The Command to Love

readings for  sunday May 25, 2014

 

Sixth Sunday of Easter

Is-Sitt  Ħadd tal-Għid

Messalin A pp 211

 

Reading 1                         ACTS of the apostles 8:5-8, 14-17

Philip went down to the city of Samaria  and proclaimed the Christ to them. With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing. For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice, came out of many possessed people, and many paralyzed or crippled people were cured. There was great joy in that city.  Now when the apostles in Jerusalem  heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God,  they sent them Peter and John,  who went down and prayed for them,  that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.  Then they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.  This is the Word of The Lord.

L-Ewwel Lezzjoni     -   Qari mill-Atti ta' l-Appostli   8, 5-8. 14-17

                                            

F'dak iż-żmien, Filippu niżel f'belt tas-Samarija u xandar lil Krisitu lin-nies tagħha.   Il-folol tan-nies

b'fehma waħda kienu joqogħdu attenti għal dak li kien jgħidilhom Filippu, meta kienu jisimgħuh u jaraw il-mirakli li kien jagħmel.  Kien hemm nies maħkuma mill-ispirti ħżiena, u dawn b'għajat kbir kienu joħorġu minn ħafna minnhom;  u ħafna nies oħrajn, mifluġa jew zopop, kienu jitfejqu.   U kien hemm ferħ kbir f'dik il-belt. L-appostli, li kienu Ġerusalemm, semgħu li s-Samarija laqgħed il-Kelma ta' Alla, u bagħtu  hemm lil Pietru u lil Ġwanni.  Dawn niżlu hemm u talbu biex dawk li emmnu jirċievu l-Ispirtu s-Santu; għax l-Ispirtu s-Santu kien għadu ma niżel fuq ħadd minnhom, imma kienu tgħammdu biss f'isem il-Mulej  Ġesu'.Imbagħad l-appostli qiegħdu idejhom fuqhom, u huma rċevew l-Ispirtu s-Santu.  Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

……………………………..

Responsorial Psalm        PSalm 66:1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20

R/ Alleluia.

Shout joyfully to God, all the earth,
sing praise to the glory of his name;
proclaim his glorious praise.
Say to God, “How tremendous are your deeds!”                                R/

“Let all on earth worship and sing praise to you,
sing praise to your name!”
Come and see the works of God,
his tremendous deeds among the children of Adam.   R/

He has changed the sea into dry land;
through the river they passed on foot;
therefore let us rejoice in him.
He rules by his might forever.                                                   R/

Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare
what he has done for me.
Blessed be God who refused me not
my prayer or his kindness!                                                          R/

Salm Responsorjali    -    Salm 65 (66)

                R/    Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Għajtu bil-ferħ lil Alla,

bnedmin tad-dinja kollha;

għannu s-sebħ ta' ismu,

xandru s-sebħ u t-tifħir tiegħu.

Għidu lil Alla:  "Kemm int tal-biża' f'għemilek!                 R/

L-art kollha tagħtik qima,

tgħannilek u tgħanni lil ismek."

Ejjew, araw l-għemejjel ta' Alla;

tal-biża' f'għemilu fost il-bnedemin.                                     R/

Biddel il-baħar f'art niexfa,

għaddew bil-mixi minn nofs ix-xmara.

Għalhekk, nifirħu bih!

Hu jsaltan bil-kobor tiegħu għal dejjem.                             R/

Ejjew, isimgħu, u ngħidilkom,

intom ilkoll li tibżgħu minn Alla,

ngħidilkom x'għamel miegħi.

Imbierek Alla, li ma warrabx it-talba tiegħi;

ma warrabx minn fuqi t-tjieba tiegħu!                                  R/

……………………………………

Reading 2                                          1 PeTer 3:15-18

Beloved:  Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts.  Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope,  but do it with gentleness and  reverence,  keeping your conscience clear,  so that, when you are maligned,  those who defame your good conduct in Christ  may themselves be put to shame.  For it is better to suffer for doing good,  if that be the will of God, than for doing evil.  For Christ also suffered for sins once,  the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous,  that he might lead you to God.  Put to death in the flesh,  he was brought to life in the Spirit. This is the Word of The Lord.

It-Tieni Lezzjoni  -   mill-Ewwel Ittra ta' San Pietru  3, 15-18

Għeżież, lill-Mulej Kristu, qaddsu f'qalbkom. Kunu  dejjem  leslti biex tagħtu tweġiba lil kull min jitlobkom il-għala tat-tama li għandkom. Imma wieġbu bil-ħlewwa u bir-rispett.   Żommu safja  l-kuxjeza tagħkom biex, meta jgħidu fuqkom, dawk stess li jkasbru l-imġiba tajba tagħkom fi Kristu  jkollhom għalxiex  jistħu.  Jekk din tkun ir-rieda ta' Alla, aħjar tbati għax tkun għamilt it-tajjeb milli għax tkun għamilt il-ħażin. Għax Kristu wkollmiet darba għal dejjem minħabba d-dnubiet;  hu li kien ġust, miet għall-inġusti biex iressaqkom lejn Alla; kien mogħti l-mewt fil-ġisem,  imma ħa l-ħajja fl-ispirtu.  Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

…………………………………..

Gospel                                JohN 14:15-21

Jesus said to his disciples:  “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.  And I will ask the Father,   and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always,  the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept,  because it neither sees nor knows him.  But you know him, because he remains with you, and will be in you.  I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live.  On that day you will realize that I am in my Father  and you are in me and I in you.  Whoever has my commandments and observes them  is the one who loves me.  And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,  and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”  This is the Word of The Lord.

L-Evanġlju  -  skond San Ġwann 14, 15-21

F'dak iż-żmien, Ġesu' qal lid-dixxipli tiegħu:  "Jekk  tħobbuni, ħarsu l-kmandamenti tiegħi.  U jien nitlob lill-Missier, u hu jagħtikom Difensur ieħor biex  jibqa' magħkom għal dejjem, l-Ispirtu tal-verita',  li d-dinja ma tistax tirċevih, għax hija la tarah u  lanqas tagħrfu.  Iżda intom tagħrfuh, għaliex jgħammar magħkom, u huwa fikom. Ma nħalikom iltiema.  Nerġa' niġi għandkom.  Ftit iehor u d-dinja ma taranix aktar.  Iżda  intom għad tarawni, għax  jiena ngħix, u intom ukoll għad tgħixu.  F'dak il-jum intom tagħrfu li jiena f'Missieri, u intom fija u jiena fikom. Min iżomm il-kmandmanti tiegħu u jħarishom, dak hu li jħobbni u min iħobb lili, iħobbu wkoll il-Missier, u jiena wkoll inħobbu u nurih lil nnifsi. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

      COMMENTARY - 

by Larry Broding / www.word-sunday.com, a lectionary resource for Catholics

The Command to Love

 

How do we know we are loved? On a bus, a believer and a non-believer discussed the Christian life. "Jesus lives," the believer said. "Only in your mind!" the non-believer retorted with a cynical sneer. "And in my heart," the believer replied.   Knowledge of faith requires more than the rational arguments used in apologetics. Only when we begin to love God and reflect that love in daily living can we gain true insight. And influence others.

This portion of Jesus' farewell discourse falls on the heels of last week's study. As you remember, Jesus stated he lived in an intimate love with the Father. Now, Jesus would empower his followers to love same way he did. And, he promised to be with them.  Jesus began with an "if . . . , then . . . " statement that equated relationship with action. "If you love me, keep my commands." [14:15] Among the contemporaries of Jesus, the power of a rabbi's teaching depended upon the quality of the rabbi's example. Conversely, the rabbi expected his disciples not only to learn from his teaching, but to follow his example. In this way, the action vindicated the truth of the teaching.

In John, both the words and commands of Jesus pointed toward love. Love between the Father and the Son. Love between the Son and his followers. Now, Jesus told his disciples to follow his example. Love each other. The love relationship between the Father and the Son, between the Son and his followers, became the paradigm for life in the Christian community.

But the simple command to love did not satisfy, since example alone could not suffice. Jesus provided the power to love in the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete. In Greek, "Paraclete" literally means "one called along side." The phrase could mean a broader sense of "Helper" (one called along side to help) or a narrower sense of "defense attorney" (one called along side to assist in a legal dispute). The context justified the broader meaning of "Helper." The Spirit witnessed to Jesus and taught the disciple; in this sense, the Spirit accused the world of sin through the life of the Christian. In no way could the Spirit be seen as a legal spokesperson in behalf of the accused Christian. While Christians were persecuted, they didn't need a defense for a life of love.

Jesus promised the Spirit would "stay with you into the (next) age (i.e., forever)." [14:16] The Spirit's presence was continuous (right now) and eternal (forever). The Spirit assisted the believer from the moment of faith choice into the afterlife. The Spirit helped the believer to put faith into action (that is, to love others).

But, the Spirit did more than help. It was the Spirit of Truth. [14:7a] Like John 4:23b-24, the Spirit referred to God's inner dynamic power. Truth equaled the word "only" or acted as the means that revealed the "only" truth (remember our discussion last week about "truth"). So, the Spirit was Truth (that is, God) or the messenger who reveals the truth about God. Actually, the Spirit was both. Remember, "wherever God acts, God is." Like Jesus, the Spirit was God's messenger and God himself. The Spirit empowered the believer as the divine presence, another God-helper.

Could those whose ambitions and anxieties tied them to the world see the Spirit? In other words, could these "worldly" people see love for what it truly was? Could they know true love? The followers of Jesus could see love because the Spirit would orient them to Christ and others (" . . . be near you . . . "). And, they would know love because the Spirit, Christ's very risen life, would live in the follower (" . . . will live in you . . . "). [14:17b] Could the world promise as much? Or did the world simply pay lip service to love as it invested itself in sheer narcissism?

Why are acts of love the most powerful tools we have to bring others to Christ?  When we, as Christians, show love, we reveal the life of God among people. Why? Simply because we affirm the presence of the Risen Lord with us. And we show others life of the Spirit within us. Love, then, is "the shoe leather of faith." Love is faith in action.

To those who, like the cynic on the bus, claim Christianity is nothing more than a movement built on a fantasy, we say; "Christians! See how they love one another."

How will you show love this week to others?