Whenever we think about love, we often associate it with doing something great for the one we love. The feast of the sacred Heart of Jesus gives us a wonderful opportunity to ponder upon the love of God for us, as a model for our human relationships. It is evident that God is the one who loves us first and actively. Our duty is to open ourselves for his love. In other words, to remain in his love. Today’s liturgy unveils different aspects of the love of God. I would want to touch on two important ones.
Closeness
God’s love is symbolized by the shepherd’s closeness to his flock. The shepherd is close to his sheep, so he knows them, one by one. Closeness to someone is a sign of love. We always desire to be close to our loved ones. We want to hear their voices and know how they are doing. Pope Francis said “whoever loves cares for the one who is absent, longs for the one who is absent, searches for the one who is lost, waits for the one who has gone astray. Because he does not want anyone to be lost.” So, it is with God. He is not ‘calm’ when we turn away from Him. He sets out in search of us, until He takes us back into His arms. The Lord does not calculate losses and risks. Like a father and a mother, he suffers in the face of the absence of his beloved children and desires to have us safely by his side. Thomas Aquinas said in this regard “to love is to will the good of the other.”
Closeness also means that the love of God is individual or personal. Just as the shepherd searches for one sheep on the hillside, although the ninety-nine were there. Individual means thus that each of us matters to him and he knows us by our names. He knows our worries, plans, desires et. cetera. And he wants us to know that he is close to us in our daily tasks.
Tenderness
Secondly, God’s love is tender. Pope Francis observes that “the Lord knows the beautiful science of caresses.” Despite the fact that he is close to us and knows us well with our weakness and strength, he still loves us with the deepest possible tenderness. Tenderness means that his love is patient. Sheep are proverbially foolish creatures. Despite that, the shepherd risks his life to save them. That tells us something about God. He loves even the foolish who have no one to blame for their misfortunes. He never withdraws his love. And he does not ask whether we are worthy of his love. He simply loves us and makes worthy of his love.
Allowing Ourselves to be Loved
The message of the sacred words of Jesus today is not finding out ways to respond to the love of God (which is also significant) but allowing ourselves to be loved by him. That implies that we sit back, reflect, and feel the tenderness of his love. We will be more at peace and happier, when we discover the immensity of God’s love for us, who gave up his son for our sake. The awareness of God’s love ought to bring real joy into our lives. For it is sometimes more difficult to let God love us than to love Him. Let us ask him to open our hearts for his love.
