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Decently I attended a
seminar on religious' fundamentalism. The animator of
the seminar was speaking very convincingly about forced
conversions in India. At one stage he asked a question,
addressed especially to the Christians: Why do people in
India accuse Christians of making forced converts and
yet Christians account for only 2.8 percent of the total
population of India? There was no answer from anybody.
I, too, put down my head as I did not have an answer to
give. But when I got back to my room I kept reflecting
on that question and Jn 13:35 gave me the answer: "By
this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you
have love for one another."
Jesus gave this strong and
unbeatable weapon 2000 years ago to his disciples. And
still we, his followers, have failed to take up this
weapon and make the people to know about Christ by the
witness of our love. People will know Jesus Christ,
people will embrace Christianity, and people will love
you and me when we share the love of Christ with them.
Jesus gave us this
commandment of love at a very important moment in his
life. He was sitting at table with his disciples for his
Last Supper, his Passover Meal with them. Judas had left
the table. Jesus knew fully well that he was going to be
betrayed and handed over to the soldiers by one of his
own disciples. He also knew that not only would Peter,
one of his closest disciples, deny him three times, but
also that the rest of his disciples would run away and
leave him alone. In that very trying and sad moment
Jesus says to them, "Love one another as I have loved
you." Jesus knew fully well that only love could spread
goodness to the people. He had shown this in his life of
preaching and healing, service and salvation.
During his ministry, he
has not even neglected the Pharisees. He treated
everyone with equal respect and love. He lovingly shared
his life with others in the world, and even on the cross
he forgave the people; who had crucified him. Knowing
fully well that his disciples would carry his goodness
and love to the people, he gave them the same weapon he
used: "Love one another as I have loved you."
Jesus' coming into this world, his ministry, his
selfless service of humanity and his death on the cross,
which we hear about often in our life, were all marked
by his love. But then why do we fail to witness to the
love of Christ in the world today? Why do we fail to
tell people that Christ loves them? Why do people fail
to recognize in us the love of Christ? Perhaps this is
because we ourselves have not yet truly experienced the
love of Christ in our lives. May be we know only to love
those who love us. May be we have no time to share our
love with others.
Loving others as Christ
loved us requires that first of all we have experienced
the love of Christ in our hearts. If we have experienced
the love of Christ in our hearts, then we will be able
to love others and also receive the love of others; here
dwells the Kingdom of God. So let each one of us first
experience the love of Christ in his/her own heart, and
then it will be easy for him/her to love his/her
neighbours as well as his/her enemies. To experience
Christ's love each one of us must ask his special grace
during this Eucharist. I am sure that if we have the
love of Christ in us and if we go out with that love if
we go out with that love in our hearts to share it even
with the most hardened person, then that person will be
moved to accept Christ and witness the cross. By
Christ's love all men will know that we are his
disciples, his true followers. |
