A Homily – The Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year B)

First Reading – Acts 10:25-26,34-35,44-48 ©

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 97(98):1-4

Second Reading – 1 John 4:7-10 ©

Gospel Acclamation – John 14:23

The Gospel According to John – 15:9 – 17 ©

 

(NAB)

 

Listen!

 God, the creator of the universe, God does not interfere with the created order or intervene in the free choices of human beings.

 Knowing that God does not intercede in our affairs or interject the divine will into the flow of human history, knowing this it is not proper to see the sonship of Jesus as a status conveyed by divine anointing. God did not anoint Jesus; rather, Jesus took the mantle, he accepted the role and responsibility that all children of God are called to. Jesus was anointed by his followers in recognition of his service and the burden it entailed, even to his torture and death on the cross.

 Jesus was free to reject the ministry that was presented to him, but he did not. He was faithful to the end, setting an example to us all.

 Few are called to serve in the capacity that Jesus served; to be tortured and executed for the sake of what is right and good. Few of us have the capacity to love justice so much that they could humbly endure what Jesus endured, and that is why we call him Christ.

 Follow Jesus along the way, do good. Love justice and be merciful; be a source of healing in the world. This is the way, do the best you can, not for the sake of your salvation, but for the good of your sisters and brothers, for the good of all women and men.

 Know this.

 It is right and good to praise God, because the created order is miraculous thing, and beyond the scope of human comprehension.

 Remember.

 God does not grant victory two one party or another in conflict or combat. God has no enemies, and in God, within whom all things and beings exist…in God there is no conflict.

 It is never God’s justice at work in human courts and human governments, human laws represent human interests, human justice, which is only good insofar as it approximates the divine…the work of human beings is always-only-ever an approximation.

 Be mindful.

 God is kind and faithful to all people; equally.

 God’s power is everywhere, God’s spirit animates the voices that give God praise.

 If you have accepted a role to serve as an instrument of justice, remember to judge fairly, judge kindly and remember the love God bears for all.

 Consider the wisdom of John when he exhorts us to love one another:

 A failure to love is a failure to live up to the hope that God has for us…for God desires that we love one another, and though it is true that all human beings fail to love perfectly, it is also true that every human being has loved truly.

 The knowledge of God is a wonderful thing, especially the knowledge of God as love; what we must always be mindful of is that God knows us, God loves us, God loves the whole of us.

 Be mindful.

 Jesus did not die on the cross as a propitiatory sacrifice for sin. His death was not a ransom, his blood was not shed to cover our debts. He was killed because of sin, his death was a political murder and has no intrinsic significance to the cosmos.

 We are each of responsible for our own sins…to forgive those who have done us harm, and to accept the forgiveness of those we have harmed when it is offered. We are responsible for sharing the good news; God has forgiven us already.

 Know this.

 The grace of God is not transactional. Love fosters love, and there is always love for God is always with you.

 Consider the gospel reading for today:

 The greatest commandment is love, love is the whole of the law.

 There is no greater gift than the gift of love, to love one another, to give of one’s self to another there is no greater gift. The love that we are called to is not the love we call desire, though to desire and be desired is an experience of great joy.

 We are called to move past the love we have for family and friends, because that mode of love is only a short extension of the love we have for ourselves, because we see ourselves in the faces of our mothers and fathers, our sisters and brothers, because we see our own spirit reflected in the eyes of our children, and our own ambitions as tied to the ambitions of our friends…we are called to love more than this.

We are called to love to the point of selflessness, to love even those who are against us, to love our enemies, to forgive those who have hurt us and done us harm, to feed the stranger and protect them…we are called to do so out of love.

 This is the way.

 

First Reading – Acts 10:25-26,34-35,44-48 ©

The Pagans Have Received the Holy Spirit Just as Much as We Have

As Peter reached the house Cornelius went out to meet him, knelt at his feet and prostrated himself. But Peter helped him up. ‘Stand up,’ he said ‘I am only a man after all!’

  Then Peter addressed them: ‘The truth I have now come to realise’ he said ‘is that God does not have favourites, but that anybody of any nationality who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to him.’

  While Peter was still speaking the Holy Spirit came down on all the listeners. Jewish believers who had accompanied Peter were all astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit should be poured out on the pagans too, since they could hear them speaking strange languages and proclaiming the greatness of God. Peter himself then said, ‘Could anyone refuse the water of baptism to these people, now they have received the Holy Spirit just as much as we have?’ He then gave orders for them to be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ. Afterwards they begged him to stay on for some days.

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 97(98):1-4

The Lord Has Brought Salvation

Acclaim the King, the Lord.

Sing a new song to the Lord,

  for he has worked wonders.

His right hand, his holy arm,

  have brought him victory.

The Lord has shown his saving power,

  and before all nations he has shown his justice.

He has remembered to show his kindness

  and his faithfulness to the house of Israel.

The farthest ends of the earth

  have seen the saving power of our God.

Rejoice in God, all the earth.

  Break forth in triumph and song!

Sing to the Lord on the lyre,

  with the lyre and with music.

With trumpets and the sound of the horn,

  sound jubilation to the Lord, our king.

Let the sea resound in its fullness,

  all the earth and all its inhabitants.

The rivers will clap their hands,

  and the mountains will exult at the presence of the Lord,

  for he comes to judge the earth.

He will judge all the world in justice,

  and the peoples with fairness.

Acclaim the King, the Lord.

 

Second Reading – 1 John 4:7-10 ©

Let Us Love One Another, Since Love Comes From God

My dear people, let us love one another since love comes from God and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.

Anyone who fails to love can never have known God, because God is love.

God’s love for us was revealed when God sent into the world his only Son so that we could have life through him; this is the love I mean:

 

Not our love for God, but God’s love for us when he sent his Son to be the sacrifice that takes our sins away.

 

Gospel Acclamation – John 14:23

Alleluia, alleluia!

Jesus said: ‘If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him.’

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to John – 15:9 – 17 ©

You Are My Friends if You Do What I Command You

Jesus said to his disciples:

"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.

"I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy might be complete. 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. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. 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 I command you: love one another."

 

A Homily – The Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year B)