I have a lot of last conversations. What I mean is that in
these conversations the person with whom I am speaking and I both know that
this is likely our last conversation. We both know, or at least I know, that in
a few days or hours, this person will see face to face the One whom I preach
only in faith. It’s our last conversation as they stand on the threshold of
eternal life.
Those conversations are precious and memorable. The time is
short. The words are few. There is a clarity to the conversation because the
time is short and the words are few and whatever needs to be said, needs to be
said now.
A few years ago I was visiting my great uncle and my cousins
in California. My great uncle was a very devout Catholic and attended Mass
nearly every day for over fifty years. He and my aunt attended Mass every day
even after he began to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. During this particular
trip, however, my great uncle was staying in a rehabilitation center after a
surgery, and was not able to go to Mass. There are some privileges to having a
priest in the family, even though my great uncle was not usually sure what his
relationship was to this priest from North Carolina, and I obtained permission
to offer Mass in the rehabilitation center for my great uncle and the other
residents. After Mass, we had donuts. And as I sat at the table with my great
uncle, he looked at me and said, “I know who you are, you’re my brother Ted’s
grandson, and you’re a priest.” The time was short and the words were few and
there was a clarity to the conversation that only the grace of God can give.
That was our last conversation.
Love one another as I have loved you. It’s part of a last
conversation at the Last Supper. Love one another as I have loved you. The Lord
Jesus said so many things to his disciples and to the crowds during his earthly
ministry. He preached about eternal life. He spoke about being born again. He
talked about salt and light and seeds and harvests. Jesus did so many things.
He healed the sick. He raised the dead. He fed the five thousand on the side of
the mountain and spoke of the Bread of Life. He went fishing. He washed their feet
in the Upper Room. He showed them what it means to love. Jesus taught them how to love.
I was talking with a new father not long ago, and he said
something very interesting. “My baby girl taught me something . . . she taught
me how to love; I didn’t know we could love like that.” Wives say the same
thing of their husbands and husbands say the same thing of their wives. He
teaches me what it means to love. She teaches me what it means to love. Priests
say the same thing of their parishes. You teach us how to love.
Jesus taught his disciples how to love. He showed them what
it means to love. He gave them his time and his teaching and his mercy and his
very life. Jesus gave everything to his disciples. He gave everything to his
disciples to show them how to give everything . . . to each other. Jesus did
not say, “Love me, as I have loved you.” Jesus said, “Love one another as I
have loved you.”
Loving each other will be the testimony of our love for
Jesus. This is how we show our love for Jesus. This is how we will be
recognized as the disciples of the Lord: loving one another as we gather for
worship, loving one another as we exit the parking lot of the Church, loving
one another as we bring our children to faith formation, and loving one another
each time we speak because any moment could be our last conversation.
The time is short and the words are few and there is a
clarity of conversation that only the grace of God can give. Love one another
as I have loved you. Amen.
Preached at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic
Church, Monroe, NC
