We are children born from the boundless love and grace of God
(Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48; Psalm 98:1-4; 1 John 4:7-10; John 15:9-17)
The central theme woven throughout our readings is the profound and transformative nature of God’s love, which designates us as children of a divine Father and calls us to share that love actively with others. We are encouraged to express our love to our brothers and sisters within the New Covenant family established by Christ, while also extending that same love to all members of Adam’s broader human family. It is essential to recognise that love is not something we inherit; rather, it is a quality that must be learned, experienced, nurtured, and cultivated over time. The journey of love begins in infancy, developing through our early human interactions and relationships. These experiences of human affection and connection serve as a fundamental preparation for responding to the spiritual dimension of loving God and for heeding the call to share His unconditional love with others.
The First Reading beautifully illustrates God's love in action as He pours out His Spirit upon a group of Gentile Romans while they attentively listen to St. Peter's preaching of the Word of God. This remarkable event marks a pivotal moment in salvation history, as these Gentiles receive the same incredible gift of love that was bestowed upon Jesus’s Jewish disciples who prayed together in the Upper Room at Pentecost. They become the first non-Jewish believers to acknowledge Christ as their Lord and Saviour, and subsequently receive the Sacrament of Baptism, which ties them to the divine promise of love and redemption.
In today’s Responsorial Psalm, we celebrate the glorious work of God’s Spirit, which ignites our hearts with joy and praise. The psalmist recounts the mighty deeds God performed on Israel’s behalf, revealing His power and merciful nature to the surrounding nations. In light of these incredible acts, he calls upon the entire earth to lift their voices in a jubilant song that glorifies the Lord God of Israel, a universal invitation to recognise and celebrate God’s loving presence.
In the Second Reading, St. John emphasises that the love of God, shared and manifested by Christians, serves as a powerful testimony to God’s very nature and His constant presence in the lives of believers. This divine love that we extend to others not only reflects the essence of God's character but also affirms our identity as children of God. By embodying this love, we align ourselves with the very definition of love, rooted in God’s infinite goodness.
Turning to the Gospel Reading, Jesus teaches that the gift of love from God entails both a command and a sacred responsibility. He instructs us to love one another as He has loved us, a call that demands a profound, selfless commitment. Furthermore, Jesus challenges us to embrace the radical notion of offering our lives for others, mirroring the ultimate sacrifice He made for humanity. This call to love and self-sacrifice not only underscores the depth of God’s love but also invites us to reflect that love in our own lives as we engage with the world around us.
The Gospel affirmation offers both a directive and an assurance, encapsulated in the teaching delivered just before our current Gospel reading. Jesus declares, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him” (John 14:23). This proclamation arises from Christ’s poignant final discourse to His disciples at the Last Supper. In this context, Jesus assures us that if we truly abide in Him, He will grant our requests when we pray. Yet the essence of abiding in Him lies in our commitment to uphold His commandments. This obedience is multifaceted; it requires us to fully believe in His teachings and to align our lives with God's will, mirroring the perfect accord Jesus maintained with His Father's will.
When we approach prayer, it is crucial to reflect on whether our petitions align with the teachings of Christ and the directives of His Church. Our requests must not only be earnest but also reflect adherence to God's will in our lives. The Catechism conveys this imperative beautifully, stating: “The prayer of faith consists not only in saying ‘Lord, Lord,’ but in disposing the heart to do the will of the Father. Jesus calls his disciples to bring into their prayer this concern for cooperating with the divine plan” (CCC 2611).
In John 13:34, Jesus reiterates a command familiar to His followers, instructing them: “Love one another as I have loved you,” using the Greek term agapate, the plural imperative of “you love,” derived from agape. This directive isn’t entirely new; it resonates with the Old Testament command in Leviticus 19:18, which mandates loving one's neighbour. By reiterating this command, Jesus positions Himself alongside Yahweh, asserting His divine authority. In John 13:34, He presents an important nuance, declaring it a “new commandment” while emphasising a profound standard of love, indicating that His followers’ love for one another should be sustained and perpetual, as shown by the present subjunctive tense. This persistent and selfless love becomes the distinguishing mark of His disciples, as described in John 13:35.
In verse 13, Jesus reveals the ultimate act of love, His willingness to sacrifice Himself for His friends. This statement carries profound implications, suggesting that Christian love extends beyond mere willingness to die for friends or as a testament to one’s faith. It embodies a deeper, self-sacrificial love rooted in Christ’s own example. He possesses the divine authority to lay down His life and to take it up again, thereby fulfilling the command of God the Father as articulated in John 10:18 and 14:31. His command to love unselfishly underscores the essential nature of living out this love as a commandment for those who adhere to the New Covenant.
Jesus’s model of self-sacrificial love offers both a profound example and a source of inspiration for how we are to express love towards others. While it may be effortless to love those who are easy to love, it often tests our capacity to extend love to those who may act unfavourably or reject our kindness. In such circumstances, recalling that Christ loved even the most unlovable enough to sacrifice His life for them can bolster our resolve to love in return. If we truly love Christ, we are also empowered to love through Him.
In verse 15, Jesus’s description of the disciples as His slaves or servants carries no negative connotation. Throughout the Old Testament, figures such as Moses (Deuteronomy 34:5), Joshua (Joshua 24:29), and David (Psalm 89:20) are designated as servants of Yahweh. Nevertheless, the transition from the role of “servant” to “friend” signifies a momentous change. Biblical scholars offer various interpretations of verses 14-15.
1. One interpretation suggests that at His ascension, Jesus elevates the Apostles to the status of friends or ministers within the Messianic Kingdom and among the holy figures of His Church, as Scripture regards Father Abraham as God’s friend (2 Chronicles 20:7 and Isaiah 41:8).
2. Another perspective holds that the Holy Spirit elevates the disciples to a status akin to brothers and friends because of their baptism into Christ.
3. Additional scholarly insights draw on St. Paul’s teaching that God’s people were servants or slaves to the Law under the Old Covenant. In Galatians 4:4-5, St. Paul explains, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption.” Again, in Romans 8:14-15, he states: “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, Abba, ‘Father!’”
We might also reflect on the idea that the disciples are considered “friends” because they now share in a profound understanding of God’s divine plan for humanity’s salvation. They belong to an exclusive group privy to the secrets and mysteries that Jesus revealed about the Kingdom of God. Their unique relationship mirrors that of Abraham, who was called the “friend” of God for his intimate rapport with Yahweh. As the inaugural ministers and leaders of Jesus’s New Covenant Church, leading the new, redeemed Israel, they are entrusted with the mission to spread the message of salvation throughout the world.
In verse 16, Jesus expressed a profound truth when He said: “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give you.” This declaration emphasises not only the divine initiative in the relationship between Jesus and His followers but also the significant role of the Apostles in the Church’s mission.
The foundation of the Old Covenant Church was established through the lineage of the twelve sons of Jacob, who is also known as Israel. These sons were the patriarchs of God's chosen people, the Israelites, and their descendants formed the basis of God's Covenant community. In contrast, Jesus initiated the New Covenant Church through twelve spiritual leaders known as the Apostles. Following the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, who was one of the original twelve, the number of Apostles was restored to twelve with the election of Matthias, as recorded in Acts 1:20-26. This event, directed by St. Peter, set a precedent for the Church's ongoing practice of appointing successors to Christ's ministers within its hierarchical structure.
During the Last Supper Discourse, Jesus emphasised the importance of love when He commanded His Apostles “to love” three times (see John 13:34; 15:12; and 17). In verse 10, He explained that they would remain in His love if they diligently kept His commandments. The commandment to love was reiterated three times, underscoring its foundational significance; it is from this love that all other commandments emanate. This love is not merely an emotional sentiment but is intended to be fruitful, generating more love and fostering a genuine sense of community among believers.
We can observe the evolution of the commandment “to love” as it develops from the earlier verse (9) and expands in verses 12 and 17. The relationship unfolds: the Father loves Jesus, Jesus in turn loves His disciples, and those disciples are called to love one another in reciprocal relationships. This theme is revisited by St. John in his First Epistle (1 John 4:11-12), which states: “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.” This scripture reiterates the importance of love as the visible sign of God’s presence among us.
Regarding the Church’s obligation to embody love, the Catechism cites St. Therese of Lisieux from her work, "Autobiography of a Saint": “If the Church were a body composed of different members, it couldn’t lack the noblest of all; it must have a Heart, and a Heart burning with love. And I realise that his love alone was the true motive force that enabled the other members of the Church to act: if it ceased to function, the Apostles would forget to preach the gospel, and the martyrs would refuse to shed their blood. Love, in fact, is the vocation which includes all others; it is a universe of its own, comprising all time and space; it is eternal! This quotation highlights love as the essence of the Church’s identity and mission, asserting that without it the very foundation and activities of the Church would falter (CCC 826).
2. Another perspective holds that the Holy Spirit elevates the disciples to a status akin to brothers and friends because of their baptism into Christ.
3. Additional scholarly insights draw on St. Paul’s teaching that God’s people were servants or slaves to the Law under the Old Covenant. In Galatians 4:4-5, St. Paul explains, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption.” Again, in Romans 8:14-15, he states: “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, Abba, ‘Father!’”
We might also reflect on the idea that the disciples are considered “friends” because they now share in a profound understanding of God’s divine plan for humanity’s salvation. They belong to an exclusive group privy to the secrets and mysteries that Jesus revealed about the Kingdom of God. Their unique relationship mirrors that of Abraham, who was called the “friend” of God for his intimate rapport with Yahweh. As the inaugural ministers and leaders of Jesus’s New Covenant Church, leading the new, redeemed Israel, they are entrusted with the mission to spread the message of salvation throughout the world.
In verse 16, Jesus expressed a profound truth when He said: “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give you.” This declaration emphasises not only the divine initiative in the relationship between Jesus and His followers but also the significant role of the Apostles in the Church’s mission.
The foundation of the Old Covenant Church was established through the lineage of the twelve sons of Jacob, who is also known as Israel. These sons were the patriarchs of God's chosen people, the Israelites, and their descendants formed the basis of God's Covenant community. In contrast, Jesus initiated the New Covenant Church through twelve spiritual leaders known as the Apostles. Following the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, who was one of the original twelve, the number of Apostles was restored to twelve with the election of Matthias, as recorded in Acts 1:20-26. This event, directed by St. Peter, set a precedent for the Church's ongoing practice of appointing successors to Christ's ministers within its hierarchical structure.
During the Last Supper Discourse, Jesus emphasised the importance of love when He commanded His Apostles “to love” three times (see John 13:34; 15:12; and 17). In verse 10, He explained that they would remain in His love if they diligently kept His commandments. The commandment to love was reiterated three times, underscoring its foundational significance; it is from this love that all other commandments emanate. This love is not merely an emotional sentiment but is intended to be fruitful, generating more love and fostering a genuine sense of community among believers.
We can observe the evolution of the commandment “to love” as it develops from the earlier verse (9) and expands in verses 12 and 17. The relationship unfolds: the Father loves Jesus, Jesus in turn loves His disciples, and those disciples are called to love one another in reciprocal relationships. This theme is revisited by St. John in his First Epistle (1 John 4:11-12), which states: “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.” This scripture reiterates the importance of love as the visible sign of God’s presence among us.
Regarding the Church’s obligation to embody love, the Catechism cites St. Therese of Lisieux from her work, "Autobiography of a Saint": “If the Church were a body composed of different members, it couldn’t lack the noblest of all; it must have a Heart, and a Heart burning with love. And I realise that his love alone was the true motive force that enabled the other members of the Church to act: if it ceased to function, the Apostles would forget to preach the gospel, and the martyrs would refuse to shed their blood. Love, in fact, is the vocation which includes all others; it is a universe of its own, comprising all time and space; it is eternal! This quotation highlights love as the essence of the Church’s identity and mission, asserting that without it the very foundation and activities of the Church would falter (CCC 826).
Dr Nicholas Macedon OCD,
Superior & Director, JJCIS
Jeeva Jyothi Carmelite Institute of Spirituality (JJCIS),
Old Gandarvakottai,
Pudukottai - 613301.
Tamil Nadu, India
What's app - +91 - 9698453101
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