When he (Judas) had gone out, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of man glorified, and in him God is glorified; if God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, 'Where I am going you cannot come.' A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
John 13:31–35 (RSV)
December 27th is the Feast of St. John - Apostle of Jesus. St. John was in love with words. He has left us with some of the most beautiful passages of Scripture in all the New Testament. The first eighteen verses of his Gospel alone are enough to thrill the heart for a lifetime. This love continues throughout the Gospel, the three letters under his name and the Revelation. He is a witness of poetry and song. He combines words to express the love of the Father made flesh in the Son.
St. John speaks of God's love throughout his writings. This love is more than what we think love to be. We speak of love in shallow ways, tying it to our emotional state or our sexual desires. It is not wrong to talk about love in these circumstances, but it is not the depth of love that comes to us from the Father. Our love is at it's best, an incomplete sort of thing. The most self-giving love among us still harbors within itself a desire to benefit from loving.
The love living in the words St. John wrote cannot end nor seek any advantage over the beloved. They are the sole reason for the existence of all things. Apart from the love of the Father, nothing will last for a moment.
Julian of Norwich, in one of her visions, saw a tiny ball, so fragile in appearance that she could not imagine how it continued to exist. The Lady Julian heard the Lord's voice reply to her amazement, 'it exists, both now and forever, because God loves it.'
St. John wrote beautifully of the love of God by which all things, even you and I, exist for the sake of His love. This love becomes flesh, lived among us, and brought us the salvation none could gain for themselves.