Friday of the 5th Week of Eastertide

John 15:12-17

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘This is my commandment:
love one another,
as I have loved you.
A man can have no greater love
than to lay down his life for his friends.
You are my friends,
if you do what I command you.
I shall not call you servants any more,
because a servant does not know
his master’s business;
I call you friends,
because I have made known to you
everything I have learnt from my Father.
You did not choose me:
no, I chose you;
and I commissioned you
to go out and to bear fruit,
fruit that will last;
and then the Father will give you
anything you ask him in my name.

Jesus is continuing to prepare His disciples for what is about to happen in His passion. Here he summarises what His ministry has been about. The disciples have heard this before, but Jesus emphasises again that at the heart of His ministry and at the heart of His and our relationship with the Father is love. God is love, and our relationship with God is defined by how we respond to that love.

At the end of his ministry Jesus no longer treats his disciples as just servants or students,but as partners and friends. This should be our goal also. Not just to learn what Jesus teaches, but to live as he calls us to. It is our turn to go out and bear fruit.

Love does indeed mean laying down our life for our friends, and indeed even for our enemies. Not in the sense that we physically die as Jesus did, but in putting the needs of others before ourselves.

As God loves as, so we are called to love others. We know this – Jesus, the Holy Spirit, whose arrival at Pentecost we are waiting for with great hope and anticipation, Scripture and the Chruch all teach us this.

Our world is in desperate need of love. Love is the only thing that can bring healing and peace to our troubled world.

We have been chosen, and by being here we show that we accept being God’s chosen people. So, let is go forth to love one another. Our family, our friends work colleagues, everyone one we meet.