There is God
So begins the ninth-century hymn, Ubi caritas, a song that is likely unknown to most of us, yet finds an enduring home in the life of the church on this day of the year. Maundy Thursday, drawing its name from the word mandatum, Latin for mandate or command, reminds us of the new commandment given by our Lord Jesus: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34).
With these words, Jesus places love at the center of our relationship with him, and perhaps more difficultly, at the center of our relationship with others. So you must love one another.
We cannot allow our Lord to wash our feet and fail to wash those of others in response.
While we rightly focus our attention during Holy Week on the self-giving love of God shown in Christ, his words in John 13 remind us that the love we receive is also meant to shape and animate the lives we live.
If we long to be close to the Lord, to be in the place where God dwells, then our lives must be defined by a radical commitment to charity and love. We must daily cultivate a habit of looking to Jesus, and allowing his example to inform and reform our own understanding of love.
Love is not the fulfillment of your every desire, neither is it the filling in of parts of you that feel empty or hollow. No, love is the active and intentional choice to let go of your personal preferences and desires for the sake of someone else. Love says no to self in order to create room to genuinely say yes to others.
And so today, with our Lord’s example in the Upper Room on our hearts and minds, we join our voices with this ancient hymn and say:
Where charity and love are, there is God.
The love of Christ has gathered us together.
Let us rejoice in him and be glad.
Let us fear and love the living God
and love one another with a sincere heart.
