Monday after Judica Sunday
Posted on April 4, 2022 by under
Scripture: St. John 13:31-35 (NKJV)
13:31 So, when he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. 32 If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately. 33 Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you. 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Devotion
Love begins with the Christian Church, with Christians loving other Christians. This does not mean that Christians do not love non-Christians. On the contrary, Christians will love all men better if their love starts where the Christ commanded: “if you have love for one another.”
There is a vocational hierarchy to love. In Matthew 22, our Lord teaches that the greatest commandment is to love God, and the second is to love our neighbor (vs. 37–40). We can only truly love our neighbor if we love God more; if we love our neighbor more than God, it will be impossible to truly love either God or our neighbor.
Just as love for God must come before love for neighbor, our Lord teaches that not all neighbors are loved the same way. Love for fellow Christians must come before love for non-Christians. This does not mean that we do not love non-Christians. Rather, just as loving God leads to loving neighbors, loving God’s saints leads to loving those who are not saints. This is necessary because the greatest good we could wish on anyone is that he becomes a saint through faith and Baptism.
We must love God first, then God’s saints, then those who are not saints. Only in this way can we love all men properly.
Prayer: We beseech Thee, Almighty God, mercifully to look upon Thy people, that by Thy great goodness they may be governed and preserved evermore, both in body and soul; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
Collect for the Season of Lent
Almighty and Everlasting God, Who hatest nothing that Thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all those who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins, and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of Thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with the Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
