Yesterday’s reading from the Gospel of John spoke about the importance of keeping God’s commandments and remaining in the love of Christ. Today’s Gospel continues from where we left off yesterday. Today, what strikes me is the use of the concept of friendship – of laying down one’s life for one’s friend, of Jesus calling us his friends. Jesus does not call those he addresses his disciples or his students or his followers – he calls them his friends. Most of us can think of dear friendship that we have, of friends that are as close as brothers and sisters to us, or even closer than our biological brothers and sisters in our adult lives.
As Jesus call us to love others as he loves us, I think of this quote from Mother Teresa of Calcutta: “I see God in every human being. When I wash the leper's wounds, I feel I am nursing the Lord himself. Is it not a beautiful experience?” Mother Teresa served the poor of India out of love: out of love her neighbor, out of her love for her Lord and Savior. I thought of the sisters of the Comboni religious congregation I worked with in Ecuador, how their love, their faith, and their commitment to the people were so evident in all they did. If we are open to God’s love, we will be open to many opportunities to embrace that love of God and love of neighbor in the course of our days.
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