In the Gospel reading today from John 14, Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
Jesus said, “This is my commandment: love one another.” Notice that in that sentence, He uses the singular “commandment.” But in John 14:15, He uses the plural, “commandments.” So which is it, Lord? Do we have to keep just one commandment, or are there others that we must also keep? I think the answer is “Yes!” Both of those statements would be correct.
Remember that Jesus is God. He was there when the Ten Commandments were handed to Moses. So those are Jesus’ commandments, too. We must keep those. The bottom line here is that all of the commandments flow from love. If we love God and we love one another, then keeping the commandments will be no problem. It is when selfishness creeps in that keeping the commandments becomes a chore. Think of it like this: Jesus came to fulfill the commandments. Jesus is God. God is love. So love is the fulfillment of the commandments.
Father, fill us with you love, that we may keep your commandments. Amen.
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