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Message from the desk of the Pastor:

The Sixth Sunday of Easter

Sunday, May 5, 2024

Gospel Reading 

John 15:9-17

Jesus commands his disciples to love one another.

Background on the Gospel Reading

Today’s Gospel follows immediately after the Gospel proclaimed last week, in which Jesus taught that he was the vine and that his disciples were the branches. In the example of the vine and the branches, we learned that our union with Jesus will lead to fruitful service. Today’s reading extends this teaching to describe the kind of service that Christians are called upon to offer to others.

When John wrote this Gospel, his community was influenced by a set of religious beliefs called Gnosticism. It appears that one of John’s intentions was to distinguish Christian belief from the beliefs held by the Gnostics. Evidence of this can be found  in today’s Gospel.

One of the tenets of Gnostic teaching was the importance of knowledge, or gnosis,  as the determining aspect of faith. We read today’s Gospel as a response to this teaching. In John’s Gospel, we hear Jesus affirm that he is known by the Father and that his disciples will know the Father by knowing Jesus. In this passage, however, Jesus reminds his disciples that this knowledge is to be expressed in love. Those who know Jesus well—and Jesus says that his disciples do know him—will love one another. Knowledge leads to love, which leads to action. John reminds his community that Jesus taught that love is the sign of a true disciple and, thus, a true Christian. Even more, a true disciple shows a particular kind of love, sacrificial love.

In the Greek, there are two words for love that are used in this passage. The first is agape. The second is philia. The first word is most often used to describe love for other persons and for God. It is understood as the highest and most perfect kind of love. The second word is used to describe the affection of friendship. In this context, John appears to use these words as synonyms. The root of the Greek word for friend comes from this second term for love, philia. By using this word, Jesus transforms the terms of his relationship with his disciples and redefines for them their relationship with God. In the Hebrew Scriptures, faith in God made one a servant of God.

Here Jesus teaches that his relationship to his disciples is based on friendship,        not servitude.

Another aspect of Gnostic belief taught that a believer was an elect person, chosen and set apart from the world. John reminds his community that Jesus also taught that a disciple is one who had been chosen—one who had been chosen by Jesus.    To be chosen by Jesus, however, is not to be set apart from the world. Instead, to     be chosen by Jesus is to be sent to serve the world as he did. The disciples of   Jesus were chosen and were sent into the world to bear fruit by serving others,        by sacrificing for others, in love.



This reading, like last week’s, is part of Jesus’ Last Supper discourse. In the context of John’s Gospel, these words are spoken before Jesus’ Crucifixion. We read his instruction to the disciples in light of his death and Resurrection. We know that Jesus himself gives us the greatest example of the kind of love and service that he teaches to his disciples. He has, in fact, laid down his life for his friends, for his disciples, and for us. Through his death and Resurrection, we have received the grace to love others as Jesus has commanded.

Family Connection

In family life, we have many opportunities to show love in action. Each time we postpone a task to tend to the needs of another, we show ourselves to be on the path to following the example of love shown to us by Jesus. Sometimes the sacrifices we are called upon to make for others are small. But these small choices to love and to serve others prepare us for the larger choices and sacrifices that we may be called upon to make. If we are people who have practiced showing our love for others with generosity, we will also be people who are willing to lay down our lives for those we love.

As you gather as a family, talk about the meaning of the word generosity. Ask each family member to describe an action that shows generosity. To be generous is to give freely to others without counting the cost. Recall that generosity is one of the Fruits of the Holy Spirit. Introduce today’s Gospel reading by saying that Jesus taught us to be generous in showing our love for one another. Read together today’s Gospel, John 15:9-17. What examples did Jesus give to us that show this kind of love? (washing his disciples’ feet; accepting death on the cross) Jesus helps us to show this kind of love to others. In today’s Gospel, Jesus promised that God will give us whatever we ask for. One of the things we can ask for from God is a generous spirit so that we can love others as Jesus did. Conclude in prayer together by praying Saint Ignatius of Loyola’s Prayer for Generosity.