Monday, V Easter
(John 14)
“’Heart of my heart’ meant friends were dearer then.” These are lyrics of an old song that we still hear in barbershop quartet arrangements. Is it true? Were friends dearer, was life better, “back when”? Or is this kind of talk just nostalgia? Does time purify our memories of the difficulties of life without personal telephones, personal computers, and personal automobiles?
In the gospel Jesus promises that he and his Father will make a dwelling place with those who keep his word. His word, of course, is the commandment to love one another as he loves us. We find an answer to our question here. As much as friends truly loved one another “back when,” times were better. I suppose that many people really did love better then. All the conveniences at our disposal now tend to make us think more of ourselves than of one another.
Some people are amazed at the bravado of the inhabitants of Greensburg, Kansas. After suffering a tornado that devastated their town, they talk of rebuilding. Probably this desire stems from the same mutual love that Jesus commands in the Gospel of John. Of course, the people of Greensburg use cell phones, computer, and automobiles, but they likely are much better connected than we in urban areas who barely know our neighbors. Knowing the value of this mutual love, they will recreate the environment that has fostered it.
