Well, that certainly would be a wonderful question or us to ponder, that is, if we did not already have the answer. In John 13:35 Jesus says this: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another,” but of course we all knew that, correct? Love is the Christian identity. Love is the Christian uniform. You see, Jesus does want the world to recognize us as Christians. We need to evangelize and witness to people around us. But effective evangelization and witnessing has less to do with how fluently we speak and more to do with how faithfully we live and love. What we need to do is to love one another as Jesus loves us: then the world will know that we are His disciples. But these are not mere words; Jesus doesn’t just say “Love one another,” He says, “Love one another as I love you.” And how does Jesus love us? Well, He poured out every last drop of His precious blood, for us, He forgives us for our sins and pays the penalty Himself, He gives us everything He has and is, without ever thinking of asking any thing in return. That is how we are called to love. That is what is new about His commandment and it is what makes all things new. In the second reading today we hear about a new Jerusalem that was literally recreated and made new by the fact that its citizens loved one another in the way that Jesus loved them. Would you not feel totally new if you felt that everyone around you loved you as Jesus does? And how do you think that those God gave you would feel if they truly could see that you love them as Jesus loves them? His commandment is always new because it has never been carried out nearly to the extent to which Jesus longs. If we love one another as Jesus loves us, the world will know that we are truly His disciples and the world will be made completely and totally new.
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