A reading from the first Letter of Saint John 2:3-11
Beloved: The way we may be sure that we know Jesus is to keep his commandments. Whoever says, "I know him," but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him. This is the way we may know that we are in union with him: whoever claims to abide in him ought to walk just as he walked.
Beloved, I am writing no new commandment to you but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. And yet I do write a new commandment to you, which holds true in him and among you, for the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. Whoever says he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is nothing in him to cause a fall. Whoever hates his brother is in darkness; he walks in darkness and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.This morning as I sat to do my reading and prayer, I was struck by how simple and clear this reading is. There is no ambiguity whatsoever. There is no ambiguity in the commandments. There is no ambiguity in love and hate. It may be simple, but it is certainly not easy!
I think if I spent the rest of my life trying to do this, it would keep me plenty busy. A worthy kind of busy, not a frantic crazy busy.
OK - I better get busy! I have a whole bunch of people to go out and love today!
'A worthy kind of busy, not a frantic crazy busy.'
ReplyDeleteGood advice there, thank you!
Of the two commandments Christ requires (love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself), for me it's easy to love God with all my heart. I find it way more difficult to love my neighbor, or as John says here, my brother. In one of my daily prayers, I ask God to help me to love my neighbor as myself. It truly is the hardest thing to love every single person. Some are just so unworthy. But we still must.
ReplyDeleteThis morning in my study I looked up the word love in the Merrian Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. This was one of the definitions:
ReplyDeletelove (4)a: unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another: as (1): the fatherly concern of God for humankind(2): brotherly concern for others b: a person's adoration of God
May God bless you with lots of love...