Dearly beloved, it is no new commandment that I write to you, but an old one which you had from the start. On second thought, the commandment that I write you is new for the darkness is over. Anyone who is familiar with the three letters of St. John will not have a second thought in figuring out THE commandment that he is talking about. For throughout his three letters, John makes love the one single ingredient that must “spice” up the life of a disciple. Love must be the characteristic trademark of any follower of Jesus. In today’s reading, John tells his audience that the requirement to abide in love that he is laying upon them should not be something new to them. The command to love is as old as their relationship with God (or as old as their history). However, he also makes it clear to them that it has taken a new perspective and as such should be regarded as something new. For this commandment of old has now been actualized: “It is new because it is being realized in him (Jesus) and in you,” says John.
Jesus Christ, the Word of God made flesh, actualized the commandment of love. Jesus Christ is God’s love incarnate, that is, God’s love in the flesh. In Jesus Christ, the command to love takes on a new perspective, for it is no longer something that can be found only in writings and in the scrolls of the prophets. In the words of St. John found at the beginning of this letter, this commandment has been seen and touched. It has been made “visible,” so to speak. Moreover, the recipients of this love of God have in turn taken upon themselves the task of making this love present to others. Like Jesus, they have themselves become “love-incarnate” (or rather, they should make themselves such).
Jesus Christ as the love of God incarnate is the antidote to the darkness that exists in the world because of our failure to live the commandment of love. Because of him, love has ceased being a passive thing/word. No longer can someone love from a distance because Christ has brought it within reach and made it the very life that we live. Because Jesus Christ has turned love into a verb, he/she who loves must get his/her hands dirty.
As we continue with our celebration of the birth of our Savior, may we keep in mind both the essence and goal of that birth. May we, as those redeemed and given life by the incarnation of God’s love be consumed by that love so much so that we in turn become conduits of that love. May we show by our love that we are followers of God’s love-incarnate.