Lectionary: 289
“This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
No leaders worth their salt ask subordinates to do what they would not do.
As we hear the Lord's command to love one another, even to the point of laying down one's life, we know that Jesus has gone ahead of us. He has cleared the path and opened the narrow gate. His cross and his command enable us to imagine the unimaginable. Many saints have longed for the opportunity, and to many it was given.
But those opportunities are blessedly rare. Although we tell many stories of martyrs and remember that certain governments have used terror to suppress the faith, those moments are not the usual.
Although an army can destroy a city in a few days, it took many peaceful years -- sometimes centuries -- to build that city. We live most of our lives during those peaceful years when warfare and persecutions are rare.
But we nonetheless require the martyrs' spirit to live out our quiet lives. Even as they laid down their lives, we make habitual sacrifices for loved ones, neighbors, acquaintances, our churches, and our enemies. It's what we do. It's our nature.
It's nice when they thank us. Recognition is a good thing. But we're not compelled by any desire for recognition. If we have to answer for the good things we do we might have to say, "The Master has need of it."
Keep it simple.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.