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Jesus
said, “This is my commandment: love one
another as I
love you. No one has greater love that
this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends."
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Shrewd,
brilliant and beautiful Vesper Lynd comes into James Bond's life as an
accountant, of all things, and not an athletic karate-capable,
gun-wielding
policewoman. She is an ideal match for Bond in wit and
personality. As usual in the Bond films, Bond falls in love with
the pretty girl, in this case, Vesper Lynd. But it is a love that
seems more real than any other "Bond love situations." Lynd
returns the love, and the two are about to "ride into the sunset"
together with Bond having made the decision to resign his former way of
life. It is then that Lynd has to make a decision without Bond's
knowing it. It looks and feels every bit like "betrayal,"--in fact,
Bond says that he will never trust anyone again--but in essence, it
is the supreme sacrifice that anyone who loves another must make.
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What
would we do if we were in a situation that required us to die on behalf
of another? Jesus, our redeemer, made such a decision. Paul
the Apostle
describes Jesus' death this way: "Christ, while we were still helpless,
died at the appointed time for the ungodly. Indeed, only with
difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good
person one might even find courage to die. But God proves his love for
us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-7)" Jesus
died for humankind, even though in many
ways we did not love God the way we should, and could be called
"sinners." Vesper
Lynd's gift to James Bond was given in the context of one who loves; it
was not only the gift of love, but it was the
ultimate proof of the gift of love. As Jesus reminded his
followers, there is no greater love.
Again, the original question, what would we do if we had to die for another? We obviously do not know the answer because we are not in such a situation, and we do not know how we would act. We know we have great examples of people who have loved to such an extent, and we have seen it enacted on the movie screen. But knowing that such proofs of love exists is only part of the answer. Perhaps our principal concentration must be on managing to love everyone as completely as we can. Then, if the ultimate is required of us, we would be ready to show it. |
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THOUGHT
What
are some ordinary ways in which one shows true love of others?
PRAYER Good
and gracious God, your Son died for us, the ultimate statement that he
loved us. We were not worthy of such devotion to us. Help us
learn the lesson of love in such a way that if we were asked to give
our lives for someone else, we would be able to do it. 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 |