love too much?

Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12; Ps 46 the lord of host is with us; our strength is the God of Jacob; John 5:1-16

Today is the anniversary if Kurt Cobain's death. He was the front man for Nirvana. He comitted suicide ad left a note that read the following, ""I still can't get over the frustration, the guilt and empathy I have for everyone. There's good in all of us and I think I simply love people too much."

It is a fascinating insight into this man's thinking: "I think I simply love people too much."

I am sure countless things have been written and rewritten on analyzing these last words. I do not want to analyze then, rather just pose another question, "Can one love people too much?"

Jesus in the gospels invites those who follow him to "hate their mother, father, brother, sisters...etc" if they are to be his followers. (Luke 14:25)

Jesus presents us with an interesting twist on love. One can love in an inordinate way. One can be too attached to people, to places, to things and thus become overly frustrated. It isn't necessarily that we love them too much in fact we do not love them enough.

IT is GK Chesterton who said that we must hate people enough to change them, love them enough to think they are worthy of change.

ORdered love is the issue.

Look at today's gospel for instance. Jesus finds a cripple lying amongst a field of cripples and he ask him if he wanted to be cured. A simple yet direct question.

Jesus heals the man and tells him to pick up his mat and walk.

But the healing doesn't end the encounter. After the man is healed JEsus seeks him out and meets him in the temple area and says these words, "Look, you are well; do not sin any more, so that nothing worse may happen to you."

Ordered love is what we see in this last statement. Jesus love the man enough to warn him, to guide him, to direct him. He brought about change did not leave him simply with a physical cure but sought to remedy a deeper calamity.

It isn't about loving too much. It is about loving just enough.