The Power of Love

Reflection for the 6^th Sunday of Easter Year C

As part of His farewell discusses, Jesus said to His disciples, “If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (Jn 14:23). In silent meditation, we come to realize that loving Jesus is not vainglory; it is power! To love Jesus is the most sublime, excellent and responsible act of man.

There is no separation between loving Jesus and keeping His word. We can distinguish them sequencialy, i.e. love precedes, but it immediately and automatically brings forth obedience to His word. And this obedience attracts the Father’s love and an indwelling with the Trinity. Thus it is shear hypocrisy to claim to love Jesus but not abide in His commandment of love. The two cannot be separated in essence.

Let us pause to celebrate this day the power and beauty of loving Jesus. It is peace to the soul; it displaces all fear and fills the heart with joy. In silence our being can be wrapped in the cloud of His love, which renews and empowers us to act so as to fulfil God’s will. This is where the power to heal wounds of hate, perform acts of charity, build lasting relationships, etc comes from. A holy and righteous life will elude us if we are not energized from within by the love of Jesus.

Loving Jesus summons us to one responsibility: to abide in His word! That means His word is like the Lamp John saw in the book of Revelation, which is the light for the Holy City (Rev 21:23). Those who love Jesus think and act through His word. Any other ‘burden’ will unsettle the mind; create tension and division among the people of God. Loving Jesus is real source of inner strength for a happy life.

Happy Sunday!

Fr Jude Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Immaculate Conception Catholic Church,

Abule-Oshun, Lagos.

May 26^th, 2019.