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Jesus
said, “I am troubled now. Yet what should I say?
‘Father, save me from this hour’? But it was for this
purpose that I came to this hour. Father, glorify your
name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have
glorified it and will glorify it again.” The crowd there
heard it and said it was thunder; but others said, “An angel has
spoken to him.” Jesus answered and said, “This voice
did not come for my sake but for yours. Now is the time of
judgment on this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven
out. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone
to myself.”
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"Give me more loving than I’ve ever
had; make me feel better when I’m feeling sad; tell me I’m
special even though I know I’m not; make me feel good when I hurt
so bad. Barely getting mad, I’m glad I found you; I love
being around you. Give me more loving from the very start, piece me
back together when I fall apart, tell me things you never even tell
your closest friends. You make it easy. It’s as easy as 1-2,
1-2-3-4. There’s only one thing to do, three words for you:
I love you."
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If we can talk of an
overall goal in Jesus’ life, it probably would be the simple goal
of helping people by loving them. Jesus said that he had come to
drive out the “ruler of the world,” which in the language
of John’s Gospel meant that he had come to conquer the evil that
enveloped humankind, and thus help them as they went about their
lives. Not only interested in helping them on earth, he wanted to
help them gain eternal life as well, drawing everyone, as he
said, to himself in heaven. But it was not to be an easy
task. Jesus suffered and finally died in order to accomplish
it. Jesus' actions showed us that he wanted to help us by loving
us to the end.
The simple proof that love is present is this: when a person is in love, he/she will show it by actions. We can understand love all we want, but if we do not show it by action, nothing will result. Love is truly the deepest longing of the human heart, coming from the very center of our being. All other desires and longings within us can be traced back to this source and are different expressions of this one fundamental longing. It is so deep that nothing on this earth can satisfy it, not even all the loves of our life put together. It may be simple to say, "I love you," as the group Plain White T's sings, but the actions of love are not easy. If all we do is talk about love, no matter how deep the words may be, love will never come about. Love must be a verb, not a noun. Helping people by showing love is indeed a simple goal. It involves looking at others from a different point of view, namely from the perspective of working with them instead of judging them, desiring to encourage them rather than criticize them. It involves wanting to lead them toward a better life. In short, it involves helping them as much as possible. But, as in the life of Jesus, showing love is not easy. It will cost individuals by demanding them to give up a little of themselves. It may mean inconvenience, it may take away valuable personal time, it may indeed involve giving up our very lives. It takes courage to do it well. |
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THOUGHT
Do you think that our
society in general understands the concept of love? Yes or no and
why?
PRAYER Good
and gracious God, your Son showed us your love for us by dying for us.
It was the proof that you as our God truly loved us. As we strive to
love others in our lives both in a romantic way and in a general way,
may we learn from your Son, and be truly dedicated to showing our love
in action. Be with us, we pray.
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©2007 Capuchin
Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America |