20180506
THE JOY OF LOVING AS JESUS LOVED ORIGINATES
FROM OUR EXPERIENCING GOD’S LOVE AS AN EVENT IN OUR LIVES
06 MAY, 2018, Sunday, 6th Week of Easter
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
If
the Ascension of the Lord is going to be celebrated next Sunday, the
alternative Second Reading and Gospel shown here (which would otherwise have
been read on that Sunday) may be used today.
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First reading
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Acts 10:25-26,34-35,44-48 ©
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The pagans have received the Holy Spirit just as much as we have
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As Peter reached the house Cornelius went out to meet him, knelt
at his feet and prostrated himself. But Peter helped him up. ‘Stand up,’ he
said ‘I am only a man after all!’
Then Peter
addressed them: ‘The truth I have now come to realise’ he said ‘is that God
does not have favourites, but that anybody of any nationality who fears God and
does what is right is acceptable to him.’
While Peter
was still speaking the Holy Spirit came down on all the listeners. Jewish
believers who had accompanied Peter were all astonished that the gift of the
Holy Spirit should be poured out on the pagans too, since they could hear them
speaking strange languages and proclaiming the greatness of God. Peter himself
then said, ‘Could anyone refuse the water of baptism to these people, now they
have received the Holy Spirit just as much as we have?’ He then gave orders for
them to be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ. Afterwards they begged him to
stay on for some days.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 97(98):1-4 ©
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The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.
or
Alleluia!
Sing a new song to the Lord
for he has worked wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm
have brought salvation.
The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.
or
Alleluia!
The Lord has made known his salvation;
has shown his justice to the nations.
He has remembered his truth and love
for the house of Israel.
The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.
or
Alleluia!
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
ring out your joy.
The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.
or
Alleluia!
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Second
reading
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1 John 4:7-10 ©
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Let
us love one another, since love comes from God
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My dear people,
let us love one another
since love comes from God
and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.
Anyone who fails to love can never have known God,
because God is love.
God’s love for us was revealed
when God sent into the world his only Son
so that we could have life through him;
this is the love I mean:
not our love for God,
but God’s love for us when he sent his Son
to be the sacrifice that takes our sins away.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Jn14:23
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus said: ‘If anyone loves me he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we shall come to him.’
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 15:9-17 ©
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You
are my friends if I do what I command you
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Jesus said to his disciples:
‘As the Father has loved me,
so I have loved you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments
you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.
I have told you this
so that my own joy may be in you
and your joy be complete.
This is my commandment:
love one another, as I have loved you.
A man can have no greater love
than to lay down his life for his friends.
You are my friends,
if you do what I command you.
I shall not call you servants any more,
because a servant does not know
his master’s business;
I call you friends,
because I have made known to you
everything I have learnt from my Father.
You did not choose me:
no, I chose you;
and I commissioned you
to go out and to bear fruit,
fruit that will last;
and then the Father will give you
anything you ask him in my name.
What I command you
is to love one another.’
THE JOY OF LOVING AS JESUS LOVED ORIGINATES FROM
OUR EXPERIENCING GOD’S LOVE AS AN EVENT IN OUR LIVES
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ACTS 10:25-26,34-35,44-48; 1 JOHN 4:7-10; JOHN 15:9-17 ]
What is the greatest joy in
anyone’s life? It is not success, money, power or fame. It is
love. Truly, a life without love is meaningless. Why is this
so? As John tells us, “Love comes from God … and everyone who loves
is begotten by God and knows God … Anyone who fails to love can never have
known God … because God is love.” Love is the greatest joy, for in
knowing God, we have encountered the Ultimate of life. That we are
created in the image of God means that we also share in the nature of God,
which is love. Conversely, one who is not capable of love is miserable
because it is a denial of one’s very nature.
St Peter
today, like Jesus, was ready to take risks for the gospel. He visited the
centurion Cornelius when Jews were forbidden to enter the house of
non-Jews. He said, “The truth I have now come to realize is that God does
not have favourites, but that anybody of any nationality who fears God and does
what is right is acceptable to him.” Only because of his courageous
decision, the Christian Faith became available to Gentiles, and not remain the
preserve of the Jews.
How many of
us are willing to lay down our lives for others? Although we know that
we are called to love, yet we find love in action so very difficult. When
we try to love, we find ourselves so incapable of love. Our love for each
other is only a limited participation of divine love. This is the case
even in marital love, unfortunately! I wonder how many couples at their
wedding truly intended to give themselves completely to each other and put the
other before self. Because if they had known that love is to think
of the other person before self, then why is it that husband and wife cannot
tolerate each other’s imperfections? It is always the other person who
has to change, who has to give in. So it seems that instead of laying
down one’s life for one’s spouse, we are asking our spouse to lay down his or
her life instead! Is that love or a perverted narcissism? Certainly, we
want to be loved but we do not want to love.
How genuine
is our love and how deep is also determined by the depth of our relationship
with the other person. In many instances, a mother would sacrifice anything,
including her life for the well-being of her children. Whilst mothers are
more willing to do anything for their children, it is not always the case when
it comes to their husbands. Just over some differences or infidelity, couples
seek a divorce or separation. But often it will be more the mothers than
the fathers who would fight for the custody of the children, even when they are
financially strapped.
What is the
difference between love of children and of spouse? Why is it that women
can make that sacrifice for the children but not for the spouse? It has
to do with intimacy and love. Children have a deeper intimacy with the
mothers than spouses with each other. Although ideally speaking, the love
between a husband and wife should be so intimate that they become one
body. It seems that in reality, many of our married couples have yet to
arrive at this level of intimacy. Only when there is real intimacy could one
love in such a manner that we are ready to lay down our life for another.
Of course, we
are now still speaking only of human love. Nevertheless, such analogy
leads us to a deeper reflection on the love of God. Our total giving of
self to our children, our total giving of love to others, regardless whether
they are our loved ones or not, can only come about because of our intimacy
with God. This means that if we are to love others the way Jesus loves
us, then we must share the same intimacy of love between God and Jesus. From
this perspective, the words of John give a deeper meaning when he said, “since
love comes from God … everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.” To
love like God, then we must first be borne of God’s love.
How can this
intimacy with God be attained? We must encounter the love of God for us in a
concrete way. St John says, “God’s love for us was revealed
when God sent into the world his only Son so that we could have life through
him.” But more than this, God goes to the extent of demonstrating this love to
the utmost limit when Jesus died for us. The problem is that for many of
us, although we know that the love of God is not simply words but an event in Jesus,
yet we know this as a historical event, not a historic event, that is, an event
that continues to be experienced here and now. Unless, we
experience the love of God in Jesus concretely in our lives, we will not be
able to affirm that we share in the intimacy of God’s love.
How can we
renew this love of God in Christ for us? There is no other way than to
find this intimacy in Jesus. Hence, the command of Jesus is this,
“Remain in my love.” What does it mean to remain in His love? It
simply means an invitation to share in the love relationship Jesus has with his
Father. That is why Jesus said, “As the Father has loved me, so
have I loved you.” The more we experience the personal love of Jesus, the
more we come to understand the heart of the Father. At the same time, we
come to realize the source and strength of the love of Jesus. If Jesus
could die for us, it is only because he himself has experienced the love of his
Father so intensely that he shares in the Father’s love for humanity.
Yes, we can share the joy of Jesus, which is the joy of having the Father love
Him so intimately that He wants to share with us.
This love of
Jesus is available when we accept the friendship of Jesus. The good news
is that we have been chosen unconditionally by Jesus to share in His life in an
intimate way. What is important is that He chose us first. He
said, “You did not choose me, no, I chose you.” We have been chosen
to be His friends. A friend is someone who shares the company of the
other and enjoys simply being in the company of that person. A friend is one
who knows the other person deeply. Hence Jesus said, “I shall not call
you servants any more, because a servant does not know his master’s business; I
call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt
from my Father.” This implies that we must find time to be with Him in
contemplation and prayer. We need to dwell in the company and love of
Jesus.
Secondly, we
must seek the infilling
of the Holy Spirit. Like Cornelius, we need to experience the power
of the Risen Lord anew in our lives. St Luke tells us that “the Holy
Spirit came down on all the listeners” and “they could hear them speaking
strange languages and proclaiming the greatness of God.” Without a concrete
experience of the love of God in the Spirit in our hearts, we will not be able
to realize His love for us in a real and experiential manner. The
experience of the Holy Spirit is often expressed in the gifts of the Spirit
given to those who are open to Him, such as the gift of tongues, prophecy,
healing and other charismatic gifts that accompany the indwelling of the Holy
Spirit. It is in the exercise of these gifts that God’s love becomes real
and tangible because we experience the power of the Holy Spirit.
Thirdly, more
than just the reception of the Charismatic gifts, the Holy Spirit also comes to
give us thespiritual gifts such as the virtues of love, faith and hope. Such gifts are
important if we are to be able to live a life of holiness, a life that is expressed
in living out the commandments of Jesus. For to remain in Jesus is more
than a sentimental affair but it is to live the life of Jesus by obeying the
commandments just as Jesus did.
In this way, we become
ambassadors of His love. Indeed, we have been chosen to be His
ambassadors of love. “I commission you to go out and to bear fruit, fruit that
will last.” Because we are His ambassadors in love, and being identified
with Jesus, we can appreciate the promise of Jesus when He said, “then the
Father will give you anything you ask him in my name.”
As a result, we
find great joy in life, a joy that is complete. This joy is
complete because love is complete. It is a complete love since the love
that we have experienced is God’s love and the love we give to others is not
from our human love but God’s love as well. It is a joyful love because
this love does not demand that others love us in return. It is simply a
love that is given unconditionally. Hence, Jesus assured us, “I have told
you this so that my own joy may be in you and your joy be complete.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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