6th Sunday of Easter
This Sunday is the 6th Sunday of Easter. it is also the beginning of the month of May. May is the month in which we venerate the Mother of Jesus in a special way and in our parish we are hosting the annual Novena to our Lady of Perpetual Help.
In the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we see a remarkable event where Peter, a Jew, realizes that God does not favour one group of people over another. As Peter spoke to a gathering that included both Jews and Gentiles, the Holy Spirit came upon everyone present. This was a clear sign that God’s love and salvation were available to all, not just a select few. Moved by this understanding, Peter baptized the Gentiles, officially welcoming them into the Christian community. This passage teaches us that God’s love knows no boundaries and that we, too, are called to transcend our prejudices and share God’s love with all.
The second reading, from the first letter of John, tells us straightforwardly: “God is love.” This profound truth is at the heart of Christian life. It means that loving others is not just a command from God, but a reflection of God Himself. When we love one another, we are participating in God’s own life.John goes on to explain that God showed this love most clearly by sending His Son, Jesus, to save us from our sins. This act of sending His only Son as a sacrifice is the ultimate example of love. Every act of love we show to others is a reflection of God’s love for us and an encounter with Him. In the Gospel for this Sunday Jesus tells us ‘As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Remain in my love. This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you. The teaching about love is not a recent innovation, or a new-age trend as many people seem to think. Jesus does lay down a commandment for us today, but he does so, not as the master talking to servants, but as a friend speaking intimately to other friends. Servants follow rules, their lives are dictated by the one who holds authority over them. Jesus’ religion isn’t based on such a model though many in the church today seem to think otherwise. Instead, love is the foundation of our faith. Jesus is asking us to live out of the realization of that love. We are his friends, he tells us, so now we are asked to go out and live like friends with one another. “Friends,” in this context, means “beloved ones.” We need to live out of that description for we are the beloved disciples. The instructions that Jesus gives are valuable lessons by which we will master the love of God our Father in what we say and what we do. Jesus chose his followers to carry out God’s plan of salvation in every age he chooses us today in our turn to do the same.
Love is the best way to become his “co-worker,” since it reveals the reason he made the world and affirms our friendship with the creator. Love changes everything it touches. It tells us to stop bragging about this or that. It enhances our reputation. It denies the power of position and wealth which we sometimes feel is ours by right, it raises us up as true leaders. It connects us to God and to one another. Divine love transcends mere emotion. It becomes our lifeline to God. And it forms the basis of real community where everyone is valued and none are left out. It is inexplicable in theory, yet easily seen in action. Wherever God loves, he acts. Wherever he acts, he is there with us. HE IS WITH US simply because he loves us and the love of God knows no bounds; we remember the love that God has for each and every one of us each time we look at the Cross. There was no greater love than the Cross of Good Friday. We are called to bring the love of God into our own lives as well as the lives of those around us remembering that the Love of God lasts forever.Jesus assures us that whatever we ask the Father in His name will be granted, emphasizing the power of living in accordance with His command to love. We experience God’s presence through the love we give and receive in our everyday interactions. Through His words and example, Jesus has equipped us to bring this divine love into the world.
As followers of Christ, we are called to live out the love of God in a real way, showing love to everyone we meet without partiality. When we show love genuinely, we make the truth that “God is love” visible and active in the world. Let us strive to embody this love in all that we do, bringing the light of Christ into every corner of our lives and our world.
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