SOCL, Easter6B

Admin
May 3, 2024
3 min read

Updated: May 6, 2024

Sunday May 05, 2024

What I command you is to love one another.

See

There are odd expressions in the Fourth Gospel and in 1 John. It is strange to be commanded to love. Even stranger: “Now by this we may be sure that we know him, if we obey his commandments.” What can “command” and “obedience” have to do with the love, the most free thing of all? It may help to recall that both human nature and divine nature are defined by love. We are being commanded to become what we most want to be in our deepest selves. Obedience here is the invitation to become our truest selves, true to our identity before God and our true to our mission simply as human beings.

Listen

Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48; Psalm 98; 1 John 4:7-10; John 15:9-17

Reflect

(John 15:9-17)

-A commandment of love is something of a contradiction in terms. Love is a free choice. That is what gives the thrill to the experience of being loved. Recall times when you received gestures of love from another—a spontaneous embrace from a husband or wife; a wave from a friend; words of comfort and affirmation—not because the other person felt obliged to reach out to you but because they wanted to let you know that you were loved. What effect did that have on you? Did it bring you joy? Perhaps you have had a glimpse of the truth of what Jesus said, that it is in loving that our joy is complete.

-Often love and friendship make demands on us. Parents give freely of their time and energy to the care of their children but sometimes it requires a lot of effort. Also in responding to the needs of friends or spouses we can be challenged to ‘lay down’ our own ‘lives’ at least for a time. Can you recall when a time when putting yourself out for others bore fruit for them and for you?

-“I chose you”. Have you had the experience of being ‘chosen’ by someone? What was it like for you to be chosen? What is it like for you to consider yourself as one chosen by Jesus?

-Jesus called the disciples ‘’friends' not ‘servants’ because he had told them everything about himself. When have you allowed yourself to be known and loved? When has friendship blossomed for you because you made the time available and took the effort to understand another?

-The presence of God is revealed to us in the love we experience from others. Sometimes it can be clearly seen in the love between husband and wife, or parent and child when it doesn’t have to be proved but is the nature of the relationship in which they live. Love can also be apparent in difficult situations like when someone is ill or dying or in any kind of trouble. Abiding in the love of another is one of the greatest joys of life. When have you had that experience?

Pray

God of all nations, in the gift of your Son you have embraced the world with a love that takes away our sin and bestows perfect joy. Grant to all who have been reborn in baptism fidelity in serving you and generosity in loving one another. Grant this through Jesus Christ, the firstborn from the dead, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit God for ever and ever. Amen.