In this Commentary Clip Exclusive, Tony discusses what may seem like words of coercion coming from Jesus, “Whoever loves me will keep my word…” If we heard these words coming from someone else, we would rightly second guess their intentions. However, as Tony explains, when spoken by the Incarnate Word of God, these words are not coercive, but instead describe something extraordinary about the relationship between the human creature and its loving Creator.
Endnotes:
John 13:34
Matthew 22:36-40
John 14:15
2 Peter 1:3-4
2 Corinthians 4:7
Romans 5:5
John 14:15-17
St. Augustine of Hippo, On the Trinity, 14.8.11.
St. John Paul II, General Audience, August 26, 1998.
Tony Crescio is the founder of FRESHImage Ministries. He holds an MTS from the University of Notre Dame and is currently a PhD candidate in Christian Theology at Saint Louis University. His research focuses on the intersection between moral and sacramental theology. His dissertation is entitled, Presencing the Divine: Augustine, the Eucharist and the Ethics of Exemplarity.
Tony’s academic publications can be found here.