May 11, 2007 Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter

  2007년 5월 11일 부활 제5주간 금요일

 

 제1독서

 사도행전 15,22-31
그 무렵 22 사도들과 원로들은 온 교회와 더불어, 자기들 가운데에서 사람들을 뽑아 바오로와 바르나바와 함께 안티오키아에 보내기로 결정하였다. 뽑힌 사람들은 형제들 가운데 지도자인 바르사빠스라고 하는 유다와 실라스였다. 23 그들 편에 이러한 편지를 보냈다.
“여러분의 형제인 사도들과 원로들이 안티오키아와 시리아와 킬리키아에 있는 다른 민족 출신 형제들에게 인사합니다. 24 우리 가운데 몇 사람이 우리에게서 지시를 받지도 않고 여러분에게 가서, 여러 가지 말로 여러분을 놀라게 하고 정신을 어지럽게 하였다는 말을 들었습니다. 25 그래서 우리는 사람들을 뽑아 우리가 사랑하는 바르나바와 바오로와 함께 여러분에게 보내기로 뜻을 모아 결정하였습니다. 26 바르나바와 바오로는 우리 주 예수 그리스도의 이름을 위하여 목숨을 내놓은 사람들입니다.
27 우리는 또 유다와 실라스를 보냅니다. 이들이 이 글의 내용을 말로도 전할 것입니다.
28 성령과 우리는 다음의 몇 가지 필수 사항 외에는 여러분에게 다른 짐을 지우지 않기로 결정하였습니다. 29 곧 우상에게 바쳤던 제물과 피와 목 졸라 죽인 짐승의 고기와 불륜을 멀리하라는 것입니다. 여러분이 이것들만 삼가면 올바로 사는 것입니다. 안녕히 계십시오.”
30 사람들이 이렇게 그들을 떠나보내자, 그들은 안티오키아로 내려가 공동체를 모아 놓고 편지를 전하였다. 31 공동체는 편지를 읽고 그 격려 말씀에 기뻐하였다.

  

 복음

 요한 15,12-17
그때에 예수님께서 제자들에게 말씀하셨다.
12 “이것이 나의 계명이다. 내가 너희를 사랑한 것처럼 너희도 서로 사랑하여라. 13 친구들을 위하여 목숨을 내놓는 것보다 더 큰 사랑은 없다.
14 내가 너희에게 명령하는 것을 실천하면 너희는 나의 친구가 된다. 15 나는 너희를 더 이상 종이라고 부르지 않는다. 종은 주인이 하는 일을 모르기 때문이다. 나는 너희를 친구라고 불렀다. 내가 내 아버지에게서 들은 것을 너희에게 모두 알려 주었기 때문이다.
16 너희가 나를 뽑은 것이 아니라 내가 너희를 뽑아 세웠다. 너희가 가서 열매를 맺어 너희의 그 열매가 언제나 남아 있게 하려는 것이다. 그리하여 너희가 내 이름으로 아버지께 청하는 것을 그분께서 너희에게 주시게 하려는 것이다. 17 내가 너희에게 명령하는 것은 이것이다. 서로 사랑하여라.”

 

 

 

 May 11, 2007

 Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter

 Reading 1
Acts 15:22-31

The Apostles and presbyters, in agreement with the whole Church,
decided to choose representatives
and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.
The ones chosen were Judas, who was called Barsabbas,
and Silas, leaders among the brothers.
This is the letter delivered by them:
“The Apostles and the presbyters, your brothers,
to the brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia
of Gentile origin: greetings.
Since we have heard that some of our number
who went out without any mandate from us
have upset you with their teachings
and disturbed your peace of mind,
we have with one accord decided to choose representatives
and to send them to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
who have dedicated their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So we are sending Judas and Silas
who will also convey this same message by word of mouth:
‘It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us
not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities,
namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols,
from blood, from meats of strangled animals,
and from unlawful marriage.
If you keep free of these,
you will be doing what is right. Farewell.’“

And so they were sent on their journey.
Upon their arrival in Antioch
they called the assembly together and delivered the letter.
When the people read it, they were delighted with the exhortation.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 57:8-9, 10 and 12

R. (10a) I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
My heart is steadfast, O God; my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and chant praise.
Awake, O my soul; awake, lyre and harp!
I will wake the dawn.
R. I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will give thanks to you among the peoples, O LORD,
I will chant your praise among the nations.
For your mercy towers to the heavens,
and your faithfulness to the skies.
Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
above all the earth be your glory!
R. I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Gospel
Jn 15:12-17

Jesus said to his disciples:
“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.”

 

 

 Commentary

 

A letter is sent to Antioch along with a number of leaders and the result of the meeting is announced-they tell the people that it is others who have upset them and disturbed their peace of mind by deciding to instruct people on their own. The letter brings encouragement and supports Paul and Barnabas' work among the new Christians.
Jesus' words are simple and direct. There is a new commandment and all must be seen in light of it: love one another as I have loved you. There is no 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. This changes everything. All the squabbles and dissension must be seen as to whether it bears the fruit of love and unity or whether or not it destroys and makes people into slaves who do not know the Father, the Son, and the Spirit intimately. 

 

 

 We reflect today in the shadow of the resurrection; but we pray, too, in anticipation of Pentecost (May 27th) and the outpouring of God’s spirit upon the Church and the world. The Easter sacrament is always with us. The resurrection is vital to Christianity. As St. Paul noted; “If Jesus had not been raised from the dead, all is in vain.” Indeed, the resurrection is the event, the mystery, around which the Church herself grew. It is central to our belief as women and men who call ourselves “Christian.”

The centrality of the resurrection and our belief that God raised Jesus from the dead, gives Jesus the credentials and the certification that no other religious leader possesses. It has been noted “that Buddha is dead. Mohammad is dead. Moses is dead. Confucius is dead. But according to Christianity, Christ is alive.” And that makes all of the difference. Jesus’ resurrection gives us hope for eternal life beyond the grave. That realization should inform and craft our words and actions. That hope is present as we live out the time between the Easter vigil and Pentecost—“it is the occasion for the spirit-giving renewal of life.”

The results of that certitude and the vitality of the Spirit are evident in today’s readings from the Acts of the Apostles and John’s Gospel. This certitude shapes our efforts to build community and empowers us to live out the great commandment “to love one another.”

In Acts, the Apostles and others recognize it is the Holy Spirit that is the animator and crafter of the early Christian communities; the bond that molded a new and emerging community out of the followers of Jesus; just so today. The Church is seen more and more as a community in which each person has different gifts, all of which are necessary and important. The Spirit speaks and acts through all of us to a greater or lesser degree. Each of us has a role to play, gifts to give, and love to share. Realizing this we can, like the early Christians, “be delighted” within our local community; a community centered on the risen Christ. And everywhere the risen Christ appears, the Spirit breaths upon us, Christ’s astonished followers.

Through the Easter Jesus we are invited to enter into a special relationship with the God who raised Jesus from the dead. We become one with God in his covenant community. Jesus reminds us we are no longer slaves, but friends. Jesus reminds us, we have not chosen Jesus, but Jesus has chosen us, each of us. And because of our membership in the community of the risen Christ we have been appointed to go and bear fruit; that is to say, to be productive in building God’s kingdom on earth. And the first rule of that kingdom, the first directive for this post-Easter venture, is to imitate the risen Lord and follow His command: “to love one another.” In doing that we each become, in the words of the Jesuit poet Hopkins, “What Christ is, since He was what I am…immortal diamond!”

Suspended as we are between the celebrations of Easter and Pentecost, we possess a love that is stronger than death as we await the Spirit’s renewing powers that will transform the face of the earth. What heady days! What happy times! What a fortunate place to be! Let the joy of the resurrection resound within each of our hearts and within our communities. Again Hopkins: “Let Jesus Easter in you.”

 

 by
John P. Schlegel, S.J.
President

 

 

The old commandment was to “love your neighbour as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18), and when Jesus quoted it (Matthew 19:19; 22:39), of course he quoted it accurately.  But when he spoke from himself he said "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”  There is a great difference between the way your neighbour might love you and the way that Jesus loves you.  Unless we love one another in the Spirit of Jesus, our love is very likely to be narcissistic, or a disguised form of control, or a projection of some private struggle.  ‘Love’ covers a multitude, in every sense. 

            Meister Eckhart saw this very clearly.  “Now you might say, 'Sir, you bid me love, but I can't love!'  Our Lord put this well when he said to St Peter, ‘Peter, do you love me?’  -  ‘Lord, you know well that I love you’ (John 21:15).  If you have given it to me, Lord, I love you; if you have not given it to me, then I do not love you.”  If we cannot love even the Lord himself without his help, it is very unlikely that we will be able to love one another without his help. 

            We cannot even love ourselves right without his help.  The French mystic, Mde Guyon (1648-1717), speaking of saintly people, said, “Their natural love…is so absorbed in the love of God, that it ceases, for the most part, to be a distinct object of consciousness; and practically and truly they may be said to love themselves IN and FOR God…. Extending their affections beyond their own limit, they love their neighbour on the same principle of loving, namely, IN and FOR God; it is in that way that they may be said to love their neighbours as themselves. It does not follow, because the love of ourselves is lost in the love of God, that we are to take no care, and to exercise no watch over ourselves.  None will be so seriously and constantly watchful over themselves as those who love themselves IN and FOR God alone."  

 

 

"I have called you friends, for all that I have  heard from my Father I have made known to you" 

 Do you know the love that produces immeasurable joy? Jesus speaks of the love which the Father and he have for those who belong to him.  We can never outgive God in love, because he has loved us without measure. Our love for him is a response to his exceeding mercy and kindness towards us. Paul the Apostle tells us that we can abound in joy and hope because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us (Romans 5:5).  In God's love we find the fulness of grace, life, peace, and joy. Jesus gives his disciples a new commandment -- a new way of love.  We are to love others as Jesus has loved us.  What is the essence of this new commandment?  True love is sacrificial.  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. We prove our love for God and for one another when we embrace the way of the cross.  What is the cross in my life?  When my will crosses with God's will, then God's will must be done.  Do you know the joy and contentment of a life fully surrendered to God and consumed with his love?

Do you know the friendship of God?  one of the special marks of favor shown in the scriptures is to be called the friend of God.  Abraham is called the friend of God (Isaiah 41:8). God speaks with Abraham as a man speaks with his friend (Exodus 33:11). Jesus, the Lord and Master, in turn, calls the disciples his friends rather than his servants. What does it mean to be a friend of God? Friendship with God certainly entails a loving relationship which goes beyond mere duty and obedience. Jesus' discourse on friendship and brotherly love echoes the words of Proverbs: A friend loves at all times; and a brother is born for adversity (Proverbs 17:17). The distinctive feature of Jesus' relationship with his disciples was his personal love for them. He loved his own to the end (John 13:1).  His love was unconditional and wholly 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 Father.

True love is costly. Those who truly love give the best they can offer and are willing to sacrifice everything they has for the beloved.  God willingly paid the price for our redemption — the sacrifice of his only begotten Son. That's the nature of true friendship and love — the willingness to give all for the beloved. True friends will lay down their lives for each other. Jesus tells us that he is our friend and he loves us whole-heartedly and unconditionally. 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. Do you wish to be fruitful and to abound in the love of God?

"Teach us, good Lord, to serve you as you deserve, to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labor and not to ask for any reward, save that of knowing that we do your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord."  (Prayer of Ignatius Loyola)

Psalm 113:1-8

1 Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD!
2 Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore!
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the LORD is to be praised!
4 The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens!
5 Who is like the LORD our God, who is seated on high,
6 who looks far down upon the heavens and the earth?
7 He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people.

 

 'A FRIEND INDEED'

'Instead, I call you friends, since I have made known to you all that I heard from My Father.' John 15:15

Are you Jesus' friend? You are His friend if you do as He commands you (Jn 15:14). His command is to love one another as He has loved us (Jn 15:12). If you do this, you will realize that Jesus laid down His life for you (Jn 15:13), and you will lay down your life for others (1 Jn 3:16). Then you will understand what Jesus the Master is about (Jn 15:15). God's work will not puzzle but enlighten you.

Only Jesus' loving, obedient friends experience this. This crucified love bears much fruit. It opens even the hardest hearts to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. Are you Jesus' friend? Will you die even for your enemies? Is your love covering a multitude of sins? (1 Pt 4:8) Are you bearing fruit by leading people to Jesus? Jesus reveals specific prerequisites for and effects of being His friend.

'A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; he who finds one finds a treasure. A faithful friend is beyond price, no sum can balance his worth. A faithful friend is a life-saving remedy, such as he who fears God finds; for he who fears God behaves accordingly, and his friend will be like himself' (Sir 6:14-17). Jesus' friends become like Jesus.

Praise: Jesus is Margaret's Best Friend with Whom she confides all her joys and sorrows.
Prayer: Risen Jesus, make me like You, both crucified and glorified.
Promise: 'When it was read there was great delight at the encouragement it gave.' Acts 15:31

 

 

«This is my commandment: love one another as I have loved you»

Today, our Lord exhorts us to fraternal love: «Love one another as I have loved you» (Jn 15:12), that is to say, as you have seen me loving and you will still see me love. Jesus speaks to you as a friend, for He has told you that his Father calls you, that He wants you to become an apostle, and that He expects you to bear fruit, a fruit that is manifested through love. St. John Crysostom affirms: «If love would be spread all over, an infinite goodness would be born out of it».

To give love amounts to create life. Spouses know it well, for they love each other, they make a reciprocal donation and they assume the responsibility of becoming parents by accepting, at the same time, the abnegation and self-denial of their time and their own being in favour of those they must take care of, must protect, must educate and, in short, must form as persons. Missionaries know it too, when they offer their life for the Gospel, with the same Christian spirit of sacrifice and abnegation. And friars, priests and bishops also know it, and with them all of Jesus' disciples who commit themselves to our Savior.

A little before, Jesus already told you which the requisites for love and bearing fruit, were: «Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit» (Jn 12:24). Jesus invites you to lose your life, to deliver it to Him without any fear, to willingly die, if need be, to be able to love your brother with Christ's love, with supernatural love. Jesus invites you to attain an operative, benefactor and concrete love; this is how apostle James understood it when he said: «Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed’, but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead» (2:15-17).
 

 

 The daily, practical, sacrificial love for others is a gift that comes from the Trinity.  It is Jesus' love for us on the cross that becomes ours to be shared with others.  We are friends because we have rested on the bosom of Christ and have drunk deeply from his heart.  He has shared with us all that he lives with the Father.  We are friends, not only servants.  Love is a free gift.  Jesus has chosen us in the free gift of grace.  There is nothing we could have done to have effected this friendship.  It is the divine sap of the vine running through our spiritual veins.  It bears fruit in our practical love for others.  It bears fruit in our witness to Jesus and the power of salvation which he brings to the world through our friendship with God.