6th Sunday of Easter
First Reading: Acts of the Apostles 10:25-26,34-35,44-48
When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and, falling at his feet, paid him homage. Peter, however, raised him up, saying, "Get up. I myself am also a human being." Then Peter proceeded to speak and said, "In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him." While Peter was still speaking these things, the holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the word. The circumcised believers who had accompanied Peter were astounded that the gift of the holy Spirit should have been poured out on the Gentiles also, for they could hear them speaking in tongues and glorifying God. Then Peter responded, "Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people, who have received the holy Spirit even as we have?" He ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
Second Reading: 1 John 4:7-10
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.
Gospel Reading: John 15:9-17
Jesus
said to his disciples: "As the Father loves me, so I also love 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 joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. This is my commandment: 'love one another as I love you.' No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another."
Reflection: Fr. James Theophilus
Remaining with Jesus
or his love seems to be an important theme in the gospel of John. John uses the
word ‘remain’ more times than all the New Testament writers put together do.
For John this theme is very important. Belonging to God or to the kingdom and
remain with the father are as good as saying ‘be my disciple’.
‘Love one another as
I have loved you’ says Jesus. In this saying Jesus becomes the model for all
his disciples. But the love must be as Jesus has loved: the word as gives more
meaning to love than any other word. Here in this passage Jesus says ‘as the
father loves me so I love you’. For Jesus the love of the father is the model.
So anyone loves the other as Jesus loves in turn loves the other as the father
loves Jesus. What a marvel!
