6thSunday of Easter Year B 2018:
For me, two words really jumped out at me in the gospel today: love and joy. Aren’t those two terrific words? I mean, so much of our lives are lived in pursuit of these two things. We long for love and joy. And if these things are missing, we can be quite unhappy. Every human being wants love and joy, unless you’re a big grump or something.
Yet, Jesus shows us that there is a deep connection between love and joy. I have told you this so that your joy may be complete. What did Jesus tell us? Follow my commandments: love one another as I have loved you. If we want joy, and who doesn’t, the pathway is the pathway of love. A life of love will be a life of joy.
But, I guess it begs the question: what is love? Most people think of love as an emotion, a feeling. We have these feelings for the people we love: there’s romantic love, love for family, children, love for country, love for justice, etc. These things might inspire emotions and feelings. But, love is not the same thing as the emotions. In fact, love is much deeper. Love is not an emotion, but it’s a decision. Love is an action of the whole human person: body, soul, heart, mind, everything. And what does love look like? It looks like the cross. Jesus says: love one another as I love you, no greater love than to lay down your life for your friends. Love is not about feel-good emotions. Love is about giving one’s self for others.
In order for the joy of Christ to remain in us, we have to follow the pathway of love. The pathway to self-fulfillment is the path of self-giving. The pathway to resurrection and life is the sacrifice of the cross. We all want that life of joy and fulfillment, so Jesus teaches us the way to that life is the way of the cross.
But, we might find this to be a bit disheartening right? Deep in our hearts we are searching for joy and happiness. We look everywhere for this satisfaction: money, power, pleasure, prestige: none of them satisfy. And Jesus comes along to tell us: if you want this joy, peace, and happiness, all you have to do is to love one another as I love you.
Have you ever thought about this command as being a little bit unfair? Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is perfect love and goodness. He is absolutely free of sin, selfishness, self-interest. His whole mission on earth is to show the love and mercy of the Father for all of us in the fallen human family. He is love. Then, he tells us to love just as he does. Seems to be well beyond our abilities.
But, always remember that if Christ calls us to something difficult, he always provides us with the means to attain them. If he calls us to love one another just as he loves us, he will give us the means. And this is exactly where I see the importance of the Mass and the Holy Eucharist. Very often, the Holy Eucharist is also called the sacramentum caritatis, which means: the sacrament of love. The Eucharist is the very love of Christ. Jesus loved us so much that he gave his life for us. He handed over his body, soul, everything. He continues this handing over until the end of time with the gift of the Mass, with the gift of the Eucharist. By receiving this amazing gift, we become enabled to live Christ’s call to love. No wonder the Mass is called the source and summit of the Catholic faith.
I would like to encourage all of us to renew our love and amazement for the mass and for the Eucharist. This weekend we celebrated First Holy Communion for the young people of our parish. Talk about love and amazement. These kids were thrilled to receive Jesus in Holy Communion. They believe and are convinced that the Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, which he gives to us because of his great love for us. Now, they were also probably excited for cake and parties. But, at the heart, they were thrilled to receive Christ.
We would all do well to regain some of that excitement. Christ calls us to a life of Joy. The pathway to this life is the pathway of love. Christ makes it possible for us to follow this path by giving us the Holy Eucharist. What a joy it is, then, to celebrate this mass and to receive the sacrament of love.
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