Meditation Minute

My Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

 

“This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.”

 

Gospel Reading: John 15:12-17

 

Jesus said to his disciples: “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another."

 

In today’s Gospel, we learn the greatest commandment of all – to Love - “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.”  We are called to “lay down one's life for one's friends.” So what kind of love is Jesus talking about? Jesus loved us so much that he was willing to die to save us. God loves us unconditionally with no strings attached. He loves us no matter what we do or how great the sin we commit, He still loves us. He asks of us to have this same love for one another.  We must unconditionally love everyone.  To love one another unconditionally, we must be willing to make sacrifices even to the point where it hurts. Jesus proved this unconditional love for us during his scourging and on the cross.  We must also express our love for our fellow man in the same way.  We are called not only to love the people that we know, but also those people we do not know. This type of love would be greater than the love between two best friends or even the love between a husband and wife. We are called to love those people who it is difficult to love. The truest expression of love would be to make a sacrifice for someone who is difficult for us to like. To truly love is to give everything we have to offer to someone else in need. God made this sacrifice with his son for our redemption. That's what Jesus meant when He said, “This I command you, love one another.”

 

A Simple Prayer

 

My Dearest Lord, Oh how I love you.

Give me the strength and courage to love others as you have loved me.

May my love be unconditional and without bounds.

May the Grace of the Holy Spirit flow through me to others so that I can be an example of God’s love.

 

Yours in Christ

Michael Marcon