Sixth Sunday of Easter
Texts:
Acts 8:5-8, 14-17
1 Pt. 3:15-18
Jn. 14:15-21
You are welcome my dear brothers and sisters to our Eucharistic celebration. We are now on the Sixth Sunday of Easter.

The Readings:

In the first reading, the author presented the spread of the word of God. The apostles reached out to other places beyond Jerusalem. There were many non-Jews who were converted to the faith. The apostles were determined to preach the word of God because of their personal experience of Jesus. The reading challenges us to live radically the good news of salvation. The conversion of our lives is a good witness that we can share to others. Faith must be translated into acts of love and services to others.
In the second reading, Peter admonished the community to defend their Christian vocation. He inspired them to suffer for doing what is good for the sake of God. Suffering, in the context of Christian life, is no longer a suffering that condemns, but a suffering that renews. The reading challenges us to die from our selfish needs and worldly desires in order to rise to a new life in Christ. We must bear gently the sufferings in life through faith. The witness of a good life must authenticate our faith.
In the gospel, John presented Jesus who gave the commandment of love to the disciples and who assured the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit among them. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (Jn. 14:15). This means that those who really loved Jesus are the ones who loved the Father. Jesus also assured the disciples that the Holy Spirit will stay with them and will inspire them to bear witness to the relationship of Jesus with the Father. John emphasized that by doing the command of love, God will be able to establish His divine relationship with the believers. John inspired the community to live the commandment of love so that they might become the dwelling places of God as they do their missions.

The Reflection:

When we love someone who is dear to us, we want this someone to stay with us and to inspire us to do good things in order to strengthen our relationship. It is the same thing with the relationship of Jesus with us. The presence of the Holy Spirit is, actually, the abiding love of Jesus in us. So when the spirit of love dwells in us, then, the presence of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit is already in us. God will come to us and will make a home in us. This is the truth of the abiding presence of God in us. Our fidelity to love and commitment to mission in whatever areas of human life that we are doing are manifestations of the love of God in us. All human love and relationships and all works and developments in the families, in the church and in our society today should be understood in the context of the mystery of love and the indwelling presence of God in our humanity and in this world. This is a gift. It is only from this profound understanding that we can hope and envision a life-giving humanity and a renewed world. How do you testify a life-giving faith in God today? How do you live radically the commandment of love nowadays?

The Testimony:

I asked myself personally of what really love is. When I celebrated the Holy Eucharist and adored the Blessed Sacrament, is this love? When I decided to let go of my personal needs and desires because I wanted to become a priest, is this love? When my mother and my father got stroke and were bedridden and I sacrificed myself to just take care of them even for a little while, is this love? When I helped the squatters in our parish whose houses were demolished and they were rejected and suffered a lot, is this love? When I left for a mission works in Uganda in order to be of service to the people there, is this love? When I reached out to the victims of natural calamities whose houses and properties were buried because of the typhoon and land erosion, is this love? When I spent time with my friends and loved ones and enjoyed life with them, is this love? There are many great works. There are many wonderful things. There are many amazing experiences in life. But do these things really qualified as love? What really is love? If I say that love is God and God is love, then, this is true. But how about those who do not believe in God? Do they really love? In the gospel today, Jesus said, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my word, and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me” (Jn. 14:23-24). Love is a divine gift. It is not our own effort but the work of God in us. Whatever our religious convictions and circumstances in life, as long as there is this gift in us, then we can love truly from the heart. Therefore, I felt being challenged to discover this gift and to own this divine gift of love from the Father. When this gift of love becomes a divine disposition deep within me, then, I believed that I would be able to love from the heart. The commitment to make the gift of love to become life-giving in my relationships with others and in my mission in this world must be my priority. Love is the fullness of life of God in me. Love is the person of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Love is a life-giving gift of God for humanity. I firmly believed that love will empower me to connect intimately with God and with my fellow human beings. Yes, I do believe that it is only love that enables me to connect with the human spirit and the rest of God’s creation. My call to the consecrated life is a grace and a privilege when I become a “life-giving spirit” for humanity. It is about making love to become flesh and blood in the context of my vocation as a priest. Jesus said, “Those who loved me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them” (Jn.14: 21). Truly, love is an abiding gift of God in us. And so, I am resolved to be possessed by the Word of God and by the Eucharist so that my whole being may become a dwelling place of the love of God for humanity.

The Eucharist:

The Eucharist is a celebration of the love of God in the church. It is a celebration of the abiding presence of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. God is love, and this love is celebrated in the Holy Eucharist. We embrace this love, take this love, eat this love, and, finally, share this love. The Eucharist is, indeed, the synthesis of the love of God for us. Thus, to celebrate the Eucharist is to enjoy the fullness of the love of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in our personal lives. To receive Jesus in the Eucharist is to become bearers of the gift of love of God for all people in the world. To eat the body of Christ in the Eucharist is to become conduits of the abiding presence of God in the church. Therefore, in this Eucharist, we pray that the Father in heaven may transform us in His love so that we may become witnesses of His life-giving love that renews the face of the earth. Yes, we pray that our Eucharistic celebration may become a concrete manifestation of our love for God and our determination to put His love into flesh.
May God bless us.

-Fr Vic Buyser SSS