In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.

The Lord has given me word tonight and it is this:
"Because God loves us unconditionally, He loves us all equally."


Taken about 3 weeks on NYC's World Trade Center before September 11th.

i.

I remember very clearly that day when I was on top of the World Trade Center in New York City. It was also the same day we visited the American Museum of Natural History, Liberty Island, Greenwich Village and even passed by the Guggenheim Museum. It was cloudy day, and by the time this photo was taken, it was just about to rain. I was only on the top of the building (out in the open) for less than five minutes! All of us had to retreat down to the indoor viewing deck in which photography would be hopeless. In any case, this photo is my very first cityscape as a serious photographer. I'm quite proud of it even if any one of you think this photo is lousy.

Three weeks later, on the Eleventh of September, the startling news came. I remembered that this person called me to tell me about it. We both couldn't say anything. Speechless, I would say. It was the worst act of terror in all human history. Nothing beats this. In the modern world, there is no single deliberate terror attack on a bigger scale than this.

Sigh. If only we could dance all the horror away. I made it a point to remember the four days I had spent in New York City, and the rest of that East Coast American trip. Because the very next time I visit New York, it will never be the same as before.


ii.

"No one can have greater love than to lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends, if you do what I command you. I shall no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know the master's business; I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father." - John 15:12-15

The bible proclaims that the greatest act of love is to die for your friend. We know that Jesus died for us because, He says that we are His friends. This demonstration is undeniably the greatest and most profound evidence of love God has for us. By dying on the cross, God saved us from the darkness by nullifying all our sins. Obedience to Him does not mean that we are His servants. Jesus declared we are His friends if we do what He commands. As verse 15 puts it, He lets us into the mystery of God and so we are far higher than just being servants.

Therefore, do not think that we are mere servants to God. For even if a servant loves his master, his master still only treats him as a servant. We are more than servants to God, because He loves us unconditionally. If He simply sees us as servants, He will treat us only as servants, and tell us what to do without guiding us in the darkness.

So what do we do? Follow Jesus' commandment:

"This is my commandment: Love one another, as I have loved you." - John 15:12

The Hebrew concept of love involves a generous, responsive, active self-giving, modelled on that of God. The Israelite must love God with his whole being, and similarly to his neighbour. In John 15:12, Jesus extends this obligation to love all human beings, with Jesus' own selfless love as model. It is by our love for one another, that everyone will recognise us as His disciples.

Without love, St. Paul says that "I am no more than a gong booming or a cymbal clashing" (1 Cor 13:1). If we speak to each other, counsel a friend, give advice, or do anything that the Lord tells us to do, without sharing God's love for us, what we are doing means nothing at all. I feel that we must let God's love guide our actions from day to day. And that "they shall know we are Christians by our love". In 1 Cor 13:13, St. Paul tells us that of faith, hope and love, the greatest of them is love.

So please allow me to say this:

"I love you - every single one of you, my friends, as God loves me, without condition, without favour or prejudice. I love you all. Do not believe anyone who tells you that my love for you is base. I now declare to you that I love you, whether or not you love me. I want you to know that the love I bear you is the same special kind that God showers on all of us. Because I want to share God's love with all of you.

"Because God's love for me is complete, I love you all completely."

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam