[Howdy, Church fans! And happy Mother’s Day. Here are some thoughts on today’s gospel, (John 15:9-17) As always, you can watch the homily on our YouTube channel here, or catch the whole Mass here. ]
We Americans, and especially we Alaskans are much more goal motivated than duty motivated. If you tell an Alaskan, “You have to do this!” or “You can’t do that!” the typical response will be, “Who the heck are YOU to tell me what I can and can’t do! ” But if instead you say to an Alaskan, “Hey, see that mountain peak over there? I wonder if a guy could get his ATV up on top.” The response would likely be a hearty, “Here! Hold my beer and watch this!” We seem to accomplish much more with goals than with commands.
So when Jesus says, “This is my commandment…” we Alaskan may wince a little and think, “This is going to be burdensome.” That is, until we hear what his commandment actually is: “Love one another.”
Hmmm…this is something unexpected, and surprisingly challenging. If he had simply said, “Do A, B and C and your joy will be complete,” we would have some precision and clarity. Instead, this commandment to love one another is open-ended. It’s not simply something we can do and check off our list. Who of us has ever said to a spouse or close friend. “Okay, I’ve loved you enough. We’re good to go.”
[Or try this with your wife sometime. “Hey, honey, there is nothing about you that I don’t know. I know what you like, what you dislike, what brings your joy what brings you sorrow. I finally have you figured out.
See how far you get.
How much better if you should say, “You know, hon, after all these years, you still amaze me.”
Jesus says to love one another “as I have loved you.” The one who loves, Aquinas tells us, intends what is best for the beloved and does everything in his or her power to make it happen.
Love is lived most authentically in our service to one another, in our self-sacrifice for the good of others. Where love is present, sacrifice comes readily. To lay down one’s life for another, often daily, is the root of our joy and makes our joy complete. Christ is not asking us to do anything he has not already done and continues to do for us. When our love for one another is joined to and reflects the love of Christ to that part of the world around us, his joy is in us and our joy is complete.
We don’t need to look far for examples of this. This weekend we celebrate Mother’s Day. One of the hallmarks of motherhood is the daily sacrifice that mothers make for the well-being of their children. Indeed, where love is present, sacrifice comes readily. How fitting that we pause this weekend to thank our mothers for the love and sacrifice they have made for us throughout our lives.
By and large, we Alaskans don’t like to be told what to do, but this commandment is one we can live with. Let us look to the Cross. Let us love one another as Christ has loved us and therein find the source of our joy, so that our joy might be complete.