TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT.

FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER. YEAR C.
May 6, 2007.
(First reading: Acts 14:21-27) (Second reading: Revelation 21:1-5)
(Gospel: John 13:31-35)

TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT.

"This is how all will know that you are
my disciples, your love for one another"
(John 13:35)

There is only one way for man to reveal who he truly is: By the way he loves his fellow human beings. This love cannot be changed, cannot be altered, cannot be compromised under any circumstances. It is there, as it is, for us to take it or leave it.

What is, then, this love? How do we define it? how do we come to know it?
The love the Lord is talking about is the bond which unites the totality of a person's life with the life of another person. Furthermore, this love (Christian love) brings the person into full unity not only with just another person but with all human beings.

If this love involves the totality of a person, it means that it is not just a mere sentiment or a feeling or an emotion or a passion which connects one person with others; it rather involves one's whole being in a total unity with others.

Those who are able to love with total love are the ones who reveal themselves to be true disciples of the Lord Jesus before the eyes of the world ("This is how all will know that you are my disciples, your love for one another")

Those who betray love.
Love is betrayed by:
- Those who say that they oppose abortion but are in favor of war (any kind of war);
- Those who say they love to live in peace but promote or are indifferent in the sight of war;
- Those who bring about prosperity for themselves but unleash impoverishment for others.

To those in our world who in such a way betray true love, the gospel today seems to be saying: There is only one way to demonstrate that we are human beings, there is only one way to love, take it or leave it.