As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you: abide in my love....
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
Have you ever tossed a rock into the center of a pond? One thing we might notice is the splash as the rock hits the water. More interesting is what happens to the whole pond. As the rock breaks the surface at the center, ripples spread outward from this center and ultimately reach even to the far shoreline.
This Sunday (6th Sunday of Easter) the Gospel shows Jesus leading us to see the loving relationship that is created between God as our loving parent and ourselves. This love of God, in fact brings a whole series of loving relationships into our world. As complex as Christian faith can seem to be, it is in fact founded on a simple revelation: God loves us, all of us.
Our scriptures reveal this relationship again and again. It is expressed in in the story of creation (Genesis), where God brings the gift of life out of chaos. We encounter it in the saving, liberating action of God as Israel is drawn from slavery in Egypt and led to become a People of God in the new land (Exodus). The prophet Jeremiah saw this love as a covenant of love written on the hearts of all peoples (Jer.31:31-34).
In the Incarnation, Jesus’ birth is a signal of Gods expansive love. God reveals this love in Jesus himself (John 3:16-17) and from Jesus this revelation is to reach out through us. Like the rock thrown into the center of the pond, Jesus breaks through the surface creating ripples of God’s love that reach to the far and distant shores of our world.
This is the chain of loving relationships that appears in our reading n this Sunday. (1 John 4:7-10 & John 15:9-17). Jesus received and accepted the Father’s love. He loved his disciples with this same love. As disciples we are to love one another as Jesus has loved us.
God’s plan for all humanity is a plan of love. The love of God is expressed in the gift of Jesus, God’s Son, to us. Jesus expresses this love in word and action and so touches the humanity we share. From this touch comes our call to do what Jesus has done and what God has revealed. We are to love one another. This is the plan of God that comes into our humanity and that is expressed when we, when humanity, loves as Jesus has shown.
What is one practical way in which my life reveals God’s love today?