Christ
is Risen! Alleluia!
In
the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have
loved you.” This is the
command Jesus gives to His disciples. The second greatest command of
the Law is to love your neighbor as yourself. So here, Jesus ups the
ante, saying that you are to love one another not just as you love
yourself, but as He has loved you.
On its face, this seems like a
simple, rather straightforward command. You know how Jesus
demonstrated His love. He died for you, to take away your sins and
make you holy before God. He says in today's lesson that “greater
love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his
friends.” So the way to love
one another like Jesus does is to be willing to die for your friends.
This is the true test of friendship, of love.
