I am not a picky person when it comes to food. Anyone who has fed me vouch for this. There just isn't too much in the realm of food that I won't eat. Fruits, vegetables, meats, fish;they are all friends of mine when it comes to dinnertime. However, there is one thing I really can't stand: yellow skittles. But its not just yellow skittles, its also yellow starbursts, yellow sprees, yellow Jolly Ranchers, yellow jellybeans, and any other yellow candy that has a lemon flavor. I don't like them, I won't eat them, I separate them from the other candy I am eating then throw them away or give them to any sucker who wants them. And while my hang up with yellow candy might seem a little strange, most of us have some edible item we dislike and do our best to avoid, whether that be a fruit, vegetable, or some mystery meat. We all have things we like and those are the things we strive for, the things we like to have. Those items we don't like, we prefer to avoid and keep as far from us as possible, at least if we have the choice. This is a normal human reaction and something we do almost automatically many times a day in regards to people, places and things.
In the gospel from John, Jesus says: "This is my commandment: love one another as I love you." Then, just a few lines later he says, "You are my friends if you do what I command you." and then he concludes by repeating: "This I command you: love one another." If there is one thingOur Lord is driving home to his apostles and to us it is this: "Love one another in the same way that I have loved you. Loving one another is my command and keeping my commandments makes you my friends. So love one another." But who is one another????? Who are we called to love in the same way that Christ loved us?????? Is it our friends? Yes! Is it our family? Yes! Would this include our co-workers, acquaintances and even total strangers? The answer is yes! Christ's command to love one another evenincludes thosewho have hurt us, thosewho annoy us, yes, even our enemies.
The hard truth is there are people in our lives who are like the yellow skittles of life. These are the people that leave a bad taste in our mouth, the ones who make our stomachs churn when we see them. They are the folks who we would rather separate from the rest and throw away. They are the people who, if we had our way, would never have contact with us and we would never have to deal with them.
But this command of Jesus to love one another, which he repeats several times, is clear; as Christians, we do not have the option of loving only those we like nor do we have the option of liking all of those we must love. As Christians, we do not have the luxury of choosingwhich people we will love and which people we will ignore or discard.
Christian love is much deeper; it is more than a passing feeling or fleeting passion.
I mention this because there seems to be an increasingly hateful mentality in our society, even among those who call themselves Christians. I am not just speaking about a few backwards folks somewhere in the US or in the world. I am thinking of people in this city, people in this archdiocese, people in this parish. Christ's command to love one another extends to eachand everyperson made in his image and likeness; and this includes every person on this earth, regardless of their color, nationality, or creed. This command of charity embraces the whole range of humanity from the unborn child to the terminally ill and elderly. As Christians, we must love all persons, whether it is President Trump, brewing a Twitter storm or Pope Francis, saying things that are difficult to hear. As followers of Christ, we must love even those we struggle with, whether that is a Pastor, a member of the school administration, a fellow parishioner or any other person we don't see eye-to-eye with.
But perhaps the reason why we find it so hard to love one another is because we don't understand what love truly is. To love as Jesus loves does not simply mean saying nice things or always grinning and bearing it; it is also about standing up and always doing the right thing even if this might be upsetting to some. Sometimes the most loving thing we can do for an individual is to respectfully confront themwith the truth and correct them in order to prevent them fromgoing astray. Sometimes this means saying things that are difficult and unpopular. Just because someone says something hard to hear doesn't mean they don't love us. Far too often we avoid sharing the truth because we're concerned about being"politically correct." As a result, we dilute the gospel message and use the excuse that we are being "pastoral" and "sensitive."
Friends, our gospel promises wonderful things to those who keep Christ's commandments; by following them we gain the privilege of becoming Children of God!!! To make it even simpler, Jesus tells us his commandment is this: love one another as he has loved us. Nothing could be more simple; nothing could be more difficult. We need God's help to keep this command, especially when it comes to those people who might be difficult, hateful, or just entirely different from ourselves. That is why we are here today, in this Church, at this Eucharist. Our example of love is seen on the cross; Jesus gave his very life for all people, even the people who put him to death. We are called to that same level of love, for our friends, for our family, and yes, even for our enemies.
Join with me in praying for the grace to love one another as Christ first loved us. This is the hallmark of our faith, this is the pledge of our salvation, this is what hasand should alwaysset Christians apart. May those beautiful words of Christ reign in our hearts: "I no longer call you slaves, I have called you friends. Love one another as I love you."
