My heart sinks when I read the “new commandment” that Jesus gave to his followers: to love one another as he had loved them, because I know how far I am from that standard.*
Pictures from all four gospels flood my mind: Jesus welcoming outcasts and misfits, “unclean” women and noisy children, leaders like Nicodemus and foreigners like the Samaritan woman. Jesus throwing wide the gates to God’s realm with his actions as well as his words. Jesus enduring betrayals and denials by those he loved the most, promising he would never abandon them, even after death. His love burns bright and clear as the disciples struggle to understand “the way” he was showing them.
Can I love like that? Can we?
Then I turn on the TV set to see Ukranian fathers kiss their children good-bye at the border, promising love as they turn back to fight for their homeland. Closer to home, I see acts of kindness and compassion in the grocery store, on the streets, among our church members, and even in the halls of Congress. These are not the usual acts of familial love, but something different, something larger and more – well, dispassionate. And I realize that I’m living in the midst of a cosmic experiment in how to love as Jesus did. In every generation, we each go through the process of learning how to let go of our ego needs for security and influence on the way to whatever cross will claim our lives in the end.
To that, I can say “yes,” and know that there is much to learn.
–Marjory Zoet Bankson, Editor of Inward/Outward
- Where have you seen acts of love like Jesus offered?
- Have you received such a touch of grace this week?
- When did you stretch your capacity for love?
