Love as God loves us

Gospel
17 May 2009
Sixth Sunday of Easter
Jn 15:9-17

Jesus said to his disciples:
“As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you
and your joy might be complete.
This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I no longer call you slaves,
because a slave does not know what his master is doing.
I have called you friends,
because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.
This I command you: love one another.”

***
By Trixie Bacalla

Have you ever thought how much God loves us? How he showed and proved to us that He truly loves us? In my opinion, the best way that He showed us He loves us is through Jesus Christ, when He sent Jesus to the earth to be our Savior. Jesus sacrificed himself for us. He loves us so much that He even went through crucifixion for us. His love for us is pure.

All of us can be like Jesus. We have the capacity to love other people. Pure love comes with responsibility, and that responsibility is sacrifice. Although it might not be as gallant as Jesus’ sacrifice for us, we may express it in many ways. An example is when a friend is in need of our time to help them with something important, but we already have plans for the weekend. If we really love that person, we will sacrifice what we want so we can help our friend. That’s what love is, self-giving and sacrificing.

We should also remember that God is in every one of us. Maybe, he is in our family, in our friends, and even in ourselves. We may not be perfect, but the spirit of God lies in us. So everyone around us also has the spirit of God within them. If we love God, we will also love those people we meet in our lives. “Love one another as I have loved you.” - Jesus Christ.

Trixie is a member of the Filipino-Chinese Catholic Youth. She is currently an Oikos steward and a co-chair of the Youth Encounter this coming May 22-23. She also serves in our parish as a member of the choir.