As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love.In this verse the verb ‘to love’ (Greek: agapào) is repeated twice, the noun ‘love’ is repeated once here and then twice in the next verse. What does ‘love’ and ‘to love’ mean? The verb agàpao, in the pre biblical Greek, had a very weak and uncertain meaning, especially if compared to the verb filèo, “befriend, care”, and erào, “wish, desire”. It only meant: “be happy with something”. But when the Septuagint, translating the bible from Hebrew to Greek, adopted agapào to translate the Hebrew verb for love ‘ahàv (corresponding to the Aramaic chàv, “ignite, light up”) – erào and filèo, indeed, could not possibly convey the meaning of ‘ahav –, the verb agapào took completely up the meaning of ‘ahàv, assuming, from that moment, its own life, identity, momentum and characteristics. The verb ‘ahav in itself is rich with a multitude of meanings. The semantic area of ‘to love’/’love’, in the Old Testament idiom, embraces the reciprocal attraction between man and woman, as well as the marital communion, it also underlines and expresses the familiar relationships between a father or a mother and their favourite son, the relationship between mother and daughter in law (see especially the Book of Ruth), friendship between men, people’s strong attachment to their General, the love for neighbour, the opening-love for the foreigner, friendship in general. It also indicates the relationship between God and Israel, it translates that strong love that joins and uses all its strength, the love for the temple, the love for the Name of God, the love of God for His creatures. The term ‘ahav keeps, in the bible, a quite pragmatic aspect, as to say that it indicates actions and tasks accomplished for the sake of the loved one, and therefore, more than a term, it is an expression that describes a feeling, an inner disposition that stems from sensations and feelings, it is the expression of a way of being, of knowing, of recognizing, of doing. In Jesus, then, this term is further charged of new perspectives and meanings. Jesus uses ‘to love’/’love’ to express the unknowable power of the bond between Him, the Father and the Spirit, and between Him and us, as well as the power of a bond between people, a bond that has the highest energy content, that guarantees joy, fullness of wellbeing, overflowing happiness. Jesus reveals that true love is not the one we know, we think it is or the one we manage to live, true love is how the Father loves Him and how He loves us. The How of Jesus – as the Father loved me, so I loved you – does not indicate a reflected consequentiality, an inference, but a modality, the unique perfect modality of love and of loving. This is revealed in the words Remain in my love. Love is love when it remains in the love of Jesus, God the Lord, otherwise, even though we continue to call it love, it is not the same divine energy that carries joy. Love that remains in Jesus’ love is the love that carries joy and happiness, otherwise it is a love that comes from another source and energy. Love that remains in the love of Jesus, God the Lord, does not get distracted, does not judge, or accuse, or condemn, it does not fight, or claim, it does not force, or possess, nor attack or attach. Love that remains in the love of Jesus, God the Lord, does not know envy, greed, thirst of success and prestige, does not pursue its own interest and profit, it does not know what revenge is. How could the love that remains in the love of Jesus, God the Lord, possibly be the same love that for desire’s fervor becomes thirst of revenge, conflict, rage, resentment, envy? The love that remains in the love of Jesus, God the Lord, is always, simply and perfectly recognizable because it is a love and a loving that give joy and happiness, always and no matter what. The love that does not give joy and happiness is not love, it is another kind of energy, coming from another source, with another meaning, even is humanity keeps calling it love.
In this section you can find a daily commentary on the Gospel of the Day.