John 15:9-17

“As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved 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 do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the Master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me, but I chose you and I appoint you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.”

These verses in John are so simple yet hold so much power. All Jesus is asking for, for His friends, is that we “love one another.” Sounds easy on the surface, except life happens, and we are not as kind as we should be, or that He wants us to be, to others. Smile at that stranger on the street, hold the door open for someone, just be kind.

Once we can hand over our struggles to God, lay them at his feet and lighten our load, it gets easier to stop thinking about us and we can start caring for and thinking about others. We need to put our trust in Jesus, pray, be still, and listen for Him to answer. He loves us so much with his unconditional parental love. Does that mean we will not have struggles? Of course there will be challenges, bumps in the road, bad days, but if we can keep our focus on Jesus, he will guide us through the tough times.

My faith journey has been growing for the past 25 years. I have watched how God has worked through me, grown in me, and is still molding me into the person He wants me to be. But there have been struggles. This January I lost a son to cancer. It was a 6-year battle. The last three months of his life were very difficult to watch. My best friend had been visiting from out of state the weekend that he passed. She asked me, knowing that I am in seminary, “aren’t you mad at God?” My response was why? What would that accomplish? Steve will still be gone. My love for Jesus helps me let go of some of that pain. Instead, I am grateful that God gave me such a wonderful gift to have and to love for over 40 years. I will miss my son, will miss his hugs, his smiles, but I have those memories locked away in my heart. My love for God and my gratitude for all of the blessings he gives me daily helps ease the pain of losing a child. But it also shows me the pain that God must have felt as he lost his son.

As a parent we should love our children unconditionally, the way Jesus loves us. It does not mean we might not disappoint Him from time to time, just like our children can disappoint us, but we do not stop loving them. We love them through hard things, so we can mold them to be kind loving adults. So, they can grow up and love Jesus and others the way Jesus loves us. Never stop teaching your children about Gods love and His commandments and keep molding your children to be kind loving adults that care for others.  Be kind to one another.

The Rev. Seminarian Donna Rex Geist, The Affirming Catholic Church of Christ