“A new commandment I give to you… that you love one another, even as I have loved you.”
Jesus does not simply ask us to love those who are easy to love. He gives us something far more demanding: to love as He loves. His love forgives, serves, remains faithful, reaches out to the forgotten and gives without first asking what it will receive in return.
This commandment becomes especially challenging when we have been hurt, disappointed or treated unfairly. Yet it is precisely there that Christian love becomes more than a feeling. It becomes a choice to see another person through the eyes of Christ.
To love as Jesus loves does not mean approving everything another person does. It means refusing to allow hatred, pride or resentment to have the final word. Every act of patience, forgiveness, compassion and selfless service allows the love of Christ to become visible through us.
May those who encounter us today encounter something of the love of Jesus in the way we treat them. Alleluia.