciples ought to extend to one another. It is a love that is unfazed even if the cost is to give one‘s life for one‘s friend. This selfless love is the new commandment of Jesus.
But why is it that Jesus imposed this commandment to His disciples It seemed to be an impossible task. We are naturally jealous of our own comfort and well-being. Our self-centeredness is not only about vanity. It sometimes is about survival. Perhaps the reason is because Jesus wants to share His very attitude to other people to His friends. He Himself showed them that this is possible. He walked His talk. And so Jesus tells His disciple to adhere to the Law of Love so that they will be known as His friends who shared His life during the end of time.