L.O.V.E

6th Sunday of Easter

"Love one another, as I have loved you” [John 15: 12]

Love – that’s the theme of this week’s Gospel. But what exactly is love?

In his sharing, Friar Robin clarified that love cannot merely be a feeling (as many of us think it may be), but it is a decision that one must make even – perhaps especially– when somebody seems hard to love. This is unconditional love, the kind God shows us through sending Jesus, his beloved son, to live among us, to be crucified and killed as a ransom for our sins.

When I was younger, I used to believe that whenever you did something wrong against someone, that person would stop loving you. However, my parents told me that the love I mentioned was conditional love, which is not the love God has shown to us. They also told me no matter my wrongdoings, it would not change their decision to love me, and this is due to the example God has set us. For in today’s Gospel, he tells us to “Love one another, as I have loved you”.

Although it was not one of the readings at Mass today, 1 Corinthians offers us an excellent guide about showing the love of God to others:

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy,

it does not boast, it is not proud.

It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking,

it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres”

(13:4-7).

Thus, the message that God wants us to take away is that we should be loving at all times to everyone in all circumstances. That would be very hard to do on our own steam. But we only need pray for God’s grace to strengthen us, and Jesus reassures us in today’s Gospel “that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give you” (John 15:16).

*A reflection by Zachary Wong, 14+ yrs old, who worships at St. Andrew Chapel.