IF YOU DO WHAT I COMMAND YOU
At 1,15-17.20-26; Ps 112; Jn 15,9-17
14 MAY
Christ wants to be a friend of his disciples. But he puts a condition. Friendship with him can exist, be realized and lived only in the purest obedience to his will. We listen to the Word, we live it just as He lived it and we are his friends. One does not listen to his Word, he does not live it, even if he is his Apostles; he does not know us and does not know who we are. If we are strangers to Him, he will never introduce us into eternal dwellings. Friendship in the Book of the Apocalypse becomes a spousal relationship. It is a relationship in which we give ourselves to Christ in a full way, without any reservation, we surrender ourselves to his will, as He has surrendered himself to the will of the Father and became obedient until death on the cross.
“Behold, I am coming soon. I bring with me the recompense I will give to each according to his deeds. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Blessed are they who wash their robes so as to have the right to the tree of life and enter the city through its gates. The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let the hearer say, “Come.” Let the one who thirsts come forward, and the one who wants it receive the gift of life-giving water. I warn everyone who hears the prophetic words in this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words in this prophetic book, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city described in this book. The one who gives this testimony says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! (Cf. Rev 22,10-21).
We find a pale idea of this friendship that turns into marriage in the Book of Wisdom. We get married with wisdom in order to transform our life into wisdom.
Indeed, she reaches from end to end mightily and governs all things well. Her I loved and sought after from my youth; I sought to take her for my bride and was enamoured of her beauty. She adds to nobility the splendour of companionship with God; even the Lord of all loved her. For she is instructress in the understanding of God, the selector of his works. And if riches be a desirable possession in life, what is more rich than Wisdom, who produces all things? And if prudence renders service, who in the world is a better craftsman than she? Or if one loves justice, the fruits of her works are virtues; For she teaches moderation and prudence, justice and fortitude, and nothing in life is more useful for men than these. Or again, if one yearns for copious learning, she knows the things of old, and infers those yet to come. She understands the turns of phrases and the solutions of riddles; signs and wonders she knows in advance and the outcome of times and ages. So I determined to take her to live with me, knowing that she would be my counsellor while all was well, and my comfort in care and grief (Wis 8,1-9).
This was Paul’s wish: presenting each disciple to Jesus as a chaste virgin.
If only you would put up with a little foolishness from me! Please put up with me. For I am jealous of you with the jealousy of God, since I betrothed you to one husband to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ (2Cor 11,1-2).
In friendship the will of Christ becomes our will. We live to obey his voice. In the marriage the whole life of Christ becomes our life. The marriage is celebrated on the cross, becoming with him one only cross of salvation and redemption.
As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another.
What is the first obedience to be given to Jesus the Lord? That of loving his body with his own love, just as He loved and gave his life for it.
Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redemption, Angels and Saints make us true friends of Christ Jesus.