Jesus says in today’s reading that “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him…” Our atheist friends will tell us that God is suggesting a “quid-pro-quo” here…, that God only loves those that love Him. But in fact the exact opposite is happening, a “quo-pro-quid” is actually what is being offered. The offer is that if you align your will with that of the Father, essentially willing for your own life what God has always willed for you, that you will find your greatest happiness, and as a result will grow to love Him, and in that love you will experience the full love that the Father has for you in return.
It is important to note here that God in Heaven does not need your love, He is perfect, and complete in all things. He does not need it but in His divine wisdom knows that we do! Love is not a feeling, it is an action. The greeks had 8 words for love, they ranged from selfless divine love, to brotherly and familial love, all the way down to affection, passion and attraction, etc. But in all of its names these loves are not feelings. Certainly feelings accompany all of these acts, but the feelings follow the actions. The actions are sacrifice, kinship, friendship, desire, duty, etc, but the feelings only come after those actions are pursued, and the “love” is actually exchanged.
But here is the most amazing part, When you receive God’s love and return it, the love in the world is multiplied. Thus the love that God offers us is magnified in our acceptance and return, and both parties benefit from the increase. There is literally nothing in the entire realm of existence that we can give to God that He does not already possess…, except our love! When we allow God’s love into our hearts, and return it to Him (and others), we are in-fact doing something completely new in the universe. Something that God cannot do for us, or even compel us to do. Our love (when freely given) is a new creation, uniquely our own, and God delights in it. And in doing so, we get to participate in making God’s joy more complete. How incredible is that?!?
This exchange of love with the Father is the convergence of love and obedience. Obedience is probably the hardest of all of the virtues to fulfill. For many years we had a pope that spread confusion, and division. Our presidents and politics have done the same. Even our local bishops and priest may ask us to do or accept things that we do not like or want to do. But obedience to the authority of the office compels us to abide. However, the difference between all of those humans and God is that God is the good Father, and His will is perfect, and He only asks us (whether we like it or not) to do things that are actually the best thing for us. And in that obedience, aligning our will to His, is where we will find the greatest peace, and in that peace, is where we will find the fullest expression of His love.
The way we accomplish this convergence is through entering into relationship with the lord, and the way that relationship is nurtured is through intimacy. Peter Kreeft, in his commentary on this passage wrote:
“The goal of love is always intimacy, and God becomes more and more intimate with us as he reveals himself in three stages: first, the Father reveals himself in the Old Testament; then, the Son, in the New Testament; and then, the Holy Spirit, in the Church. First God is above us and then he is with us and then he is in us. First, he is outside us; then, he is beside us; and finally, he is inside us.”
So the goal is to have His love inside us. We do that by studying his word, and listening to His ’ Teachings. Walking “the way” and staying close to the sacraments, of confession, and the eucharist. When we do these things we will find ourselves in His love, and in return our mind and our actions will be loving Him in return.
