In the gospel for today from John 14, 21-26, Jesus teaches His disciples that the way to demonstrate their love for Him is to obey His teachings and commands. Verse 21 says: “Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me.” (NIV)
Other translations would put it this way: “The one who OBEYS me is the one who loves me. ” (TLB) “Those who really love me are the ones who not only know my commands but also OBEY them.” (ERV) “If you love me, you will DO WHAT I HAVE SAID.” (CEV) I think that’s clear, right?
JESUS LEFT US WITH MANY COMMANDS, NOT SUGGESTIONS. OURS IS TO OBEY….every single one.
Actually, obeying the commands and teachings of Jesus is so important, that just before He was taken up to heaven, Jesus reminded His disciples again saying (Matt 28:20): “Go and make disciples of all nations … and teach them to OBEY EVERYTHING I have commanded you.” Then He was taken up to heaven. His last words here on earth: “teach everyone to obey everything I have commanded you.”
But wait. Seriously? “… everything”(?) that He commanded? Did you ever come to think about this “all”-ness? You know, once when I was reflecting on this passage, I had to pause and reflect on that phrase: “everything I have commanded you.” And I said to myself, “Wait, wait. What does He mean by that? And then I found myself going back through the first few chapters of Matthew, and started to list the things that He commanded, and I came up with a list of 63 different teachings and commands of Jesus. Commands like: seek first God’s kingdom. Commands like: do not worry about what you are to wear. Commands like: “Sin no more.” Or “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth.” “Deny yourself and take up your cross daily.” Sounds, familiar? Well, those ARE the teachings and commands of Jesus. And I found 63 of them!
And for many of us who have been going to Mass regularly or doing bible studies, these commands will be familiar if we encounter them or if it is read to us. But the question is, can you possibly keep track of all these commands on a day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute basis so that you would diligently, religiously obey them all?
And now, to add pressure to this, Jesus says, “Those who really love me are the ones who not only know my commands but also obey them.” (John 14:21 ERV) I mean, that’s pressure isn’t it?
What if Jesus comes to you today, and asks you the same question He asked Peter: “Do you love me?” What are you going to say? Oh my, God forbid that when Jesus pops that question, He’s going to ask you to recite all that He commanded. And now you know why His astonished disciples asked Him: “Lord, who then can be saved?” (Matt 19:25, Mark 10:26, Luke 18:26).
Do you remember them asking Jesus that question? And do you remember His answer? Jesus replied, saying: “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matt 19:26, Mark 10:27, Luke 18:27)
Whew! Before you get confused any further, my dear friends, let me give you a spark of hope.
WE NEED TO MAKE CONSCIENTIOUS EFFORT TO KNOW HIS WILL
First of all, yes, Jesus gave us many teachings. And yes, each and every single one of those teachings is valuable. And yes, we do have to make a conscientious effort to know and follow them, and live it out in our day to day lives. But we cannot do this if we are mindless of the gospels. We cannot possibly live these commands out, if we don’t read the bible, if we don’t come together with other believers and remind each other of the teachings of Jesus. And this is why we need to conscientiously examine our lives at the end of each day, and repent of those times when we failed to live according to the teachings of Jesus. In fact, in today’s passage, Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit, Himself, will teach us all things and will remind us of everything that Jesus commanded.
And, yes, God is a God of second chances. This is why we Catholics have this beautiful prayer of repentance, where we ask for forgiveness for our sins, not only because of God’s just punishments, but because we have offended God who is “deserving of all our love.” This prayer is probably the same feeling that Peter felt when he responded to Jesus who asked Peter, “Do you love me?”
WE OBEY BECAUSE WE LOVE
Jesus deserves all our love, because of what He had done on the cross out of love for us. God deserves all our love because of His mercy and his abundant love. And God knows we are not perfect, that’s why He sends to each of us His Holy Spirit that will enable and empower us to grow more and more in love with Jesus every day.
Let me end by pointing out one additional thing about our efforts to love Jesus.
When we love someone, whether our spouse, or family, or friends, or say the poor, we demonstrate this by doing things for their good, even at a cost to ourselves. The same way that we know how God loves us through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, for our good – namely our salvation. Right? God’s love means good things for us.
But when we love God, there is a difference. When we love God, even though so imperfectly, it’s not as if we’re offering something that will benefit Him. He does not need us. Right? We can’t give Him anything that He doesn’t already own. Not even our lives.
But what God truly desires out of our love is for Him to be honored. And that is why the way He wants us to show love for Him is to obey Him. Because when we obey Him, we acknowledge that He is God, that He is OUR God, and we choose to obey Him instead of obey our own selfish desires, or to obey the temptations of the world or of the flesh or of Satan. And when we do this, when we obey Him, God is pleased with us, and He feels honored.
And you know what happens when God is pleased? Let’s go back to the passage for today, and let’s see what Jesus promises to those who love and obey God:
Jesus says, if you love me by obeying what I commanded: “you will be loved by my Father“, “I will love you“, “I will show myself to you“, and “my Father and I will come to you and make our home with you“.
Yes, dear brothers and sisters, He will do that. Right now, He’s ready to do that. Make it your desire to learn what He has taught, and strive with all your hearts to obey all that He commands, and love Him this way because He is deserving of all our love.
All praise and honor be to God. Amen.
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