5th Sunday of Easter
Cycle C
April 24, 2016 4:00pm
and 12:00 noon
Saint Margaret Parish, Bel Air
“This is
how…”
Just think about Jesus’ words
that we just heard.
“This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love
for one another.” I mean, it’s
really quite a statement.
It’s not complicated. In a way, it’s very simple.
This past Tuesday morning, at the
8:30 Mass in the chapel, we had a very similar reading and I shared a few
reflections on it. Two people encouraged
me to expand my thoughts and share them sometime on a Sunday.
And sure enough, here is this
gospel passage for today. So here is some
of what I believe the words of Jesus mean for me and for us in the year 2016 – “This is how all will know you are my
disciples, if you have love for one another.”
“This is how…if
you have love…”
This means – as I often
see in this community – that mothers and fathers work their jobs, keep the
household together, and get the kids to school and soccer and dance and faith
formation and on it goes. They really
give a lot of their time and of themselves for their children.
Jesus’ words mean that we
try to work through problems in our relationships. We are committed to listening and also to
expressing ourselves in a constructive way, to do whatever we can to reconcile
and build bridges.
Jesus’ words mean that I
as a priest lift up the love of God for everyone and not put down people for
their weaknesses. They mean that I put
my energy on including and not on excluding people for this or that reason.
Jesus’ words mean that we
can be good Catholics and strong in our faith.
And at the same time, we can be equally respectful of the goodness of
Presbyterians and Methodists and of Jews and Muslims.
Jesus’ words mean that we
think and act for the common good, for the overall good of everyone. They mean that my own comfort and security and
money is a legitimate consideration, but not my only consideration.
And finally, Jesus’ words
mean that here and now we care for those in our lives. They also mean that we have a global concern
for all of God’s daughters and sons on this earth.
Conclusion
So, this is something of
what Jesus’ words mean to me – “This is how all will know you are my
disciples, if you have love for one another.”
These thoughts form some
of the heartbeat of my ministry as a priest.
And I hope that my sharing them will provide some good reflection for us
today.
