Today’s gospel may be brief in terms of word count, but one cannot plumb its depths, not if one had a million lifetimes. Because the subject of the day is the love of the Father and the love of the Son, and where the Two are, the Third is also, for the Trinity is quite simply inseparable. Simply put, the Trinity longs for us to love them like they love us. And they want us to spend our eternity with them. Do we believe this?
Loving Like the Father Does
How does one love like God the Father does? A fair question.
When asked by the disciples to teach them how to pray, Jesus responds, asking us to pray firstly that His will be done, not ours. Forgive others as He forgives. And ask Him for everything – from daily bread to health and if it is in concordance with His will, it will be given, in full measure and packed to the brim.
Does that answer your question, then? I thought not. God does not answer questions, He poses them. That does not mean the answers are not there to be found. Didn’t he say:
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. – Matthew 7:7
So ask, seek, and knock. He will show you and me. The Father’s love is so deep, unconditional, and forever, there isn’t anything better Jesus can refer us to. And we are called to love like Him, as diligently as we’re humanly capable of, even cheap imitations of the perfect will do.
Love, Eternal
Continuing a bit further in the gospel for the day, Jesus also says: As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
Question: How does Jesus love you?
St. Ignatius teaches, gratitude is a response to the divine.
If you haven’t already, start counting the ways – glorious sunrise in stunning technicolor, your daily bread, waves undulating in unending succession, the regular breathing that animates your body, a pint of foaming beer, the sudden elation when your soul stirs up within you and so many other countless blessings.
That should be an interesting exercise, and you will probably run out of days before you finish counting the ways.
Why We Need Commandments
Jesus says: If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my Love.
Sometimes things are really that simple but try telling that to a world that loves the intricate and the complicated. (Ahem, guilty as charged.)
Remember the Garden of Eden and God had two commandments for Adam and Eve. They immediately looked for the easy way out. Didn’t work out that well for them, eh?
So, who are we trying to please as we lead our lives? Our family, spouse, significant other, friends, employers, fans? Shouldn’t it be God? At the end of life, the former all disappear, only God is eternal. And if we want to live forever, it’s really simple. Keep Jesus’ commandments. Just as He obeyed His Father’s commandments.
Joy Cometh in the Morning
Living our lives according to His will and not our whim may not bring us a great deal of pleasure and happiness. But God knows what’s best for us and He wants us to share in His joy. So, take stock of your soul, how are you doing with toeing the commandments?
Taking liberties might cause a couple of extra laps in purgatory, so be on your guard and remain faithful to Your Master’s Voice, His is the only one that counts! And take heart, especially those of us who bear heavy burdens, for as the psalmist says:
At dusk weeping comes for the night; but at dawn there is rejoicing – Psalm 30:6b
So beautifully written. Well done !!!
The theology of the Christian walk in a nut shell! Thank you.