More On Love

What more can be said about love that hasn’t already been said?

Since the invention of language, love has been the inspiration of the world’s greatest poetry. When men and women first began to create musical instruments, it has been the inspiration for the world’s most beautiful melodies. For centuries, artists have celebrated love’s triumphs and mourned its losses whether on stone tablets or on movie screens.

Love is also the great theme of Jesus’ preaching and ministry. His mission was to bring God’s love to those who seemed least deserving of it - to the sinner, to the poor and to the powerless.

He came to show love to those who had only known judgment, condemnation and isolation. His central message was that no one lies outside the reach of God’s unconditional love. Like the love of a mother, God’s love for us never grows weary and never ends. Our Heavenly Father never reaches a point at which He gives up on us. Rather, the more we try to run away from Him, the more urgently He pursues us.

God’s love for us shows itself most strikingly in Jesus’ death on the cross. The cross is our Heavenly Father’s great masterpiece, the most beautiful depiction of love ever created. It shows the great lengths our lover is willing to go to win our hearts. He will hold nothing back to woo us, not even His only Son. The world has never seen so great a love as this. As Jesus tells us in today’s gospel, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

The cross reveals to us what true love is. It is more than a warm emotion that fills us with desire for a person we find attractive. Rather it is the commitment to put the good of another person before our own. Just as Jesus put our salvation before His own comfort and security, so we are called to love others by putting their needs before our own. It is a love that reaches out not only to those who are attractive but, primarily,  to those we find repulsive, to those we find hard to love. It is a love that is not afraid to be hurt, to be made fun of or to be rejected.

Living love as Jesus revealed it to us can seem impossible. We are naturally self-centered. We want to surround ourselves with people who make us feel good about ourselves. Wouldn’t it be a waste of time to love someone who does not love me in return? Wouldn’t it be foolish for me to give my energy to help those who cannot return the favor?

It is true that,  in our natural state, it is impossible for us to love as Jesus did, to go as far as laying down our lives even for our enemies. We can only do this with the strength that comes from God. That is why Saint John tells us in today’s second reading, “In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us….” Only when we understand how much God has loved us can we then love our neighbor in return. Only when we understand how much He has given us can we then give to others. Only when we understand how much He has forgiven us can we then forgive those who harm us. The radical type of love that Jesus practiced which reaches even to our enemies only becomes possible for us when we grow in our awareness that He died for us even though we are the worst of sinners.

In today’s gospel, Jesus tells us to “remain” in His love. The word, “remain”, has deep significance in Saint John’s gospel. Sometimes it is translated as “abide” or “dwell”. It can also be translated as “rest”, “take root in”, “draw life from” or even “savor”. The image is something like meat marinating in a sauce. The flavor and the spices of the marinate seep into the meat, getting into every fiber. Just so, by remaining in Jesus, His love begins to penetrate our very being, tenderizing our hard hearts. Just as the meat takes on the flavor of  the marinate, so we being to take on the virtues of Jesus’ loving heart.

How do we remain in His love so that it can penetrate our very being? Jesus tells us, “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love.” God’s commandments teach us what it means to love one another. They are given not to hold us back but to give us wings to fly. All God’s gifts are good, including His law. When I keep His word, I am learning how to not live a self-centered life which makes me freer to put others needs ahead of my own without feeling resentful. And, off course, the greatest commandment is love.

We can begin today. Whenever we meet someone, we should ask ourselves, “How can I show love to this person right now.” Then let the Holy Spirit inspire us with kind words, thoughtful gestures or maybe just a caring smile that will let the other person know that we recognize the image and likeness of God in them. Once we experience the joy of stepping outside of our comfort zone and reaching out in love to others, it will become easier and easier each time to practice kindness and mercy. In doing so, God will become even more real for us because we will be discovering how to find Him in other people. And we will discover that happiness is to be found not so much in receiving love as in giving it away. Then our joy will be complete.