Sixth Sunday of Easter
Today's Mass Readings
Today’s readings begin by emphasizing the fact that the Gospel message is intended for all nations and end by providing that one consequence of this unqualified gift is that we are commanded to “love one another.” For many of us, our daily experience is that we find it difficult to have this depth of caring about individuals outside of our friends and family. While the bond between friends and family can be quickly identified, it is easy to forget that we have that same bond with others through Christ. My reflection focuses on how that bond is explained to us in our readings. Our first reading opens with Peter following Jesus’ instruction to “Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all I have commanded you.” (Mt 28:19, 20) Peter is instructing Cornelius, who is regarded as the first pagan convert to Christianity, that “God shows no partiality” and commands that the Gentiles present be baptized. Throughout history, universal accessibility to God’s favor has been a radical idea, and it was a particularly bold pronouncement in Peter’s time.
Today’s second and third reading focus on God’s love for us and his expectation that we similarly love one another. 1st John 4:8 provides that “Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.” John 15:12 continues to develop this idea though Jesus’ commandment to “love one another as I love you.” When we read the description of Peter’s baptism of the Gentiles along with the discussion of God’s love, we may be able to find some insight into a bond that we share, which in turn, will assist us in following Jesus’ commandment.
It is through baptism, which is the final act described in today’s first reading, that we become part of the Body of Christ. Baptism has been described as the “sacramental bond of unity.” Although baptism is a form of grace through which we experience God’s love, it is also the foundation on which our bond with each other is built. As a community, we are charged with nurturing and protecting the grace that has been conferred at baptism. This idea of unity was one that was the subject of Jesus’ prayer at the commencement of his Passion: “And I have given the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved me.” (Jn 17:22, 23) If we focus on the expectation that we will be one with each other as Jesus and the Father are one, we should find it easier to develop a more profound depth of caring for others.
- John Sperino