CALL NANNY 911!
We all know that God’s love is a grand mystery. God is Mystery. Yet we still try to understand, to “scratch the Mystery” a bit.
Grandparents’ love of their grandchildren can be a metaphor for God’s love. We each have hopefully experienced the undying love of Grandmother or Grandfather. Where this metaphor falls short is that most grandparents go home. God never leaves us. We are at home in God and God in us.
I have many friends who are grandparents and they each delight in telling stories. I met one grandmother friend in the gym yesterday. She had just returned from visiting the newest grandchildren, a set of twins, and their 8 year old sister. Having exasperating moments with the 8 year old, Nana said, “you know, we’ll just have to call Nanny 911!” The child was startled.
Today, John writes Jesus’ words to us:
“As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you.”
Jesus wants us to recognize how deeply he loves us. That’s awesome. Jesus loves us and loves us and loves us again, even more powerfully than Grandmother and “Nanny 911.”
Over and over again in scripture we hear Jesus’ stories of his, of God’s loving, and mercy, and forgiveness, and loving more. Think of someone who loves you. How much of your “stuff” does s/he put up with, and keeps loving you over and over again.
The point of this story is more than Jesus loves you and me with undying love. Jesus asks us to love one another as he loves us. That’s some challenge. It means we have to put our “love” words into action. Our love must be manifest in deeds, a piece of Saint Ignatius’ wisdom.
When I was thinking of ways to love, the words of Bob Dufford, S.J.’s liturgical song, “Love One Another”, kept singing in my heart:
“Love one another as I have loved you.
Care for each other, I have cared for you.
Bear each other’s burdens.
Bind each other’s wounds;
And so you will know my return.”
Our hearts of love need hands of service.
P.S. If you sing this song for the next day or two, that’s a good thing!
Member of Creighton University Community
Since its inception in 1997, Online Ministries has been blessed to have myriad members of the Creighton University community offer their personal reflections on the daily scripture readings.
