Love is being near

 “Lord, what do you want from us? What should we do to inherit eternal life?” Sometimes, we would like the Lord to give us a task, something we can do ourselves, so that once and for all we can get rid of the problem of saving ourselves and the fear of condemnation. How often do we “love” our neighbor simply as a way of getting rid of them? That is, we do for our neighbor what we have to do, and then we move away from him. It seems to us that, by giving our neighbor what he needed, we have completed our work: we are “justified,” and we can now go and do whatever we want. Perhaps we believe that to love our neighbor is to approach him when he needs something and then turn away, as if he were not really part of our life...

In today’s Gospel (Luke 10:25-37), the Pharisee knows that he must love his neighbor, that he must do something for his neighbor. But perhaps it was not very clear who was the “neighbor,” that is, the one "nearby,” the one who is considered “close.” Who is my neighbor? Is it my family, or perhaps the members of my community? Is it only the Jews, or does it extend to the pagans as well? Something must be done, but for whom? If we narrow down the recipients of love, or at least define the target, then it becomes easier for us to know what to do and get rid of the problem. We want to save ourselves: please give us the recipe and... problem solved!

And it turns out that in order to love your neighbor you have to get close to him and want to have him close to you. And it turns out that you have to get close to your neighbor, not because he deserves it, but because he needs it. And it turns out that to love one's neighbor is to give oneself to a person and not to a task, it is not to do something but to give something to someone, and first of all to give oneself; to love is to do something because it is good for someone. It turns out that to love our neighbor is to have compassion, it is to suffer our neighbor's need as if it were our own.

The Pharisee was testing Jesus because he resented Jesus' mercy toward sinners. Jesus approached with compassion the lost sheep of Israel, the sinner and the lowly, the ignorant and the poor. How was it possible for Jesus to love those people who were so “unlovable,” that is, who seemed to have less and to be less? How could we consider neighbors those who were so far from us, either because of their material poverty or their moral wickedness? How can we consider ourselves neighbors to those whose works are so far from our own?

Jesus' answer will have to do with compassion, with being personally impacted by your neighbor’s need... You cannot love without being hurt, you cannot love with impunity. Love is not a chore that you finish and is done; love is a life, it is a way of living and dying.

God did not command us to do things, but to love people: to love God and our neighbor. Of course we have to do things, but things have to be done out of love for people. The things we do have a beginning and an end, but love has no end. Do I stop loving a poor person after giving him money, or do I continue to love him? Do I give him money so that he will stay away from me, or because he is part of my life? How is he part of my life? In what way is the poor person my neighbor?

Love opens a wound that only the beloved can close. Love is not a game. The one who loves always vibrates, out of joy or out of pain, for the beloved. If the beloved is well, the one who loves rejoices: he cannot be indifferent. If the beloved suffers, the lover suffers too, because he is near. The one who loves not only does something for the beloved, but lives for him and with him. Love affects not only a person's actions, but also his or her being. “Love heaven and you will be heaven,” said St. Augustine.

How is our love for God? Do we do a couple of things for Him, like Mass or some prayer, and then get rid of Him? Do we live with Him? Is He close to us or not? Do we want Him close to us, or do we prefer Him to be far away? How is our love for our neighbor? Do we let ourselves be impacted by them? Yes, the one who loves takes a risk, but to live is to love. He who does not love is already dead. The one who loves is never alone, because he is close to the beloved, even if the beloved is physically far away. In a certain sense, the one who loves cannot suffer, because God accompanies him even at the hour of death. Instead, the one who does not love always suffers loneliness, because, even when the crowds surround him, he does not allow himself to be touched: he is far away... and when he suffers, he suffers alone.

Let us not remain alone... let us take the risk of loving. Let us allow ourselves to be touched by our neighbor, let us open our hearts to the wound of love. What does God want from you? What does your neighbor need? How is your brother? Where is he? May God help us to rejoice with those who rejoice, to suffer with those who suffer, to help those who need us, to forgive those who have offended us, to accompany those who are alone, and to draw close to our brothers and sisters so that we can truly be neighbors, and neighbors of Christ.