The Joy of Remaining in His Love!

(Homily for 6^th Sunday of Easter Year B)

     In today’s readings the word Love and the verb to love were repeated a good number of times. Love therefore becomes the pivot around which revolves the readings and message of this Sunday. It is at the backdrop of the experience of a loving God in everyone, in everything and in everywhere that the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles, as evident in the first reading. In the reading from the epistle of John, we see that fascinating presentation of God as Love. Again, the gospel passage drew the theme of love not only to a theological conclusion, but also to its existential implication. Be that as it may, in today’s readings the theme of mutual indwelling resurfaces. This is orchestrated by abidance in the love of the Father and the Son, and by the keeping of his commandments.

     In the first reading (Acts 10:25-27.34-35.44-48) St. Luke presented the episode of Cornelius as a decisive element in the Gentile mission, this is well expressed in the tenth chapter in a detailed and lengthy manner, though today we read the closing part of the episode. In the story of Cornelius, we see a fascinating incident: the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon Cornelius and his companions prior to their baptism. This is not common, because usually both in Acts and in the New Testament, the Spirit descends after baptism. This indeed, is the initiative of the Spirit, that blows where and when it wills. This event has been termed the “Pentecost of the Gentiles”. However, the people that received the Holy Spirit before baptism were brought to the fold of God’s people through baptism.

     Extrapolating from this event therefore, we may well opine that one of the culminating points of the Resurrection event is the gift of the Holy Spirit. In that bid, it behooves us to affirm that the whole period of fifty days (Easter season) includes the gift of the Holy Spirit as one of its motifs. It is therefore, plausible we begin to have gradually a shift of theme, or rather an incorporation of theme: The Risen Lord and the Promised Paraclete.

     Another point emanating from this episode is the universality of God’s salvific love. For prior to this event, the Pagan converts thought that God had favourites, that he preferred the Israelites to other peoples. Instead, Peter affirmed “I now really understand, he said, that God has no favourites, but that anybody of any nationality who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him” (Acts 10:34-35). This tells us about the love of God towards all, also towards the gentiles, the pagans, to whom he sent his Spirit and opened wide the door of the church to them through the out pouring of His Spirit. Through His love, God has shown us that redemption is not a privilege of a particular people, rather redemption is offered to and for all in Jesus Christ. Upon consideration and meditation on this passage, let us ask ourselves if people are treated equally in our communities?  Are there still some of us who are practising the unhealthy spirituality of holier than thou? Do division and segregation still exist in our midst? Let us not forget that Peter reminded us that it is the same Spirit we received (Acts 10:47b), all as adopted sons and daughters of God.

    In the second reading (1Jn. 4:7-10) St. John gives us the most interesting presentation of God, simple, comprehensible and replete with meaning: God is Love. This affirmation is not derived from conclusions emanating from philosophical reasoning or from theological arguments, but it is a conclusion that St. John must have deduced from existential facts thus:

a) First, “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him” (1Jn 4:9). Indeed, God demonstrated how much he loved us by sending his only Son to save us. By the agapic act of sending His Son, God demonstrated to us that love is part of His nature.

b) Second, God loved us first, not because of our merits, irrespective of our weaknesses and failing, even when we were still sinners, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us” (1Jn 4:10a). His love is unconditional!

c) Third, God loved us to the point of sacrificing His only Son as a Victim for the expiation of our sins. Behold, “In this is love…and sent his Son to expiate our sins” (1Jn 4:10b). The writer continues to insist against his gnostic opponents that the love of neighbor, as such is the acid test of the knowledge of God. The writer maintained his ground and later reaffirmed that only he who loves his brother knows God. He posited that the reason behind this, lies in the affirmation that “God is love”. Indeed, this is an affirmation of faith from those who have encountered the love of God, as demonstrated in and through His Son- Jesus Christ. That God is love is not a philosophical axiom, rather an offshoot of an existential experience and encounter of this love. Without ifs and buts, to say it with Bultmann, God’s love for us is really an event.

     Besides, St, John tells us that to love is to show that we know God. Therefore the logical consequence of demonstrating that we love God is: “to love one another” (1Jn 4:7). Here, love becomes not just a head knowledge, but a knowledge that passes from the head to the heart and from the heart to the hands. And that is Love in action. For a Christian love is a “doing word”. Benedict XVI captured this vividly well when he opines that “the Christian message is not only informative, but performative” (Spe Salvi n.2), the same too, could be said of love. Drawing the issue further, I may well affirm that there is a close connection between love and the Holy Spirit, for St. Paul posits that “our hope does not disappoint us, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us”  (Rm. 5:5). Indeed, it is the Holy Spirit that pours the love of God into our hearts.

     The passage of the Gospel (Jn. 15: 9-17) serves as an in-depth consideration on Love, for it widens our understanding of love. Jesus traces the origin of love to God “As the Father has loved me, I also have loved you, abide in my love” (Jn. 15:9). Jesus loved us with the same love of the Father. In primis, we encounter God’s love in the person of his Son, because that love co-exists between the Father and the Son. The Father in love sent the Son, and entrusted him a saving mission, and the Son in Love accepted, and his acceptance and obedience to the Father was consummated in his death on the Cross. Through and by the merits of this event Jesus constituted the disciples as “friends”. And the acid test of this friendship is the commandment of love. We too are his friends, gathered by and around Jesus, and bound together by the invitation to love. His, is a self-giving love, “greater love than this, no man has to lay down his life for his friends” (Jn. 15:13). Jesus gave his life for us out of love. It is indeed, a gratuitous gift of love without any merit of ours, “you did not choose me, but I chose you” (Jn. 15:16).

     The programmatic words of Jesus: as the Father has loved me, I love you, remain in this Love. Jesus invites us to remain in this love that has its origin in the Love existent between the Father and the Son. The words of Jesus: “remain in my love” presupposes that we are already in this love, little wonder he tells us to remain in it, not to run away, not to break out from this love. He is therefore, telling us to remain connected to him and to be strong in the communion with and in Him. Here, indeed, Jesus proposes his pedagogy: Love one another, in the reciprocity of giving and receiving! Besides, there in we encounter a word or a phrase that makes Christianity to stand out: “Love one another as I have loved you”. Like / As Christ, who washes his apostles’ feet, who does not judge or send anyone away, who goes in search of the lost sheep with tenderness. This invitation entails taking Jesus as the model and measure of our love and actions.

     Jesus comes close to us, he takes the initiative of coming close to our humanity. He approaches us: “You are my friends, if you do what I command you” (Jn.15:14). This connects once again to message of the first reading: “I now really understand, he said, that God has no favourites, but that anybody of any nationality who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him” (Acts 10:34-35). Friendship with Jesus comports obedience to his words. The condition for being part of his friendship circle is the readiness to do what he commands. In the subsequent verse he says, “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” (Jn.15:15). First, when Jesus brings us into the circle of his friendship he reveals not only himself, but also the Father to us. In the friendship of Jesus, nothing is hidden for the friends, no secrets are kept. These words of Jesus resound like music in our hearts. Second, in Jesus’ pedagogy, friendship entails equality, no superiority and no inferiority. It is an I-Thou relationship. It is an encounter of two freedoms. Interesting, the gesture of Jesus, from our Lord, He becomes our friend. He calls his disciples friends, and we too he calls us friends, therefore, the Christian community should be made up of friends and not enemies. The passage interestingly ended with the invitation of Jesus: “my command to you is to love one another” (Jn. 15:17). As Christians therefore, love should be the DNA of our existence and remaining in Him.

     Above all else however, Jesus invites us to remain in this love for our joy, in his words: “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (Jn. 15:11). Again, one of the reasons for our joy is the Father’s prompt response to our prayer. For he says: “the Father will give you anything you ask him in my name” (Jn. 15:16b). The experience of remaining in his love produces the fruit of having our prayers answered by God. Love indeed, is a joyous adventure. Thus, love as well as joy form the pivot around which revolves the liturgy of today. Indeed, a liturgy of a joyous love! Love of the Father who sends his Son, love of the Son who obediently accepted the mission, and in turn sends the Spirit, and in all, love of the Spirit that pours this Trinitarian love into our hearts (cf. Rm. 5:5). May the Holy Spirit continue to pour this joyous love into our hearts, so that we may be able to remain in the love of the Son. Jesus help us to love You and to love One Another! Amen!!!

(Fr. Vitus M.C. Unegbu, SC)