It is 8th November 2017. The readings are from Romans 13:8-10; and the Gospel from Luke 14:25-33. We are indebted to each other in love. Love cannot be paid back with anything else other than love itself. The complements of love overcome the concessions of selfishness. When we link the other with love, the strings of the commandments are not burdensome. The source and the resource of life is love. When the source is contaminated, or dried, coming closer to each other and God becomes impossible. The law makes sense when we truly love one another. “Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” (Rom.13:8). Loveless life is meaningless to the core. True and committed love happens in the pool of honesty and truth not in the rivers of lies. St. Paul invites us to have this mutual love in order to experience God’s love. Love is not merely a choice but a privilege and obligation to be a human being. There is no logic and math in loving. Love is illogical and boundless. Calculative love leads to selfish and lustfulness. Where there is love, there is respect and acceptance in abundance without having even a slightest judgement on the behavior of another person. Love breeds respect and abounds in the environment of truth. Beyond the letters of love, the spirit of love lives and connects. The responsorial Psalm prays, “Happy the person who takes pity and lends.” (Ps.111:5). In the Gospel, Jesus invites us to be a committed follower of Him. A true commitment requires a deep letting go off our personal comforts and willingness to go through some sort of inconveniences for the sake of the one in whom we have placed all our hope and trust. To be a member of the Kingdom of God is not that easy. Anyone can accept the invitation of Christ but to respond to Him needs the courage to love in full. We cannot love others more than God. Love is not a burden but a blessing when it is done with warmth and affection. Our love for God needs to go beyond loving those who are so intimate to us. The cost of discipleship is to love God above all else and willing to face the challenges and demands of lives without complaints. May the Lord grant us the courage to love Him sincerely and honestly at all times. May you have a good day.