6th Sunday of Easter
"Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him." With these words from the first Letter of Saint John 4:7-10 today’s second reading, St. John reminds us that love is the center of our lives as Christians and as disciples of Christ. Jesus re-echoes the same sentiments in today’s gospel reading from the gospel of Saint John 15:9-17 by saying "As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love. This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one's friends."
Hence my brothers and sisters in Christ, love is of great importance and significance in our lives as Christians because God is love and love is the greatest commandment. But what is love and what does love entail? God is love and the love of God was revealed to us when He sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might have life through Him. Love entails Self-Giving, being Understanding and being Forgiving.
Love entails Self-giving which means the willingness to deprive ourself of something for another; disregarding your own advantages and welfare over those of others or to sacrifice for another’s wellbeing or welfare. God’s love for us is an act of Self-Giving as He gave us His only begotten Son to be like us His creatures and to grant us salvation. Jesus’s passion, suffering and death on the cross for our sins and His resurrection from the dead was an act of self-giving. The gifts of the Holy Spirit given us notwithstanding our sinfulness is a total act of self-giving. So, what have we deprived ourselves for God for His mercies, graces and blessings upon us? What have we deprived ourselves of for the greater glory of God and for us to attain the kingdom of heaven? What advantages have we disregarded in our lives as Christians for the welfare of others or what have we sacrificed for another’s wellbeing or welfare?
Being Understanding is the second aspect of love as shown us by the Blessed Trinity. Being Understanding is the ability to sympathetically be aware of other people's feelings and being tolerant. God is always very understanding towards us as He continues to be tolerant with us, even though He is aware of our sins, He continues to bless, guide and protect us. God is understanding towards us as He continues daily to reach out to us to change our lives and become better disciples of Christ. God is understanding and tolerant with us as He continually extends a hand of welcome to us to repent and believe in the gospel of Christ. But how understanding are we as disciples of Christ towards others especially towards their feelings and sentiments when we proclaim the gospel and they refuse to listen and accept it rather reject us, abuse us, criticize us and even persecute us? How tolerant are we towards the faults or flaws of others?
Lastly, Love entails Being Forgiving, which is the ability to cease feeling angry or resentful toward someone for an offense, flaw, or mistake. God constantly forgives us our sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and brings us closer to Himself, but do we do the same for others? It is not easy to forgive those who have wronged us but remember that God does that always for us. When you feel you cannot forgive those who have wronged or offended you, look at the crucifix and remind yourself that God forgave you your sins through the death of Jesus His only begotten Son on the cross. When you think that you cannot let go of a hurt caused you by another, look at the crucifix and remind yourself that God let go of the hurt you caused Him through the death of Jesus His only begotten Son on the cross. When you feel like even if you forgive someone who offended you, you still cannot forget what the person did to you, look at the crucifix and remind yourself that God forgave you and forgot about all your wrongs, flaws, faults and mistakes through the death of Jesus His only begotten Son on the cross.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let’s us love one another as God loves us and as Jesus has shown us through His suffering, death and resurrection. Let us strive to live out God’s commandment of love to us today by being altruistic through the act of Self-Giving; by being Tolerant and Understanding of others and lastly, by Forgiving the flaws, mistakes and offenses of those who have wronged us. Amen!
