to give one’s life for one’s friends; and you are my friends, if you do what I command you. I shall not call you servants anymore,
because servants do not know what their master is about. Instead, I have called you friends,
since I have made known to you everything I learned from my Father. You did not choose me;
it was I who chose you and sent you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. And everything you ask the Father in my name,
he will give you. This is my command, that you love one another.

REFLECTION:
The Church is not a perfect community, neither is it a perfect institution.
But it is a community that is meant to be rooted in the new commandment given by Jesus to his disciples,
the commandment of love. Like any other community though, just like any other institution,
the church will have its flaws, especially since it is made up of flawed human beings,
men and women who are all trying to become the persons God wants them to be.
It is important that we keep this reality ever before our eyes, especially given the many challenges the church is facing today,
the many scandals that have caused many believers to question their membership in it,
and the many instances in which Jesus’ new commandment are seemingly forgotten. Despite all this,
however, Jesus remains present in his church – his promise that “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”
remain true today as it was when he first spoke it to his disciples and when the early community of believers
sbegan creating the structures they needed to continue the work of spreading the Gospel.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2020