Called to be People of Love

Scripture Reflection for the Sixth Sunday of Easter (May 29, 2011)

Scripture Readings:
Acts 8:5-8, 14-17
Psalm 66
1 Peter 3:15-18
John 14:15-21

A few weeks ago Father Don Senior, CP, president of CTU, wrote an interesting article for “A Word from CTU” entitled “A Tale of Two Lives”. The article pointed out that on May 1, 2011 two very famous people, who are now dead, had made the world-wide news -- Pope John Paul II and Osama bin Laden. Father Don suggests that there is great irony in the fact that on the very same day that the Pope was beatified in St. Peter’s square with hundreds of thousands of people publicly cheering, bin Laden was discovered and killed in a secret hiding place in Pakistan. Certainly both of these men made a huge impact on the world during their lives, one incredibly positive and the other incredibly negative. Pope John Paul II represented in a powerful way the faithful, out-pouring love of God that affects the whole world; and Osama bin Laden represented violence and hatred in a way that our world has rarely ever seen. As Father Don says in his last statement, “seldom, if ever, have the lives -- and deaths -- of two world figures, whose stories were unexpectedly entwined on May 1, 2011, stood in such stark contrast.”

I thought of that article when I read this Sunday’s Gospel from the 14th Chapter of the Gospel of John in which Jesus invites his followers to be people of love – to love God and to keep God’s commandments. And of course for the readers of John’s Gospel the number one commandment is to love, to be caught up in the love that we have already received from God. Perhaps what was so very powerful about John Paul II, was how he was loved and how he loved. I remember well at 10:00 pm on October 6, 1979 when the crowds were chanting outside of the Cardinal’s residence in Chicago, “John Paul II, We love you,” and he appeared at the window (with cameras rolling) to respond with great enthusiasm, “John Paul II he love you!” Love really is the bottom line for us a Christians, isn’t it? And it is the great litmus test that we can take every day of our lives.

The Gospel this week invites us to a new level of intimacy with God and with one another. “I am with the Father and you are with me and I am with you” is really a great promise and a great way to live. The early Church too celebrated this kind of indwelling. We can read today in the Acts of the Apostles how Phillip went to Samaria and preached the good news, followed by Peter and John who called down the Holy Spirit. And in the reading from 1 Peter, which is basically a baptismal instruction, he tells us not to hesitate to share our hope with anyone who asks. There is a sense here that there is truly no limit to God’s love and that it is our mission as a Church to spread that love wherever we go, just like John Paul II did.

Have you ever noticed how the deeper we get into the Easter season the more we hear messages about what it means to be Easter people in the here and now? Every Sunday since Easter Sunday we have heard stories that touch our own human experience of what it means to struggle to live out our faith. We can relate to Thomas who doubts and the disciples on the road to Emmaus who gave up hope for a while. We know what it means to struggle to listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd among all of the many voices that we hear in our world. We can relate to Thomas and Phillip in last Sunday’s Gospel when they ask, “How can we know the way?” and “Show us the Father.” Those aren’t bad questions; they are our questions.

As we approach the end of the Easter Season, let’s spend a little time holding on to the promise of the Spirit that keeps us all connected. We are not alone or abandoned; indeed we are part of something much greater than ourselves, thanks be to God.

Paz y Bien,

Father Ed