RBWords

     In the midst of our exploration of the "photo collage" of the Farewell Discourse, we suddenly bump into one of those kinds of questions that one might ask on a retreat:  Is there anything or anyone for whom I might be willing to die?  One could spend hours imagining the circumstances in which this question might arise in "real life," especially in the context of modern health care!  However, in the context of the gospel, Jesus speaks first and foremost of the love that might motivate us to die for a friend!  Note that this is a highly personal approach.  The text does not speak of a noble "cause," but of friends!  Other people!  St. Paul speaks of the same situation when he writes:  "While we were yet helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.  Why, one will hardly die for a righteous man - though perhaps for a good man one will dare even to die.  But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us."  [Romans 5:6-8]

     The question challenges us to ask about how we love!  What kind of love are we capable of?  And if we are capable of an ultimately sacrificial love for another person or persons, who might this person (these persons) be?  It seems clear that Jesus did not take a list with him to the cross!  Nor is his love a kind of "generic" and vague fuzzy altruism.  If we go back to the beginning of the Last Supper scene in the Gospel of John, we see the lines about Jesus:  "...having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end." [John 13:1]  Jesus then demonstrates this love by washing the feet of the disciples.  Love is not simply a declaration, it is an action.  Saints Augustine and Thomas Aquinas tell us that love is a matter of the will.  It requires intention and attention from us.  Jesus' command is straightforward and daring:  "Love one another as I love you."  In short, if we speak of love, we need to put a face and skin on it!  AMEN