Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Some years ago as my husband and I were entering the parents-of-teens stage of life, I recall these words of advice being passed on to us: “choose your battles wisely.” There were going to be things that our teenagers would say and do that we wouldn’t be happy about, that would probably annoy us, that we might not approve of, and it would be wise to decide which of those things were most important to address, take issue with, argue about, have consequences for, and which to let go of. Actually, I’ve found that advice to be useful in other relationships as well, including marriage. Life – and love – is challenging enough without placing unnecessary burdens on each other.
I was reminded of this as I reflected on today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles (15:22-31) as we follow their journey to Antioch to minister to the recently converted Gentiles. In this passage we hear about the Apostles and presbyters, in agreement with the whole Church, delivering a letter about what they had discerned regarding the question of circumcision being required of non-Jewish Christians: “it is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities…”; most importantly not requiring the Gentile Christians to be circumcised and follow all of the Jewish laws (just a few of the less burdensome ones). We hear that when the assembly read the letter they were “delighted with the exhortation.”
Today’s gospel passage (John 15:12-17) exhorts us to “love one another” as Jesus loves us. It seems fitting that these readings are paired together. Jesus’ command is to “love one another,” not “judge one another” or “control one another” or “unnecessarily burden one another.”
May we, too, discern the Spirit’s direction to “love one another” in our day to day relationships, without placing unnecessary burdens on each other – be it our children, spouses, neighbors, co-workers, employees, students, caregivers, or strangers in our midst. May we know and share the “delight” and joy of the Risen One who has called us to rest in Him, “For my yoke is easy, and my burden light” (Matthew 11:30).
~Eileen Miller