20220520 LOVE AND SENSITIVITY IS THE HALLMARK OF CHRISTIANS
20 May, 2022, Friday, 5th Week of Easter
First reading | Acts 15:22-31 © |
It has been decided by the Holy Spirit and by us not to burden you beyond these essentials
The apostles and elders decided to choose delegates to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; the whole church concurred with this. They chose Judas known as Barsabbas and Silas, both leading men in the brotherhood, and gave them this letter to take with them:
‘The apostles and elders, your brothers, send greetings to the brothers of pagan birth in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia. We hear that some of our members have disturbed you with their demands and have unsettled your minds. They acted without any authority from us; and so we have decided unanimously to elect delegates and to send them to you with Barnabas and Paul, men we highly respect who have dedicated their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accordingly we are sending you Judas and Silas, who will confirm by word of mouth what we have written in this letter. It has been decided by the Holy Spirit and by ourselves not to saddle you with any burden beyond these essentials: you are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols; from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from fornication. Avoid these, and you will do what is right. Farewell.’
The party left and went down to Antioch, where they summoned the whole community and delivered the letter. The community read it and were delighted with the encouragement it gave them.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 56(57):8-12 © |
I will thank you, Lord, among the peoples.
or
Alleluia!
My heart is ready, O God,
my heart is ready.
I will sing, I will sing your praise.
Awake, my soul,
awake, lyre and harp,
I will awake the dawn.
I will thank you, Lord, among the peoples.
or
Alleluia!
I will thank you, Lord, among the peoples,
among the nations I will praise you
for your love reaches to the heavens
and your truth to the skies.
O God, arise above the heavens;
may your glory shine on earth!
I will thank you, Lord, among the peoples.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | Jn10:27 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn15:15 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I call you friends, says the Lord,
because I have made known to you
everything I have learnt from my Father.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 15:12-17 © |
What I command you is to love one another
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘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.’
LOVE AND SENSITIVITY IS THE HALLMARK OF CHRISTIANS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 15:22-31; PS 57:8-12; JOHN 15:12-17]
The secret of evangelization is not a secret. We all know that the key to winning over people is not so much our achievements but what we do for them and how we reach out to them with love, sensitivity and sincerity. We can have the best strategy, the most eloquent preaching and yet never bring converts and lesser still, disciples for our Lord, simply because love is lacking in our love. People can only be won over by our sacrificial love for them. Indeed, the Christian message is reducible to love. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (Jn 3:16)
Christ imitated and expressed the love of the Father in Him because He was united in mind and will with His Father. Jesus said, “The Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing; and he will show him greater works than these, so that you will be astonished.” (Jn 5:19-20) “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.” (Jn 14:10f)
Consequently, this process of empowering those who are sent as missionaries for Christ follows the same pattern. Jesus said to His disciples, “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.” Jesus showed His disciples what love entails. When He spoke of laying down one’s life for our friends, Jesus went more than just that. While it is great for us to love our friends in such a way that we are willing to sacrifice our life, our time, energy and resources for them, greater still is when we are ready to lay down our lives for our enemies. St Paul said, “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 5:7-9) Indeed, it is the way of sacrificial and oblative love. This was the way, the Lord loved Judas, His unfaithful apostles and even those who put Him to death on the cross.
Secondly, it is the way of mutuality in love. Jesus said, “You are my friends, if you do what I command you.” We must not understand “command” in terms of a burdensome response like that of a superior imposing His will on his subordinate. The command of Jesus comes from a mutuality of heart and mind. Jesus in St John’s gospel said a similar thing on His way to His passion, He said, “I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me; but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us be on our way.” (Jn 14:30f) When we are friends, we share each other’s outlook and aspirations. We “obey” each other because we love each other and because we are in communion of heart and mind. True friendship is a friendship of the soul, as St Paul spoke of his union with Timothy. “I have no one like him who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. All of them are seeking their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But Timothy’s worth you know, how like a son with a father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. (Phil 2:20-22) Of course, we also read of the deep friendship between David and Jonathan. “When David had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.” (1 Sm 18:1) Jonathan willingly sacrificed his crown and his life for David. Such is the “obedience” that love manifests.
Thirdly, mutuality of love requires the sharing of heart and mind. “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.” Friends share their minds and hearts openly without fear of being judged or being betrayed. Friendship is strengthened when we feel for and with each other. This is why Jesus did not regard His apostles as His servants. The master does not share everything with His servants except to tell them what to do. But with the apostles, He regarded them as friends whom He confides in and shares with them, His vision, His plans, His concerns, His future. He shared with them His personal relationship with His Father. He shared the deepest thoughts of His heart and that fostered the mutuality of love even though one betrayed Him. Still, He did not stop sharing because He never stopped giving up on us. This is why we need to find friends whom we can share without fear or being judged.
Fourthly, true friendship desires our friends to be fruitful in life. Jesus said, “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.” Jesus was committed to help His apostles to find fulfilment, joy and peace. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives.” (Jn 14:27) “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. (Jn 15:9-11) Indeed, friends desire the best for their friends. Jonathan who loved David as himself rejoiced for him. He even gave to David the robe he was wearing, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt. These were symbols of his power and authority as heir to the throne (1 Sm 18:3-4) He desired the best for David, even giving up his throne. So too Jesus wants us all to attain our fulfilment in life, which is to bear fruits in whatever we are called to do. Some of us never reach our potential because no one encouraged us to reach for the sky. We need friends who will pray for us and affirm us in our growth.
These principles of sacrifice, mutuality in love, mind and heart; and promotion of each other’s interests are necessary for us to be fruitful. This is why Jesus speaks of this as a command. “Love one another, as I have loved you.” Love is more than just an emotion or a feeling. Love must not be overly sentimentalized. Whilst love is a feeling, it is also an act of the will which begins with the mind. If we abide in our Lord, then we will draw strength from Him to love each other as He has loved us. These were the same principles that guided the early Church when the Gentile Christians and Jewish Christians were at odds over the observance of the Mosaic Laws, especially circumcision. These tensions were resolved when the apostles gathered together to deliberate on this sensitive matter.
But it was love that ruled and saved the day. Indeed, out of consideration for each other, they learnt how to compromise. They were made aware of the religious sensitivities of the Jews who have been observing the Mosaic laws for more than two thousand years. At the same time, they were told gently that they could not impose their customs and laws on the Gentile Christians as salvation is not from observance of the Mosaic laws but faith in Christ and by the grace of God. Furthermore, they made it a point to address the Gentile Christians as “brothers”. Finally, when they agreed, they sought to underscore what were the essentials to keep the peace, namely, “you are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols; from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from fornication. Avoid these, and you will do what is right. Farewell.'” Most of all, the decision was made not just in union with the rest of the apostles but as they underscored as well, “It has been decided by the Holy Spirit and by ourselves not to saddle you with any burden beyond these essentials.” It was together with the Holy Spirit, the source of unity. Last but not least, they knew the matter was sensitive and so besides sending the letter, they sent their personal representatives to explain to the Gentile Christians so that it would be more personal. “Accordingly, we are sending you Judas and Silas, who will confirm by word of mouth what we have written in this letter.” This is what it means to carry out the command of Jesus, to love one another as He has loved us.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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