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May 20/21, 2006 Sixth Sunday of Easter (B) Rev. Timothy P. Schehr Acts 10:25-48 X 1 John 4:7-10 X John 15:9-17
We are weeks into the Easter season now and will soon be celebrating the Lord’s Ascension into heaven. But the gospel for this Sunday takes us all the back to the Lord’s Supper with his disciples on the night of his arrest.
Jesus has just finished telling his disciples how important it is for them to remain faithful to him. They must remain attached to him like branches on a vine. That will ensure that the vineyard, an ancient image for the people of God, will at last yield a rich harvest.
Now Jesus talks about the love his heavenly Father has for him. It was this love that set in motion the whole plan of salvation. Jesus wants his disciple to know that he loves them with the same kind of love. In other words, he loves them to life and wants them to enjoy all the advantages of life with God.
If they keep his commandments they will remain in his love and enjoy eternal life. It is quite an honor Jesus gives them. They have the privilege of imitating their Lord. Just as Jesus keeps his Father’s commandments and remains in his love, so they are invited to keep the Lord’s commandments and remain in his love.
Jesus displays his love by giving his life for the salvation of the world. They will be called upon to sacrifice their lives too for the sake of the gospel. Such sacrifice will not necessarily demand martyrdom, but will it demand total dedication to the saving work of God.
A clear sign of the special bond they have with the Lord is the fact that Jesus gives them a new title. He declares them friends instead of slaves or servants. A number of biblical figures had the title of slave or servant of God. The list includes Moses, David, and Job. But on all the figures in the Old Testament only Abraham carried the title friends (see for example Isaiah 41:8). It suggests that the disciple will enjoy the kind of close access to God that the great patriarch enjoyed. Remember his famous exchange with God before the destruction of Sodom (Genesis 18)? On the other side of the spectrum, it was unfortunate that during the Lord’s trial, Pontius Pilate placed greater importance to being a friend to Caesar (John 19:12).
In the reading from Acts it seems that even after months in the service of the Gospel, the apostle Peter was still learning the full implications of being a friend of God. He announces to the household of Cornelius, an officer in the Roman army but soon to be a baptized Christian, that he now understand that God shows no partiality. The apostle admits he is beginning to see the world from God’s viewpoint; he is beginning to appreciate that Jesus died for the salvation of the whole world.
In the second reading John neatly summarizes the whole plan of salvation when he explains “…God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him.” John wants us to be quite clear about one thing especially: God loved us first. Our response should be to return the favor by loving one another. The kind of love John is talking about here has little to do with warm feelings and has everything to do with using all the gifts God has given us to bring others to the Lord, to lead such lives that we inspire others to serve God. |
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