6th Sunday of Easter - Cycle B

Love.  One small word but it means so much.  The ancient Greeks had at least five different words to describe the different types of emotions love can evoke.  If we had to sum up our entire faith tradition in one word, it would have to be “love.”  Love is how God brought us into existence.  Love is the primary teaching that Jesus gave us.  Love is how the Holy Spirit is made manifest in us today.  Spring is in the air, and so is love.

The Word for the 6th Sunday of Easter
Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48
Psalms 98:1, 2-3, 3-4
1 John 4:7-10
John 15:9-17

Our first reading from Acts of the Apostles centers on the conversion and baptism of Cornelius, a Roman Centurion.  Cornelius is a foreigner in every sense, yet he is compelled by a vision to seek out Peter.  Peter bravely accepts his invitation, knowing full well that it is against Jewish law to meet with a Gentile.  But Peter knows better – knows that God’s love shows no partiality.  During his visit, the Holy Spirit comes upon all those gathered, including Cornelius and the other Gentiles.  Upon seeing this Peter responds, “Can anyone withhold the water for baptism to these people…?”  The answer, of course, is “no.”  And neither should we.  Our Psalm echoes the universal nature of God’s love as a gift to be recognized by all nations as we sing, “The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.”

Our second reading continues our study of the 1st Letter of John.  This week’s passage also focuses on love.  Love is from God, and those who love, know God.  John reminds us that this love is revealed though God sending his Son, who through his love for us gave his life as expiation for our sins.  Love is in fact, something given, and in the words of St. Francis, “it is in giving that we receive.”

Our Gospel passage for this week picks up right where we left off last week (“I am the vine, you are the branches”).  After having shown us the connection between God, himself, and ourselves, Jesus now turns to the topic of love.  “As the Father loves me, so I also love you.”  This leads us to the Great Commandment:  “Love one another as I love you.”  Through this love we are no longer slaves.  Jesus reinforces this understanding by reminding the Apostles that he has told them everything.  In a typical master-slave relationship, the master does not have to explain himself, the slave needs only to comply.  But Jesus tells his Apostles that he considers them to be “friends,” thus breaking down that traditional master-slave or master-apprentice relationship.  Jesus explains that he has been told everything by the Father and that he now imparts that to them so that his message might bear fruit, and that love will rule the day.

Final Thoughts:
As human beings we seem fixated on the concept of hierarchy.  In fact, we live with this concept daily, be it through our jobs, our schools, or our government.  Who sits above who?  Who sits below who?  Who’s in charge?  Who has authority?  Even the Apostles themselves argued over this.  Even as Church we are still fixated on this notion of hierarchy when we look at the structure of the Magisterium.  What we tend to leave out of the equation, however, is love.  When you factor love into a hierarchical structure the walls of separation collapse.  Even in the most basic human hierarchy, that of a parent and a child, love plays a transformative role.  In a family where parent and child serve each other, there is no room for a sense of entitlement because everything is done through love.  “It is in giving that we receive.”