SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR B

Acts 10:25…48
Ps 97
1 John 4:7-10
John 15:9-17

FRIENDS OF JESUS CHRIST

The inner longing of every man and woman is to love and to feel loved. For we were created out of love, in love and for love, by a God who is love. In effect, the second reading gives us another name of God: love. “God is love”. He loved us first and gave us his only Son for our salvation. As such, those who truly love are sons and daughters of God (1 John 4:7-10).

In the first reading, this love of God is proven boundless, open to all men, irrespective of their nationality. God has no favourite, but accepts anyone who fears him and does what is right. Thus, by pouring his Spirit upon the pagans, whom Jews considered unworthy of God’s mercy, love and salvation, God broke the barriers of our prejudice and self-sufficiency (Acts 10:25…48).

Similarly, Jesus in the gospel invites his followers to love one another as he has loved us. What is specific of the love of Christ is that he loved us to the end and gave his life for us. He has made us his friends (John 15:9-17). He is the only selfless, faithful, loyal and true friend.

This way, Jesus invites us to experience love in its true sense: a love that overcomes fear, selfishness, and pride. A love that seeks the good of the other for the sake of the other. A love that endures and forgives. It is only when we love in this way that we become true friends of Jesus. Anything apart from this is a caricature of love. 
May the Lord Jesus teach us how to love as he loves us. Amen