“I give you a new commandment”
Jesus before He would give Himself over to be crucified gives the apostles a new commandment. In many ways it is a new commandment, and yet it is also similar to the ones God has already given.
What is the new commandment? “Jesus makes charity the new commandment. By loving his own ‘to the end,’ he makes manifest the Father’s love which he receives. By loving one another, the disciples imitate the love of Jesus which they themselves receive. Whence Jesus says: ‘As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love.’ And again: ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.’”[i]
“…This doctrine hands on the Lord’s teaching with the authority of the apostles, particularly in the presentation of the virtues that flow from faith in Christ and are animated by charity, the principal gift of the Holy Spirit. ‘Let charity be genuine…Love one another with brotherly affection…Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality.’”[ii]
How is the new commandment not new? The new commandment is really a summary of all the others commandments. To love God first, but here emphasizes the love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. “Our Father, ‘desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.’ He ‘is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish.’ His commandment is ‘that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.’ This commandment summarizes all the others and expresses his entire will.”[iii]
How can we love one another? We are able to love one another by the Holy Spirit. “The New Law is called a law of love because it makes us act out of the love infused by the Holy Spirit, rather than from fear…”[iv] The Catechism also teaches, “The Law of the Gospel requires us to make the decisive choice between ‘the two ways’ and to put into practice the words of the Lord. It is summed up in the Golden Rule, ‘Whatever you wish the men would do to you, do so to them; this is the law and the prophets.’ The entire Law of the Gospel is contained in the ‘new commandment’ of Jesus, to love one another as he has loved us.”[v]
The Second Vatican Council says, “Love of neighbor cannot be separated from love of God: ‘The greatest of commandment of the law is to love God with one’s whole heart and one’s neighbor as oneself. Christ has made this love of neighbor his personal commandment and has enriched it with a new meaning when he willed himself, along with his brothers, to be the object of this charity, saying: ‘As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me’. In assuming human nature he has united to himself all humanity in a supernatural solidarity which makes of it one single family. He has made charity the distinguishing mark of his disciples, in the words: ‘By this all mean will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another’”[vi]
Search: Love and Charity
Why does this new commandment matter? As Jesus told His apostles, by living out this commandment they will know they (and we) are disciples of Jesus Christ. “Reciprocal love modeled upon the love of the Master, indeed arising from it, assures the Christian community of the presence of Jesus and is its sign. At the same time it is the badge of true Christians: ‘By this all men will know that you are my disciples’. The life of the Church thus began, sustained by an absolutely new cohesive and expansive force of extraordinary power, because it was not founded on human love, which is always fragile and deficient, but upon divine love: the love of Christ re-lived in the mutual relationships of the faithful.”[vii]
How does this new commandment relate to us? Saint Jose Maria Escriva said that although this “new commandment” was given 2,000 years ago, it is in a way still new and revolutionary today. “The Master’s message and example are clear and precise. He confirmed his teaching with deeds. Yet I have often thought that, after twenty centuries, it is indeed still a new commandment, for very few people have taken the trouble to practice it. The others, the majority of men, both in the past taken the trouble to practice it. The others, the majority of men, both in the past and still today, have chosen to ignore it. Their selfishness has led them to the conclusion: ‘Why should I complicate my life: I have more than enough to do just looking after myself.’ Such an attitude is not good enough for us Christians. If we profess the same faith and are really eager to follow in the clear footprints left by Christ when he walked on this earth, we cannot be content merely with avoiding doing unto others the evil that we would not have them do unto us. That is a lot, but it is still very little when we consider that our love is to be measured in terms of Jesus’ own conduct. Besides, he does not give us this standard as a distant target, as a crowning point of a whole lifetime of struggle. It is – it ought to be, I repeat, so that you may turn it into specific resolution – our starting point, for our Lord presents it as a sign of Christianity: ‘By this shall all men known that you are my disciples’”[viii].
[i] CCC 1823
[ii] CCC 1971
[iii] CCC 2822
[iv] CCC 1972
[v] CCC 1970
[vi] Vatican II, Apostoliciam actuositatem, 8
[vii] Gabriel, Divine Intimacy, vol. II, 197
[viii] J. Escriva, Friends of God, 223