6th Sunday of Easter
Cycle B
May 10, 2015 9:30am
and 11:00am
Saint Margaret Parish, Bel Air
Commandment(s)
Today’s
gospel really got me thinking.
Jesus
first says, “If you keep my commandments,
you will remain in my love.” Notice
that he speaks of commandments – in the plural.
Jesus
is apparently referring to the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament and how he
stretches their meaning. And by the way,
7 of those 10 commandments are negative – the “Thou shalt not” kind – I’ll come back to that in a minute.
Then,
a few sentences later in today’s passage, Jesus says, “This is my commandment: love one another.” Here the word is the singular and that one
commandment is very positive.
This
led me to think of some of Jesus’ other moral teachings or commandments. Like, “Blessed
are the peacemakers,” or, “Whatever
you do for the least of my brothers and sisters, that you do for me.”
Well,
all of this got me thinking: might it be possible to express all of these
commandments and moral teachings in a positive way and in just several
statements that might ring true for us here in the 21st
century? I decided to give this a
try.
I
like the number 3 and so I came up with three, what I call Summary Teachings of
Jesus. Here goes.
1. Be Mindful of God
First, be mindful of God.
Make room for God in your life. Live with an awareness of God’s presence with
you right now.
Live with the big picture and the long run of life
in mind. With this, come to Mass and
really put yourself into it.
Participate in the Eucharist every week. And then, pray, on your own, personally,
every day.
It’s really pretty easy to do this. For example, read a few verses of the gospel,
pick out just one word or a phrase, and let that be with you and be your prayer
throughout the day.
Or pray the prayers in the prayer book that we
mailed to everyone about a year ago. If
you no longer have that little book, let us know and we will get a copy for
you.
Or even find some prayers on the Internet that you
can pray every day. So, be mindful of
God.
2. Be Faithful to Commitments
The Second Summary Teaching: Be faithful to commitments.
Be steady and faithful to your spouse or, for me, to the
priesthood. Be faithful to your job or
profession or volunteer commitments.
And especially in our vocational commitments, be
proactive. Communicate well with your loved
ones.
Share what is going on in your life, listen carefully, and
speak thoughtfully. For me, being
proactive here means to seek ways to enrich my ministry to you.
At the same time, expect that there will be bumps in the
road. Be ready to work through these
instead of just quickly giving up.
Be humble enough to seek outside assistance to at least
try to deal with the problems. In all of
this, just think of God’s unconditional, enduring commitment to us.
Allow that to lead and empower us. So, be faithful to commitments.
3. Be Considerate of Others
And the Third Summary Teaching:
Be considerate of others.
This commandment includes an
awful lot. For example, seek the common
good and not just what is for my own good.
Be open to acting for the
overall good of the entire community.
Very connected to this is caring for life and the quality of life.
So, cherish the life of the
unborn. Care about the dying person and take
positive measures to provide support and comfort.
Keep in check the pitfalls of
consumerism. Remember that when we use
too much or waste food, water, electricity or gas, we are really taking from
those who do not have the basics.
Be respectful of the earth. Look for ways to recycle and not pollute the
planet.
And, by all means, share with
those in need without judging persons who depend on food stamps or other forms
of assistance. Be considerate of others.
Conclusion
So, Jesus’ statements today about
commandments led me to all of this.
Maybe this will be a helpful way
to recall the entire moral direction Jesus gives throughout the gospels.
1)
Be mindful of God.
2)
Be faithful to
commitments.
3)
Be considerate of
others.
