Fifth Sunday of Easter
As I Have Loved You
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)
In the upper room, on the night of His betrayal, Jesus offers a new commandment—not new in the sense that love had never been commanded before, but new in its standard: “As I have loved you.” These words are the measure and the means of Christian love: fully, freely, faithfully, and sacrificially.
To love in this way is to enter into the heart of the Gospel. Christ’s love is not abstract or sentimental. It is a love that washes feet, that breaks bread with sinners, that carries a cross. In commanding us to love as He has loved, Jesus invites us into His Way of living: humble, self-giving, and anchored in the Father’s will.
In monastic life, this commandment shapes our communal life. The Rule of St. Benedict tells us to “prefer nothing whatever to the love of Christ,” and in doing so, we are taught to see Christ in one another. Our love is tested not in grand gestures, but in daily acts of patience, service, and forgiveness. The cloister becomes a school of charity where we learn—slowly, sometimes painfully—to lay down our lives not once, but again and again in small, hidden ways.
Outside the monastery, this love remains just as vital. In a world that is often divisive and indifferent, the witness of Christ-like love sticks out. To love one another as He has loved us means to see every person as worthy of dignity and mercy, even when they challenge us, wound us, or differ from us.
This kind of love is hard, even dreadful. But it is desirable when we know ourselves to be deeply loved by Christ. It is possible when we abide in Christ’s love. To love as Jesus loves is to stay close to His heart, to draw upon the grace that flows from His pierced side.
For the Journey:
Who in my life is God asking me to love more deeply? Where am I being called to forgive, to serve, or to give without counting the cost? And do I truly believe that I am loved by Christ—not in theory, but personally, intimately, and without condition?
Reflection by Br. Luke Kral, OSB
Posted in Article for Easter, Daily Reflections