If you love me…

“If you love me . . .”  If a sentence begins with those four words, my guard immediately goes up.  I think that’s true for most of us.

It feels like manipulation, and nobody likes to be manipulated.

So, frankly, it pulls me up short when I read Jesus saying it.  The Gospel reading for Sunday from John starts just that way:  “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”  (John 14:15, click here for the full passage)

Is Jesus trying to manipulate the disciples and, by extension, us?  Well, on some level, yes.  Jesus certainly wants us to obey the commandments.  He is trying to get them, and us, to behave better.  But there are critical differences.

First, Jesus is not trying to get us to follow the commandments for selfish purposes.  Jesus wants us to follow the commandments because he knows that is the way that leads to God.  Following the commandments leads us away from sin, and the destruction that comes with sin, and toward himself, toward life.  Ultimately, it is the only path that will lead us to true, lasting, eternal happiness.

But I think Jesus is actually speaking at a different level.  I think he wants us to see that loving him and following the commandments are two pieces of a whole.  They cannot be separated.  Following the commandments will lead us to love Jesus.  Loving Jesus as we are called to — with our whole being — will result in obeying the commandments more and more.

It is a glorious cycle of loving Jesus and doing his will, each feeding off the other!  How do I get on THAT merry-go-round – and stay on it?

This column appeared in the May 14, 2023 edition of St. John’s eNews. Click here for the complete issue.

If you are reading this at a different time you may click here for the current eNews.