The Urgency of Living the Love One Another Commandment

Arquivo BV

Alziro Zarur

In the Good News of Jesus we learn from the Heavenly Educator that we must “love one another as He has loved us” (The Gospel according to John 13:34). And more: we must start to define any situation in such a way that the need for the teaching of the Lord as to the “Essence of God for Life”—which is the New Commandment, in the definition of the late founder of the Legion of Good Will, Alziro Zarur (1914-1979)—is effective. This anxiety that we have to be happy is evident, which is why we must decisively make an effort in order for there to be a Solidary, Altruistic, Ecumenical Society, so that Respect, Fraternity, Solidarity, Compassion, and Generosity may really ensure that Truth and Justice prevail. . . .

Antidote to hatred

Love, allied with Justice, is essential, because the other side of the coin is what everyone is trying to rid themselves of: hatred, which promotes violence that attracts more violence and feelings that fail to connect. So, “the crux of the problem” does not necessarily lie with political and social regimes, but with the nature of the human beings who constitute, impose, and live in such regimes. I usually say: there can be no good regime while men are bad.

How are human beings, in the flesh or in the afterlife, who have still not duly shown themselves to be in any safe condition to enjoy an atmosphere of civility, capable of establishing a truly solidary existence? How will they do that if in their innermost being they insist on not wanting to hear about these basic issues? For without them there can be no place where the ferocity of war (the Red Horse of the Apocalypse 6:4) is not the perverse judge in all decisions taken. If their Soul is not inspired by the pure emotion of Love and Justice (in no way confuse Justice with vengeance), they are going to deceive, inveigle, and beguile.

A threat to the status quo

Vivian R. Ferreira

The urgency of living Jesus’ commandment “Love one another as I have loved you,” is the result of His own personal example: He gave His own life, submitted Himself to crucifixion, proof that He carried a new message that jeopardized interests that were harmful to a certain part of Humanity. Therefore, the Heavenly Missionary was transformed into a threat to the then status quo, and, ipso facto, was nailed to the cross of sacrifice. Consequently, Christ gave the greatest demonstration of Love. The consequence of this: His message of Brotherhood without borders spread throughout the planet, even if at times it has almost been negated, as we saw in the sixteenth century, the Century of Religious Wars, and during the unqualifiable Crusades. That is why I reiterate, Jesus is a daily conquest, a permanent discovery for those who have a thirst for Knowledge, Fraternity, Freedom, Equality, and Peace. . . . And I am not referring to the Lamb when He was imprisoned by restricted earthly conceptions, whether philosophical, religious, political, or scientific. He is a Liberator, never a prisoner. He surpasses everything. His identity with God is such that for the survival of the human species He became the Revealer of the primordial cause of the destitution of the Soul from which we still suffer, in view of the fact that we do not love one another in the same way He loved and still loves us. That is where the decision regarding the good civilizing path comes in, which the Sublime Educator points out to us in verse 35 of chapter 13 of the Gospel according to John: “Only by this, if you love one another as I have loved you, shall all of you be recognized as my disciples.” This is the Politics of God, the Politics for the Spirit of each human being.

José de Paiva Netto is a writer, journalist, radio broadcaster, composer, and poet. He is the President of the Legion of Good Will (LGW), effective member of the Brazilian Press Association (ABI) and of the Brazilian International Press Association (ABI-Inter). Affiliated to the National Federation of Journalists (FENAJ), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the Union of Professional Journalists of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the Union of Writers of Rio de Janeiro, the Union of Radio Broadcasters of Rio de Janeiro, and the Brazilian Union of Composers (UBC). He is also a member of the Academy of Letters of Central Brazil. He is an author of international reference in the concept and defense of the cause of Ecumenical Citizenship and Spirituality which, according to him, constitute “the cradle of the most generous values that are born of the Soul, the dwelling of the emotions and of the reasoning enlightened by intuition, the atmosphere that embraces everything that transcends the ordinary field of matter and comes from the elevated human sensitivity, such as Truth, Justice, Mercy, Ethics, Honesty, Generosity, and Fraternal Love.”