IF YOU LOVE ME, SHOW ME!
Sixth Sunday of Easter
My dear encountered couples:
A measure of a person’s love is found in his actions. The familiar saying, “If you love me, show me,” seems to be just what Jesus is saying: “He who obeys the commandments he has from me is the man who loves me.”
Jesus told us that the greatest commandment is “to love God and our neighbor as ourselves.” He told us that love towards all is more important than any other commandment, than any other rule or regulation.
But if you read all that he had to say, you will easily find that he told us many things to do. Why did he bother to tell us these many other things if loving action is all it take; if love in action is the rule of life.
Because some actions express more love than others. Though love and actions go together, Jesus wanted us to know which actions he considers the better ones for us to choose from.
In case we might have difficulty figuring out just how we are to show our love towards God, towards our neighbor, even towards ourselves, he wanted to help us out. So, he gave us advice, rules of life, and what we might even call “commandments.”
We are to have faith and confidence in God no matter what happens. That’s very basic to anything else we do. We are to realize that everything we have and anything we might have the ability to do is a gift to us from God. And we are to use all these gifts well, not ignore them, not bury them.
We are to study and learn and grow in wisdom; we are to grow up and mature. We are to try to make this world a better place to live no matter how hard that might be to do.
And concerning those who make this world a worse place to live, well, we’re supposed to forgive them, we’re supposed to pray for them. We are not to physically harm anyone, not psychologically either. We are to pray, fast, acquire self—discipline. We are to be honest and truthful at all times. We aren’t to solve all our marriage problems by divorce; we are to do our best to work things out. We are to be pure, in both our actions and our intentions.
We are also supposed to do our best to work out serious problems we have with others, instead of going to court over every little bothersome thing someone does to us. We are to be just, while also being merciful. We are to see to it that everyone is treated equally and fairly.
Jesus knows human nature; he knows what will make us happy and what will make us unhappy. We often don’t. And so, we end up doing the wrong things - wrong things for others and wrong things for ourselves.
God, like any good parent, wants us to know what is best for us. So, he sent us his Son to tell us. “Love your neighbor.” Then he tells us how: “The person who obeys my commandments is the man, the woman, the child who loves me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father. I too will love them and reveal myself to them.”
Jesus offers us happiness, heaven, a never-to-end good life. He offers us God the Father, he offers himself, he offers the Holy Spirit. All we have to do is put love into action. We have to get that good breakfast prepared and on the table every day. There’s a hungry world out there that needs your love. Do your best to give it.
Jesus Christ says, “IF YOU LOVE ME, SHOW ME!”
