Jesus said to his disciples:
‘As the Father has loved me, so I have loved 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 own joy may be in you and your joy be complete.
This is my commandment: Love one another as I have loved you.
No one can have greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
You are my friends, if you do as I command you. I shall not call you servants any more, because a servant does not know his master’s business; I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father.
You did not choose me, no, I chose you; and I commissioned you to go out and to bear fruit, fruit that will last; and then the Father will give you anything you ask in my name.
What I command you is to love one another.’ (John 15:9-17)
As we approach the coming feasts of the Ascension and Pentecost, the Gospel today helps us understand that Jesus is our bond of love with the Father and with one another. He is a true friend to us. He is both the image of God and the model of the redeemed human being that each of us is called to be.
Jesus shows us the way to live full and happy lives by living in love: “I have told you this so that my own joy may be in you and your joy be complete.”
The commandments of Jesus are always about love - love of God and love of neighbour. Those who live by these commandments of Jesus abide with him, others and the Father in love.
Jesus is the reign of God in person. He is both the image of God and the model of the redeemed human being that each of us is called to be.
When Jesus says he has told the disciples everything he has learned from the Father it reminds us that Jesus was human as well as divine; that his life was a journey of learning, too; a path of facing choices and challenges. Jesus tells his disciples that they are his friends. They have become his friends because he has shared his knowledge and understanding and love of the Father with them.
We remain in Christ by remaining in his love and loving one another just as Christ has loved us. We are no longer servants but friends of Jesus because he has made known to us everything he learnt from God. Jesus has chosen us and commissioned us to be love and to do love in the heart of the world.
Download our Celebrating At Home liturgy here.
Celebrating At Home Sixth Sunday of Easter [PDF]
Celebrating At Home Sixth Sunday of Easter [ePub]
