Homily of His Excellency Msgr. Selim Sfeir Maronite Archbishop of Cyprus A New Commandment John 13 / 31-35
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
"Love each other”
"My little children, I am with you for a little while longer. You will look for me—but, just as I told the Jewish leaders, I also tell you now—‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ “I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other." (John 13: 33-34)
Jesus gives us a commandment of love to each other, just as he did to his disciples when he said, "My children." But he does not just give us the commandment "I give you a new commandment: Love each other." He also gives us a standard by which we can measure our practice of this love. He is aware of our weakness and inadequacy to realize it fully, but through this standard he aims to humble our pride, if we ever think we have fulfilled this commandment. He is not telling us to love as much as we can, or as much as others love us, but he is saying, “Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other."
The question then becomes: how has he loved us?
Jesus says: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him won’t perish but will have eternal life. God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him." (John 3:16-17) And the apostle Paul adds, “But God shows his love for us, because while we were still sinners Christ died for us...” (Romans 5:8)
Thus, the Word of God does not say that God loved us when we became righteous and holy! But while we were still sinners, God loved us and saved us. Jesus recommends that we love one another according to this standard. "This means that we must love each other not only when we are righteous to one another, but also when our brothers treat us badly, we must love them. Not just with a superficial love expressed in words, but with a self-giving love, a love similar to that of Jesus who loved us when we were not yet reconciled to him."
Jesus is not just seeking to restore relationships between his disciples, but he wants this commandment of love to be a witness to the whole world, and for this love to be intentional. He says, "By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
If you want to know if you are in true love, read this Bible passage and replace the word "charity" with your name, then examine yourself by this standard.
"Charity is patient, it is full of kindness; charity is not envious; charity doesn`t boast, it doesn`t take pride, it doesn`t do anything dishonest, it doesn`t seek its own interest, it is not angry, it doesn`t suspect evil, it doesn`t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth; it excuses all things, it believes all things, it hopes all things, it endures all things." (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)
This commandment may seem very great, but it is not the ultimate. Some might say, "Reaching this commandment is difficult." I will say that even if this commandment, linked to the gratuitousness of divine love, "as I have loved you," which the Lord traces out for us, remains limited to the expression "one another." Loving your brother is a good thing, but loving your enemy, that is perfection. Jesus went even further by saying: "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat and persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5: 44-45) If we find it hard to love our brothers, how hard can it be to love our enemies?
Brothers and sisters, let us love one another as Jesus loved us, ignoring all offenses, for "He who does not love has not known God, for God is love." (1 John 4:8)
† Selim Sfeir
Maronite Archbishop of Cyprus