When I look at the news articles I am most apt to click on, I say with no small amount of embarrassment, that stories of shady clerics and fallen ministers are usually a sure bet.

Of course I tell myself I do this so I can stay informed, and even pray for my poor, unfortunate colleagues. But I have no doubt that my interest is also fueled by no small amount of schadenfreude.

This of course, is a German word that means to take joy in the tragedy of others.

And while there is no equivalent word for it in English, it is an internationally recognized source of human pleasure: the French speak of joie maligne. In Danish it is skadefryd. And even for a group of people known as the the Melanesians, who live on the remote Nissan Atoll in Papua New Guinea, it is banbanam.

And the joy it causes has been proven time and time again. A recent study in Würzburg, Germany found that soccer fans smiled more quickly and more broadly when their rival team missed a penalty shot, then when their own team scored a goal.

And if schadenfreude means taking joy in another's misery, then the word mitfreud means the opposite -  to find joy in another's success.

And that's where our Gospel takes us this Sunday as we hear Jesus give us the one commandment that we all know well: to love one another as I have loved you.

Trading schadenfreude for mitfreud is no easy task - were it so, we would have no need of this commandment.

And getting there means taking on the challenge of looking at others the way Jesus does -

Remember, it’s not just to love others - but to love others as Jesus loves them.

That means commending not condemning - 

Complimenting not criticizing - 

Building up not putting down.

To love like Jesus loves means that we are encourager, cheerleaders, and proponents of those with whom we share the journey.

What shape is that taking in our lives?

Who needs encouraging - and how can you do it right now?