“No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
Most of us will probably never be faced with the prospect of sacrificing ourselves for another. But actually we are called to do just that every day. Every time we put someone else’s wellbeing ahead of our own, we are laying down our lives for another. Every time we respond to a baby’s call in the night, every time we listen to a friend’s tale of family tensions we die to ourselves. Every time we volunteer for a charity or help a stranded traveler or give money to the needy, we lay down our lives for another.
This may be seen as ordinary run of the mill behavior but then you might be surprised to learn how extraordinary it is. Such behavior is the result of a choice, a choice for love. Every time we do one of these small things for someone else, we love our brothers and sisters as Jesus loves us and we have chosen to pay the cost.
The cost is the pain we feel for those we love. The cost is giving up our self pride and living only for Christ. In this way the love of God, His saving power, is revealed to all the world through us, His Church.
Let us remember to follow Christ as He taught us, and lay down our lives daily in all the innumerable small ways that we encounter from day to day.
Pax Vobiscum
Easter Sunday