3 May 2024
Jesus said to his disciples, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete" (John 15).
May is the month of Mary, and this Sunday the Solemn Mass concludes with a procession of Marian hymns as we crown the Blessed Mother with lei. The Gospel is the commandment of Jesus to love from the Gospel of John, and this is fitting, for in the relationship between Mary and Jesus we behold an excellent economy of love. We witness Jesus' incredible love for humanity, and we see Mary's abundant love for the Son.
Truth be told, I always struggle when writing the homily for the Sixth Sunday of Easter. This Sunday's theme is always the concept of love within the Christian context, and I frequently feel as if words fail to describe the magnitude and power of love that is unique to Christianity. Rarely do I hear other world religions stressing the power of love as Christianity does, and my unashamed bias is that throughout history, only Jesus exemplifies a most perfect love. The challenge when preaching about love in the Christian tradition is the difficulty of articulating how Jesus' commandment to love is not just another version of the generic love espoused in our secular culture.
We often hear, "all you need is love," or "love wins always." These sayings may be true, but they fail to express the real gravity of love taught by Christianity. I am reminded of how in Sunday School the default answer of us children was always, "because Jesus loves us." It is a good starting point, but more needs to be said.
Yet when we try to say more, we fail miserably. Language always limits what we feel in our hearts and know in our minds. We are Christians because the love of Jesus Christ has completely changed us for the better. Articulating the transformation we have experienced is practically impossible when limited to words, and even action.
One of my concerns in our current Episcopal Church culture is that we have made love trendy and cool rather than deep and fulsome. Sometimes Christian love is articulated as just loving everyone and everything without any careful judgment or thought. "All you need is love." The truth is that love is the starting point. More is actually needed - the life of sanctification must follow.
Loves begins the journey, but love also needs to be nourished and cultivated. Love needs sacrifice and commitment to grow greater. Love needs dedication and fidelity to be truly understood. Love needs the cross and the empty tomb, if it is to be comprehended. Love is the gift that saves us, and if we are fortunate to witness it, love shines a light on what needs to change within each of us. Love begins the way by which we become mature disciples, always thankful for what God is bringing about within us. Love begins the way in which we become the Christians we are called to be.
Father Paul Lillie +
