Listen

“I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other.”

John 13:34-35

Think

In Puerto Rico, I grew up playing baseball in the street. We didn’t have uniforms. Sometimes we didn’t even have real bats. The bases were rocks. The gloves were broken. But we knew exactly which team we were on. It determined how we treated each other.

Jesus gives his disciples something like a uniform. Not of cloth—of love. “That they love one another, just as I have loved you.” And then he says: by that all will know that you are my disciples. Love is our jersey. It is the sign that tells the world which team we belong to.

But it is not an easy love. It is the love that Jesus showed by washing feet. The love that seeks out the one who was left behind. The love that doesn’t disappear when the going gets tough. Many young people today seek identity in followers, in clothes, in achievements. Jesus offers something that lasts longer: an identity built on love.

Does your life today make it clear which team you belong to?

Jesús García

Question to Ponder:

How have you shown love to others this week?

Pray

God, may my life wear the uniform of love that you showed us. May others recognize you in how I love you and how I love others. Amen.

Go

Go out today with purpose. Don’t run alone. Run with the team God gave you, with the gifts God gave you, into the world God loves so much. On your mark, get set…go!