His Love and His Commands

Homily for the Sixth Sunday of Easter

By Deacon Thomas Stephenson

May 19, 2015

On behalf of Fr. Paul and myself, I would like to wish all the mothers here a very happy Mother’s Day. Although Mother’s Day is not a religious holiday, it certainly is appropriate for us to honour our mothers, and to thank the Lord for blessing us with these women who brought us into the world, and through their love and guidance helped us to become the people we are. And, we also should keep in mind our Blessed Mother, Mary, the model for all mothers. As He was dying on the cross, Jesus gave His mother to St. John, and by extension to all of us. Let us remember, as we do in a special way throughout the month of May, that Mary is our spiritual mother; we can pray for her help and rely on her intercession, and her love.

We can readily see that love is the focus of today’s readings. The Apostle John often referred to himself not by name, but as “the disciple who Jesus loved”. He is generally recognized as being the author of the Gospel of John, from which we heard today’s Gospel; at least the First Letter of John, from which we heard our second reading; and of the Book of Revelation. God’s love for us, and our love for God, are central to John’s writings. In just the passages we heard today, love is used nine times in the second reading, and again nine times in the Gospel. As Jesus speaks about Love, His love and the Father’s love, He connects that love with His commandments, and His commandments with our joy.

I recently read an article which referenced the Book of Revelation. One thing the author said is that Revelation can be read “as a panoramic view of all of history, and of the great contest within history, which is the contest between God’s love and all that would deny God’s love.” It was so throughout the Old Testament, it was so in Jesus’ time, and it is certainly so in our time. Particularly in our world today, the commandments are viewed as being something restrictive, imposed on us by the Church, or, at best, not really relevant to us now. But they are more than just rules to be followed; they are expressions of God’s love for us, to keep us in a right relationship with Him and our neighbours. To claim that the commandments are not loving, or even hateful, is to deny God’s love. Do we not hear things such as, isn’t it wrong for us to tell people they shouldn’t do certain things, or behave in certain ways? How could following the commandments bring us joy, when they prevent us from doing things we like to do? How could the commandments be related to love?

God’s commandments are inextricable from His love. Jesus tells us that in keeping His commandments, we will abide in His love. And, He says that He has told us this so that His joy may be in us, and our joy may be complete. It is loving for us to keep His commands; it is not loving for us to pretend that it’s okay to do things that we know are counter to His commands. We will experience joy when we keep His commands; we cannot experience true joy if we deny the truth of His commands.

But let us never forget – God continues to love us, regardless of our behaviour. Our sins create division between Him and us, but He still loves us and desires only the best for us. He can love us without approving of all our behaviour. Jesus loves all of us, even though we are sinners. He speaks of sin and rebukes it, but forgives the sinner and says “go, and sin no more”. St. John says of God “…He loved us and sent His son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins”. If everything we did was acceptable, the crucifixion would have been unnecessary. Jesus is loving, and it is in His love that He teaches faithfulness to the commandments and warns us against sin. Sometimes, being nice, and approving of error, is the least loving thing to do. We can be kind to others, and still help them to reconcile with God. Remember, one of the Spiritual Works of Mercy is to admonish sinners, to let them know that their souls are in danger. Yet that should always be done out of compassion and love, as Jesus does for each of us.

“As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you…Love one another as I have loved you.” So, really, we are to love one another as God loves us. God’s love is not a sentimental love; it is a love which transcends time, it transcends our human feelings, and our human failings. Can we really love one another to that extent? We can only do so by entering into that friendship, that loving relationship, with the Lord. We can do so if we allow the Holy Spirit to work in us and through us. When His joy is in us, we will be able to transmit that joy and love to others, and love them as He loves us.

Jesus wants us to abide in His love, to make His love a place where we find joy and peace, both here on earth, and for eternity in heaven. So let us pray for the grace to do what He commands, to bear witness to the truth, and to love as He loves.