Coffee With God

Reflection: Jn 15:9-11

Jesus invited his disciples to love because only by loving would they live life to the full. Jesus’ love for his disciples, drawn from the source of all love, the Father, would in turn empower the disciples to love their fellow brethren. But our experiences in our relationship with others would have taught us that ‘to love’ is not easy. For a community to become a loving community is even more challenging, because the power of sin generates in us jealousy, envy, hatred and selfishness. And we often argue that love cannot be commanded or forced. I can’t force someone to love me! Love and commandments – these two words appear opposing each other. But, Jesus in today’s Gospel says, ‘if you want to be in my love, keep my commandments.” Does it sound like, ‘If you wish to be loved by God, fulfil these requirements?’ Certainly not. Jesus loves us without conditions; but it is totally our choice to accept or reject the love of God. Therefore, remaining in the love of Jesus is a personal choice. When we choose to hate others, in effect, we are choosing not to abide in the love of Jesus and we dissociate ourselves from God . God has extended to us an invitation – to ‘love one another as I have loved you.’ Consider seriously the implications of accepting his invitation. Learning to love someone without expecting anything in return is difficult. The task calls for honesty and courage. Love is always a sweet burden, but Jesus already shares that burden with us through the cross and resurrection. John’s gospel seems to be telling us that the link between us and Jesus is the source of power we have to love and to live our lives like Jesus lived and loved. The Gospel also tells us that the only way to learn to love one another without conditions is by trusting and surrendering to the love of Jesus. Our abiding in Jesus is always a continuous effort. The early church had its growing pains and even arguments, but as we see in the Acts of the Apostles, compassionate understanding and gentle Christ-like-love is the best and only way to settle disagreements, especially in families and in our communities. We are praying these days for peace in the world and a peace that resolves injustice. Let us continue to pray for those parts of our world which suffer wars, hatred and distrust. The words of today’s gospel about abiding and love seem to be soft, sweet and gentle but, their implications are frightening. They imply that we need to distance ourselves from hatred and selfishness and need to reach out with love, compassion and empathy.