6th Sunday of Easter (Cycle B)

May 17, 2009

by Reverend Deacon Lawrence A. St. Onge

One day a rather eccentric looking young man wearing an old brown suit and holding a small, worn, sticker covered suitcase walked into the center of a town in which he had just landed a job. On the town common he spun around a few times and looked up to the skyline. Fixing his eyes on the closest church steeple, he immediately made his way to the front door of the rectory next to the church. He knocked on the door and asked to speak with the pastor. When the pastor met him in the parlor, the young man rose to his feet and immediately and stood on one foot. Looking at him curiously, the pastor asked how he could help the man. The young man said -- I have come very far and wish to settle in this town and join your church; but first, however, I would like you to instruct me in the entire faith as I stand on one foot. Judging the man to be deranged, the pastor promptly showed him the door.

Returning to the town common, the man faced in another direction and headed to the nearest church steeple. He went to the front door of the rectory and repeated his request to speak to the pastor: I have come very far and wish to settle in this town and join your church; first, however, I would like you to instruct me in the entire faith as I stand on one foot. Determining the young man to be irrational, this pastor also showed him the door.

A third time the young man repeated his ritual and headed toward another church steeple and knocked on the door of that rectory. An old, slouched and limping, white-bearded pastor answered the door and showed him into a sitting room. The young man repeated his request saying: I have come very far and wish to settle in this town and join your church; first, however, I would like you to instruct me in the entire faith as I stand on one foot. The pastor looked at him through timeworn, but wise eyes, and smiled saying: “Jesus commands you to love one another, as he has loved you” -- the rest is all commentary. At that the young man settled into town and joined that church.

The second and third readings today are filled with beautiful statements about the ever popular subject of love. Jesus tells us that the Father loves him, and that he in turn loves us, and that we should love one another. It is entirely possible that we have perhaps heard these sentiments expressed so often that we no longer realize just how profound and dramatic they really are.

We may have a problem when we hear the word love in today’s readings. But the problem perhaps lies in the way we use the word itself. The world tends not to use it in the same sense as the New Testament writers do. We trivialize it, talking about loving a certain food, or sports team, our favorite pastime, a pop group or TV program. Popular music is filled with words about love, but the meaning is usually sentimental in nature.

In today’s gospel, Jesus commands us to love one another as he has loved us. In his letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul writes that there are three things that matter; “faith, hope and love. And the greatest of these is love.” It seems that there is nothing more important to us than love. Love is mentioned over 600 times in the bible. If you type the word love in an internet search engine you’ll get nearly 2 trillion hits.

There are actually four meanings to the word love: there is the Generic: “Oh, how I love a good cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee.” Then there are the three Greek words for love: First, Philos: “I love all my friends.” Next is Eros: “I love you my darling sweetheart.” And finally, Agape: “I love you unconditionally.” Agape is the highest form of love, where we expect nothing in return for the love we give. It’s like the love of a parent for a child, or even more, like the love God has for us.

In today’s gospel Jesus speaks of the love which the Father and He have for those who belong to him.  He gives his disciples a new commandment – a new way to love. We are to love others as Jesus has loved us. And what is the essence of this new commandment? It is that true love – Agape love – is sacrificial love. It gives all to the beloved. And there is no greater proof in love than the sacrifice of one’s life for the sake of another. Jesus proved his love for his disciples by giving his life for them, even to death on the cross.

One of the special marks of favor shown in the scriptures is to be called the friend of God. Abraham, our father in faith, was called the friend of God. God spoke with Abraham as a man speaks with his friend. Jesus, our Lord and Master, in turn, calls his disciples his friends rather than his servants.

Friendship with God certainly entails a loving relationship, which goes beyond mere duty and obedience.  The distinctive feature of Jesus’ relationship with his disciples was his personal love for them. Scripture says: “He loved his own to the end.” Jesus’ love was unconditional and completely directed to the good of others. His love was also, sacrificial. He gave the best he had and all that he had. He gave his very life for those he loved in order to secure for them everlasting life with the God, the Father.

Jesus tells us that he is our friend and he loves us whole-heartedly and unconditionally. And he wants us to love one another just as he loves us, whole-heartedly and without reserve. His love fills our hearts and transforms our minds and frees us to give ourselves in loving service to others. If we open our hearts to his love and obey his command to love our neighbor, then we will bear much fruit in our lives, fruit that will last for eternity.