Love. One. Another.

Photo and sign by Lawton Blandford,
Belmont, NC. (From Facebook)

Love One Another As I Love You

Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter

Piety

“So we are sending Judas and Silas who will also convey this same message by word of mouth: 'It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities, namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meats of strangled animals, and from unlawful marriage. If you keep free of these, you will be doing what is right. Farewell.’”  Acts 15:27-29

“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.”  John 15:12-14

Study

So…it all boils down to these three…or seven words.

The Catholic Bible is composed of the 46 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament. But it all boils down to this.

The Hebrew Torah contains 613 mitzvot (commandments).  But it all boils down to this.

The notes from the NABRE explain that, in the Old Testament, Moses (Deuteronomy 34:5), Joshua (Joshua 24:29), and David (Psalm 89:21) were called “servants” or “slaves of Yahweh.”  It is easy to tell your servant what to do.  Only Abraham (Isaiah 41:8; 2 Chronicles 20:7; cf. James 2:23) was called a “friend of God.”  Now, all of us graduate to the realm of chosen friends. It is harder as friends to humbly and obediently listen and act as Jesus would.  

Jesus certainly makes things a whole lot easier and harder at the same time.

Action

Love.

One.

That sounds easy enough.  Also, it seems pretty repetitive.  And unconditional.

And then Another. And then Another. And then Another.

First. The commandment is to Love.  Start by loving one person.  Then do it again.  Then do it again. And Again.  And Again.  Notice that there is no stop in this. Notice that there is no except in this.  And there is no qualifier.  Jesus did not say Love your Hebrew sisters and brothers.  Yes…do that but love does not end there. He did not say love your American sisters and brothers. Yes, do that but love does not end there.

As children, we learned that nice little song:

“Jesus loves me, this I know,

For the Bible tells me so.”

Accepting the moniker “friend of God” is not easy.  Unconditionally passing it on may be the hardest, short commandment. Ever.

I just read a story about a 65-year-old man executed by lethal injection in Florida Thursday for the murder of 22-year-old Michelle Simms in 1984 (he also was serving life sentences for the murder of nine other young women).  Love one another — even him!

Then, there is the California man who took up arms for the Taliban before 9/11.  He is out of prison after more than 17 years. Love one another — even him!

Oh, and that former studio boss who just reached a tentative $44 million deal to resolve lawsuits by women who accused him of sexual misconduct. Love one another — even him!