Two views of „Who loves me…“
. Brothers and sisters, the gospel gives us a glimpse of part of the farewell speech of the Lord Jesus – a kind of testament. The Lord says goodbye and leaves, thus reminding us of one crucial (entirely self-evident, but so often overlooked) fact – namely: that we leave too. We are just pilgrims on a journey whose earthly stage is relatively short-lived. Death is not discussed; if possible, it is not even considered. At most, we can pause at Dušičky’s place, but we are also happy when we shake off the cemetery aftertaste the next day. And yet it is one of our main certainties. So pretending it doesn’t concern me is more than a short-sighted sight – that famous ostrich poking its head into the sand. (We can very successfully doubt the intelligence and success of such behavior.) And yet – how much do we count on that other reality and the continuation of our life than this here and now? How present in our decisions is the awareness of his overlap beyond death? Let’s face it – usually not much. I think one of the reasons is a misunderstanding. We have an even Old Testament „sheol “ view of the afterlife – something darkened, sad, and therefore nothing to look forward to or look forward to. It is a fact that we are confronted with particular difficulties in the ideas and descriptions of eternity. St. handled it best. Paul: Neither eye saw, ear heard, nor came upon the human mind what God has prepared for those who love him. St. also faces similar problems. John, in today’s second reading when he describes the heavenly Jerusalem. All this gold, jewels, ornaments, brightness, and glitter only underline his helplessness as he tries to describe indescribable and transcending human words and minds. Most conveniently and precisely in his text, he expressed the essence of the heavenly Jerusalem at the end of today’s passage: This city needs neither sunlight nor moonlight, because God’s majesty illuminates it. His light is the Lamb. Bright, shining, the joy and happiness of this city (place) will be the all-pervading God. He is the absolute light next to which all those earthly “lights” lose weight and necessity – everything that shines through our life makes him prettier, more cheerful, and what we build on and desire. All this is only a reflection of the (fracture) of eternal Light, and – as we hear today – it will pale in the face of this true Light-God, it will lose its importance to us, and we will be captivated by the fullness of brightness and light. God’s is always greater and more surprising than man’s. (Although we often don’t quite believe it now, and maybe it’s the loss of that nice earthly one we’re so afraid of.) The otherness of God’s gift was already reminded to us by the Lord Jesus in today’s gospel – in the words about the peace he gives us, not by the one who gives the world to you. This piece of God is much more than just some contentment and peace. It is a deep inner stream of joy and certainty, resulting from acceptance and forgiveness, from victory over sin and evil – from victory, which, based on the will of the Lord, also becomes our hereditary destiny. Then, whether I succeed or lose these earthly lights and certainties, I will be at peace because I will know that God is with me, and even if he is a dark ravine, he is coming with me.
The problem is that we know each other and know that our walking together with God is not perfect. Perhaps the Lord Jesus gave us instructions for this in today’s gospel—in the first sentence: Whoever loves me will keep my word. We can understand this in two ways—as a warning and as the mentioned instructions.
In the first view, we can understand the sentence: If you love me (really and not just talk about it ), then prove it ( prove) by action – by keeping my word, my commandments. That’s what he has in mind elsewhere – not the one who calls me „Lord, Lord,“ but the one who does my Father’s will. Or from the pen of St. James: Faith without works is dead. Perhaps here we hear a warning about a certain spiritual schizophrenia – the difference between what we experience in our heart and reason, and what manifests itself externally. If it’s not worth much on the outside, maybe it won’t be so hot even with the love for the Lord God, which we may be convinced of.
Then there is a second way to understand this sentence: Only he who loves me can keep my word. The bearer and motivation of my keeping God’s word and commandments cannot be that I have to or want to be better, more virtuous, etc. The only possible motivation for staying on that path of God is that I love. Without seizing the heart with love for God, it is impossible to keep the commandments! (This is then perceived only as a burden that one leaves sooner or later under different pretexts.) Without seizing the heart with love for God, faith is impossible as a relationship! – And how else should it be grasped?! Everything else is just a parody of faith.
Sometimes I think – how few people confess out of little or no love for the Lord God. And at the same time, when asked about the greatest commandment, the Lord Jesus quoted precisely – to love God above all else. Perhaps we are so preoccupied with the consequences of (‘s sins) that we forget the cause – that simply the Lord God was not the Beloved I stood for. Let’s think in this direction today and this week, and give our faith a shell and heart.
