Word to the Wise
Sunday, May 18, 2025 - 5th Sunday of Easter - C
[Acts 14:21-27; Rev 21:1-5a; John 13:31-33a, 34-35,219]"My children, I will be with you only a little while longer. I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." [John]
The great Carmelite mystic, St. John of the Cross, once wrote that "in the end what we shall be judged on is love!" Jesus' commandment to the disciples at the Last Supper needs close attention. "This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." This is more than just loving those who love us, as the Sermon on the Mount teaches us. [Matt. 5:46-48] We are called to love beyond the limits of acquaintance. The kind of love that Jesus is commanding requires a lot of mercy and, in some cases, courage. Not everyone is as "loveable" as we would want. But if we are to bear witness to faith in Jesus, we are called to act as he did.
One can almost hear the vast chorus of "What if's.....?" that can follow Jesus' commandment. But we are not given exemptions. We are even called to love our enemies! We can be as devout and observant as we like, but if we are lacking in love, we are lacking in discipleship. The "final judgment" scene in the Gospel According to Matthew [25:31-45] gives us a good place to go beyond the mutual love of friends and family. The challenge from Jesus is to "put skin on love." The words of St. John of the Cross can motivate us! AMEN