Sixth Sunday of Easter [May 26, 2019] John 14:23-29

“Whoever loves me will keep my word… (Jn. 14:23)”

The basic form of love is obedience, and the minimum of love is to obey the Law. We can say “I love you”, but do not do what we ought to do as a lover. That’s a plain lie. A man asked a priest whether it is ok to say “I love you” during the Lenten season, especially during the days of fasting and abstinence. The priest immediately replied that it was a violation of God’s Law. The answer shocked the young man, and he asked why. The priest answered, “It is a violation because surely you tell a lie to your girlfriend!”

When we say that we love someone, but we fail to do what is required, we just hurt ourselves and the persons we love. When a child loves his mother, he will follow the instructions coming from his mother even though he does not understand why. Yet, sometimes, a child gets stubborn and refuses his mother’s plea to stop playing outside because it is time for study. This hurts the mother and father who have worked hard to pay the education and long for a better future for their son. In the long run, it also hurts the child and his future.

The same with our love for God, we need to do at least the basic, to observe His Law. From the Old Testament, we have ten commandments. We cannot say that we love the Lord, but we put our faith also in other “gods and idols”. We profess only one and true God, but we also believe in Horoscope, Feng Shui, and superstitions. We go to the Church every Sunday, but in our houses, we collect all kind of statues of animals for charm and luck. We believe in God who is just, but we steal the money or things from the government or the companies.

In the New Testament, we have the New Commandment: love one another as Jesus has loved us. Unfortunately, what we say is different from what we do. We attend the prayer meeting and shout to the top of our voices that we love Jesus, but we still are not able to forgive our enemies and still wish that they be dead. We pray the rosary regularly, but we do not even care for our ageing mothers at home. We say that we condemn the killing of the babies in other countries, but we get easily angry and make our wives as punching bags.

When we say that we love the Lord, but we do not keep His commandment, it hurts God’s heart. Perhaps, it is more hurtful than people who never say love at all to God. We can learn from our brothers and sisters who lived when the Church was still very young. Living in a hostile Roman Empire, they acknowledged that they were Christians means capital punishment. They were a good and a law-abiding citizen of Rome, except for one thing: they refused to worship Caesar. The Roman government believed that the unifying factor of the vast and diverse empire was the cult of the emperor as the embodiment of the Roman spirit. Any Roman citizen was required to offer incense and proclaimed, “Hail, Caesar is Lord.” Then, they may worship their other gods. Christians refused to do this because they loved Jesus dearly as their God, and as proof of their love, they were ready to offer their own lives.

It is the same with us. God loves us immensely that every time we do not observe His Law, we hurt God and make Him jealous. If we cannot do the essential requirement of love, our words are empty and our love cheap.

Deacon Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP