Thursday of the Fifth Week of Easter
There are rules, and there are RULES. For the Hebrew/Jewish people of the old and early new testaments, the rules were the way to God. By keeping the Law, they could be sure they were carrying out God’s will on Earth. Unfortunately, as Peter says in today’s first reading, they were also really bad at it: “Why then are you now placing on the shoulders of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear?” In the second reading, Jesus reiterates this old idea that the way to God, the way to Love, is to follow the commandments.
What does Jesus mean when he says, “Remain in my love?” It means we are striving after him, working on our relationship and trying to follow the Divine Way as disciples. But what happens when we fail? Does Jesus here accuse we who cannot follow the commandments of being poor lovers? Are we outside of Jesus’s love? Does God only love the people who follow the divine will? We are tempted to believe this, but scripture makes it clear it is not true. St. Paul proclaims, ‘Nothing will separate us from the Love of Christ.’ Jesus himself reminds us that rain falls on the just and unjust alike.
The early Church, led by the Holy Spirit, wisely deduced from Jesus’s teaching that following the rules are not the exclusive way to God. That decision is recorded in the first reading; the way to God is through Jesus. We are brought into communion through a person, not through our actions. It follows even from what Jesus says in today’s gospel. Who feels joyful from simply following rules? Not many people. But joy is a natural consequence of right-relationship, especially with God. May our Joy be complete in our communion with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen!
-Chris Nieport