Hearing it one more time

And every week, you don't do it until she's told you a bunch of times and says you'll be in trouble soon! "Why don't you do this without being asked?" she says.

Don't let the grownups fool you: Sometimes, they need to hear things as many times as kids do before they get around to doing them! This week's Gospel (John 13:31-35) is one of those times.

"I won't be around much longer," Jesus told His followers; "so before I go back to heaven, I want to give you a new commandment: Love one another. If you love each other as much as I love you, everyone will know that you follow me."

Just like you know you're supposed to clean your room, Jesus' followers knew they were supposed to love each other. But they didn't always do it. They got lazy about being nice to other people, or figured if God loved everybody, they didn't have to!

Having your mom bug you does get you to clean your room after a while. Jesus "bugged" His followers about being loving people by making it a commandment from God that they love each other!

Even though it bothers you to clean your room, you know someday you'll be grown up, and it will be good if you know how to keep things clean. That way, you won't have to live in a mess!

Jesus knew His followers would have to "grow up," too. He was going back to heaven, so He told them what they needed to know to be good when He wasn't there to remind them. And what He taught was simple: Love everybody. That's even easier than cleaning your room!

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK: Jesus, help me remember to be loving -- and to clean up, too! Amen.