20210509 THE CAPACITY TO LOVE INCLUSIVELY AND TOTALLY
09 May, 2021, 6th Sunday of Easter
First reading |
Acts 10:25-26,34-35,44-48 © |
The pagans have received the Holy Spirit just as much as we have
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.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 97(98):1-4 © |
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!
Second reading | 1 John 4:7-10 © |
Let us love one another, since love comes from God
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.
Gospel Acclamation | Jn14:23 |
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!
Gospel | John 15:9-17 © |
You are my friends if you do what I command you
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 CAPACITY TO LOVE INCLUSIVELY AND TOTALLY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Acts 10:25-26,34-35,44-48; Ps 98:1-4; 1 Jn 4:7-10; Jn 15:9-17]
All religions, indeed, everyone in the world knows that love is the key to happiness and unity in the world. But the love that we give is only confined to our friends at best and, perhaps to some extent, to the poor and suffering. Even then, love is fundamentally focused on ourselves. Even for our loved ones, not many are ready to sacrifice everything for them, much less to die for them. But the Lord in the gospel made it clear, “A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends.” When love is exclusive, it brings division!
Thus, we are to love not just our friends but strangers and our enemies. Isn’t that the way the Lord loves? He did not just love His disciples. He lived what He taught when He said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?” (Mt 5:44-47) Jesus cared for all, the sick, the lepers, the tax-collectors, the prostitutes, and He forgave and prayed for His enemies when He was on the cross. (Lk 23:34)
Indeed, God’s love for us is inclusive. Jesus died for us whilst we were still sinners. “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person – though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” (Rom 5:6-8) In today’s first reading, Peter also came to realize “that God does not have favorites, but that anybody of any nationality who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to him.” Indeed, God loves every one of us regardless of our race and even religion, so long as we fear God and live according to our conscience.
But He wants us all to know His love more personally and deeply through His Son who gave His life for us, so that we come to appreciate the love and mercy of God in Him. God’s love for us is seen when He “sent his Son to be the sacrifice that takes our sins away.” For those who believe in His Son, they will receive His Holy Spirit. Indeed, after the kerygmatic sermon of Peter detailing how “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil”, and how He was put to death and rose from the dead so that “everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” (Acts 10:38-43) And we read that “While Peter was still speaking the Holy Spirit came down on all the listeners.”
The foundation of Christian love is the prior love of God given to us in Christ Jesus. Christian love, unlike that of the world, does not originate from the human person but from God Himself. This is what St John wrote, “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.” It is our experience of God’s unconditional love and mercy for us that gives us the capacity to imitate Him in loving one another, including our enemies. Jesus told His disciples “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.” St John’s letter reiterates this commandment to love. “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.” The proof that we know God and His love is when we love like Him.
However, the origin of love comes from the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. When St John wrote, “God is Love”, he is speaking of the Father’s love. This love is concretely made present in the life, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. If Jesus were able to love the way the Father loves us all, it was because Jesus was identified with the Father in love. As a man on earth, Jesus experienced the unconditional love of His Father, calling Him in the endearing and affectionate term, “Abba, Father.” Hence, He said, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.” It was His personal experience of His Father’s love and hearing the Father saying to Him twice, at His baptism and at the Transfiguration, “This is my beloved Son”, that gave Him the impetus to live out His sonship.
Living out His sonship is simply to manifest the Father’s love in His life. Jesus was obedient to His Father. Obedience is often seen as a subservient word, where one is forced to do things against his will. But obedience for Jesus was not a reluctant obedience. It was a natural response to the Father’s love because He shared His mind and heart. He said, “I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.” Keeping the commandments of His Father was proof that He was one with the Father in love and in understanding. Jesus said, “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.” Conversely, when we do not obey His commandments, it shows that we are not of the same mind as Him. Jesus was truly the Son of God because of the mutual will and knowledge He shared with His Father. This made it possible for Jesus to claim, “The Father and I are one.” (Jn 10:30)
Of course, unlike Jesus, we do not share in the divine nature of God; only His will and mind. For us who are baptized in Christ Jesus, we too are called to live out our adopted sonship in Christ. Jesus said, “You are my friends, if you do what I command you. I shall not call you servants anymore, 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.” We are His friends if we share the same mind and heart with our love when it comes to glorifying the Father and sharing His love with our brothers and sisters, which means every human person regardless of race, language or religion. We can truly claim to be friends of Jesus when we share the intimacy of His love. Otherwise, we are merely servants carrying out His orders blindly, reluctantly and even resentfully.
How then can we do it? How do we remain in His love by keeping His commandments unless His love is first poured into our hearts? St Paul wrote, “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” (Rom 5:5) So the beginning of love comes from the Holy Spirit. Upon hearing the sermon of Peter, the Holy Spirit descended upon Cornelius and his household and friends so that they could experience the love of Jesus in their hearts and be convicted of the truth of what Peter was saying about Jesus. Without this initial and concrete experience of the Holy Spirit, baptism would just remain a ritual, not a true encounter with God. When the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts, we will hear the Word of God with conviction and receive it as St Paul said, “not as a human word but as what it really is, God’s word, which is also at work in you believers.” (1 Th 2:13) Only through the Holy Spirit, can the Sacraments effectively mediate the grace that the Lord wants to give us – forgiveness of sins through baptism and reconciliation, His wisdom and love through His body and blood in the Eucharist and the other graces for life’s journey.
The Church is preparing for the Feast of Pentecost in two weeks’ time when we are called to renew and be awakened to the Holy Spirit given to us at baptism. We are called to prepare ourselves to be docile to the Holy Spirit so that His power and love can be at work in our lives. When the Holy Spirit is with us, we will share the joy of our Lord and His disciples even when persecuted or faced with trials in our life. In this way, we will bear much fruit because working in union with Jesus, asking everything in His name, we will bear fruits of joy, peace and love in our lives.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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