(Amos 5. 4)
Whatever we do in life has one goal:
we want to be happy.
The difficulty lies in finding the way to be happy.
The Doctor of the Law in the Gospel had the same aspiration:
‘Lord, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’
In other words, what must I do to be happy always?
And Jesus Christ quickly responded:
Extremely simple…
Love and you will be happy.
Simple …perhaps in saying it.
Because the problem, we all know,
is how can we manage to love always?
To love many times means saying no to our ideas and likings
And no one likes saying no.
To love you, I have to die to myself, and no one likes to die.
How shall we go about it?
Ask the expert!
The expert in love is none other than God himself.
He knows how to love.
He is Love itself.
Therefore it is good to learn from the connoisseur of love.
The Gospels define Jesus Christ as the true Samaritan.
He did not do what the Levite and the priest did –
they looked at the wounded man and walked away.
The law and devotions do not solve anything.
He does.
He… approached us,
dressed our wounds
dirtied his hands and the animal,
put his hand in his pocket and took out two coins.
The Master had blood on His hands at the end.
He loved us seriously.
But how does He manage to do it
considering the fact that we are so unlovable?
He just goes deeper.
When God looks at us, he does not stop at the outer layer,
at our manners, words, actions
which are often unnecessarily coarse.
He goes deep within and sees what there is in the heart.
And all too often our heart is bleeding.
Too many wounds and aches.
Thus He instinctively sympathizes with us.
Be like Him!
When you find yourself in front of an uncouth reaction of the other,
remind yourself of the aching heart that he/she has.
Then it will be easier for you to love,
even when their outward appearances are rough.
Another thing…
God has a great ability
to always find the positive in us.
He knows who we are,
and so, regardless of everything and everyone,
He tries to remain upbeat.
He is able to discover the countless riches
that each one of us has.
Let us see others the way God sees them.
We too can learn to see the beauty in them.
Let us not allow our mean negativity to darken our view.
Yet, another thing about the way God loves us.
He is always the One who takes the initiative.
He is always the one to start.
He does not wait for us to make the first move.
Once, John of the Cross, who was well skilled in love
(read his poetry…
hopefully you won’t be scandalized!)
wrote to his friend Mother Anna:
“where there is no love, put love and you will find love”.
These are the three secrets of love…
” Go deep and see the pain in others.
” See the good in others
” Initiate the process yourself.
The same Saint used to repeat that,
‘those who love never grow weary and do not weary the others’.
The Samaritan was less tired than the priest and the Levite.
Because he loved.
And you?
And I?
“Learn where knowledge is, where strength, where understanding,
and so learn where length of days is, where life,
where the light of the eyes and where peace.
But who has found out where knowledge lives,
who has entered her treasure house?
But the One who knows all discovers her,
he has grasped her with his own intellect,
he has set the earth firm for evermore and filled it with four-footed beasts,
he sends the light — and it goes, he recalls it — and trembling it obeys;
the stars shine joyfully at their posts;
when he calls them, they answer, ‘Here we are’;
they shine to delight their Creator.
It is he who is our God,
no other can compare with him.”
(Baruch, 14-15,33-37)