the Center of Love

Friday, May 19, 2017

From today’s Gospel: “Love one another as I love you.” (John 15:12)

The very foundation of our love is the love that Jesus Christ has for us. If we wish to grow in the spiritual life, we must focus on that love, meditate on it, experience it in our lives, and come to revere it as the greatest gift we have ever received.

And the more deeply we learn to rest in that love, the more closely we are drawn to one another. Consider, if you will, the spokes of a wheel. We are the spokes, and God is at the center. Notice that as we draw closer to the center, we also draw closer to one another until at last, we are all united as one resting in the very bosom of God.

That is what Jesus wants for us. That is what he prayed for before He was taken away to be crucified. “That all may be one, even as You and I are one.” (John 17:20)

Left to our own devices, we are so far from that love. We are a junk pile of petty resentments, judgments, complaints, intolerances, annoyances and dislikes, and not only do these things keep us from one another, they also keep us apart from God. On the other hand, once again, the more closely we are united to God, especially in our prayer and meditation, the more the pile of junk is reduced. And as always, the remedy for us is to contemplate the love that God has for us.

Nothing can be more simple, and yet isn’t it true that we find it so difficult to put this into practice in our lives?

This love must be more than simply an inner change in attitude. It must demonstrate it in the charitable acts we perform for each other. Remember that shortly before Jesus spoke of His love for us, He knelt before us and washed our feet, and then commanded us to do the same for others?

Don’t think of any epic grand action that changes the world. Look locally. Very locally. Pray God to enable you to see beyond appearances, and to reach out with an action of love, especially towards those you may find it most difficult to like.

In other words, move more closely to the center of the wheel.

God bless you! Have a good weekend.