The Commandment to Love One Another

 Reflection on Today’s Readings, Friday of 5th Week of Easter, May 20th, 2022

Texts: Acts 15:22-31; Psalm 56:8-12; John 15:12-17

Let us pause for a moment and imagine what life would look like if we love no one and no one love us. Would life ever be bearable or worth living? Would there ever be life at all? Let us also imagine what life would be if we love everyone and everyone loves us. Would life not be bearable or worth living? Would everyone not be full of life and joy? We can see how essential is love to life! Life is love and love is life. Where there is life there is love and where there is love there is life. It should be clear now that if we now live in agony and life is no longer bearable or seems not to be worth living, it is because we do not love one another. If we are no longer secured, If joy has eluded us, if peace is now a rare commodity, if fear is all around, it is because we do not love one another. Our problem is the loss of love for one another. If I love you, I will not cheat you, I will not rob you, I will not backbite, I will not rape, I will not murder, etc. If we love one another, fear and insecurity will be no more, banditry, terrorism will be no more, kidnapping will be no more, corruption and bribery will be no more. If we love one another, we will all live in abundance, peace and joy.  

Jesus Christ is truly our creator, He knows what has gone wrong with us. Hence, He says, “This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you.” He instructs us to love one another as He has loved us. In others words, love the other persons as I would have love them. His commandment is to extend His love to one another. Today we can hear Him saying, “please, extend my love to one another.” We are not to love one another as we want to but as Christ wants to love them. Hence, He quickly adds, “A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends, if you do what I command you. I shall not call you servants any more, because a servant does not know his master’s business; I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father.” He loves by giving all and laying down His life. This means we are to love one another by giving all for one another. This is the kind of love that exists between Him and His Father: the Father has given all to the Son and the Son in turn surrender all to the Father. Paul puts it thus: “When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who put all things in subjection under him, so that God may be all in all” (1Cor. 15:28).  

Another thing we should note in the commandment is that love ought not to be one sided; the commandment is that we should love one another. If I give you all, you should also give me all. This is the model of love expected in marriage. When we love one another we will all live in abundance and peace.  

We see in today’ first reading that the decision of the apostles was reached in love. It was love that made them to see the reason not to put burdens on the Gentiles. It is said, “It has been decided by the Holy Spirit and by ourselves not to saddle you with any burden beyond these essentials”. Love makes us to think and work for the comfort of the others.  

Grant us, Lord, we pray, that, being rightly conformed to the paschal mysteries, what we celebrate in joy may protect and save us with perpetual power. Amen 

Fr. Andrew Olowomuke