Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year B)

Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year B)

Acts 10:25-26,34-35,44-48; 1Jn 4:7-10; Jn 15: 9-17

image courtesy:Mangalore Diocese

Lilly loved the golden bracelet she’d been given. It was a symbol of her fiancé’s love—something precious beyond measure. She reached out to touch it…

Panic gripped Lilly’s heart. The bracelet wasn’t on her wrist! She knew she’d put it on that morning. She must have lost it! It could be anywhere—she’d been on a long walk. Where, oh where, had it fallen off?

And how could she lose that bracelet? What must her fiancé think? She felt unbearably terrible and ashamed.

Unable to find it on her own, she told her fiancé; his reaction completely surprised her. He wasn’t mad at her. In fact, he assured her that all that mattered to him was her. He wept with her because he knew she valued the bracelet and assured her he’d work with her to find it if they at all could, but her actions had not affected his love in the least.

Wiping away the tears and the shame, Lilly began to realize that her fiancé wasn’t surprised at her failures—and when she failed, she should run to him, not away. His arms were always open wide; he saw her, not as the mess she was, but as his spotless, beloved bride.

Today the Lord teaches us to keep our arms always wide open for others.

We continue today to reflect from the continuation of last Sunday’s gospel passage. We had the image of the vine and branches last Sunday to describe the intimate association between Jesus and his followers that was necessary if the disciples had to produce fruit for eternal life. In today’s Gospel Jesus expects his followers to abide in his love and to love one another. 

The love is expected to be greater than the mere human concept of love. It is to the point of laying down one’s life for the other. The disciples are not Christ’s servants but his intimate friends and associates in his mission. The passage also emphasizes the divine mutuality as Jesus explains that as the Father loves the Son, so does the Son love the disciples and the disciples are to love one another. Everything is interconnected and the word used is "remain". However, the purpose of this divine mutuality is to bear fruit, meaning that the disciple must do something. Jesus says that they will bear lasting fruit in their life work if they trust in God and are motivated by true love for God and neighbour.  They now have the responsibility to keep the commandments of Jesus.  

Today’s gospel gives us two models of personal relationship to Jesus: as a servant (in Greek doulos means “slave”) or as a friend. At any given point in our faith journey one of these two models is predominant. Sometimes in our life we relate with God as our Master and we as slaves. The model of master – slave is very much present in many reflections of our spirituality. However, we need to turn to the teachings of Jesus – calling us friends. 

We have a beautiful Kyrie hymn, “Lord have mercy on your servants gathered here.” This hymn explicitly projects our Master-Servant attitude. We need to make it a point to sing, “….people gathered here”. This connotes that we are his people and not his servants as he has taught us. 

Today’s gospel challenges us to rethink our relationship with Christ because, evidently, Christ himself prefers to relate with his disciples as friend to friend rather than as master to servant: “I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends” (John 15:15).

God’s love is universal. It is not limited to time and space. In the first reading we heard that God shows no partiality. God has no favouritism to one nation over another in the New Covenant. All stand equal for divine blessing. In the Second reading, St John in his first letter explains to us what God really is. He is Love and his love is manifested to us in his son Jesus. 

May this Sunday make us more human during these difficult times. May the love be manifested in our thoughts words and deeds. 

(You are most welcome to add your thoughts and reflections in the comments section below)

Happy Sunday