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1 John 3:11-21

Beloved:
This is the message you have heard from the beginning:
we should love one another,
unlike Cain who belonged to the Evil One
and slaughtered his brother.
Why did he slaughter him?
Because his own works were evil,
and those of his brother righteous.
Do not be amazed, then, brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.
We know that we have passed from death to life
because we love our brothers.
Whoever does not love remains in death.
Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer,
and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him.
The way we came to know love
was that he laid down his life for us;
so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
If someone who has worldly means
sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion,
how can the love of God remain in him?
Children, let us love not in word or speech
but in deed and truth.

Now this is how we shall know that we belong to the truth
and reassure our hearts before him
in whatever our hearts condemn,
for God is greater than our hearts and knows everything.
Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us,
we have confidence in God.

____________________________________________

What is the distinctive characteristic of a Christian?  We are called to love everyone – our brothers and sisters, our enemies – EVERYONE.  And what is love?  Love is not a feeling, but it is a decision to lay down one’s life for others.  The beauty of this kind of love is that God made us to love sacrificially.  We become who God meant us to be when we love until it hurts.  Selfishness and hatred have no place in the Kingdom of God.

St. John challenges us greatly in this reading.  If we see a brother in need and we refuse to help him, can we say that the love of God is in us?  We cannot say that we love God and do nothing when someone right in front of us is in need.  We have all been in situations that we wish we would have acted differently, right?  The Spirit of God convicts us of our actions.

I have been in parish situations where we all profess to be faithful followers of Jesus Christ.  We seem like a loving family at Mass on Sunday mornings.  But then we walk out of the church and the gossip begins, the backbiting starts, the hatred spews. 

Am I someone who truly loves God?

Do my actions toward others show my love of God?

Do I act differently in church than I do outside of church?

Is my heart pure?

Have a blessed day!
Fr. Burke

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