Being prepared to lay down our lives

It’s easy to take the attention off yourself if you think you’re going to get something out of it. And you set conditions for it. That’s why Jesus doesn’t mince his words. He says that this attention, this love that we show, is expressed in our being prepared to lay down our lives for our friends. That’s taking us very deeply into the mystery of death and resurrection. This is such a simple message of Christianity which expands it way beyond religion. It can be a religion, perhaps, but it isn’t essentially just another religion. It’s a revelation of something so universal that it is by definition inclusive. It’s such a simple message, such a simple word. And yet, just like saying the mantra, it takes a lot of attention to really listen to it. 

(Homily 5 MAY 2024 by Laurence Freeman OSB )