“As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.”
The words in the gospel today are very short, but very powerful. Jesus tells us he loves us just as much as his Father loves him. If you are married and have children, you probably love your children just as much as your spouse. Love is a beautiful thing any where it is found but especially in marriages, families and extended families too. Faith, hope and love are the things that last, but one day we will be in heaven and faith and hope will have been fulfilled.Only love will remain. It is easy to lose sight of this.Love is the only thing that will last forever.
If we keep Christ’s commandments, then we will abide in his love. His commandments are that we love one another as he has loved us. Sometimes marriages and relationships with family members are not what they should be. A lot of times it is because one or both parties quit listening to the ten commandments and live by Christ’s commandment to love one another too. Divorces unfortunately happen. Engagements are broken sometimes too. And children grow up and move away, and sometimes do not have very much contact with their families.
Both close family members and extended family members can sometimes become estranged from one another. It’s usually something small and insignificant that causes division. Peter addresses this in the first reading for mass today. He said that God gave the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles just as He did them. He told the people not to put a yoke on the disciples that was too hard to bear. The Gentiles would be saved through the grace of Jesus Christ just like they would and for them not to trouble the Gentiles who are turning to God.
In the first reading, Peter sets the example for us on how to treat others just like his forebears the prophets, set an example for him through their words. The prophets spoke of rebuilding the house of David when they foretold of Christ’s coming and how he would rebuild his people based on the laws of love. Peter took up for the Gentiles and urged the people not to be so hard on them. The rules should not be so strict, it was more important that the Gentiles be included as Christians, than it was to bicker over minute details of the rules.
The commandments are important and we must keep them, but sometimes these small rules or ways of living are not more important than including other people in our lives. That sometimes means we need to include people that are a great deal different from us into our circle of family and friends. It’s amazing the joy they can eventually bring to our lives though, when we do learn to look past the differences we have. Different ethnic groups, faith traditions, cultures, way of life or family backgrounds should never prevent us from accepting others into our circle of family and friends.
One last thing about family. Sometimes for whatever reason, people find themselves alone or with very little family in their lives. There is a big empty place where people they love once occupied. A little of the joy has gone out of their lives and sometimes they may not know how to find joy in living again. The world can seem very empty and sad. This happens a lot to older people who lose a spouse later in life, but similar situations can occur with just about anyone.
If this should happen to us, we could decide to do nothing and just let whatever the future brings enter our lives. The empty place in our hearts could end up being filled with whatever wants to take root there, including “weeds” which bring us no joy. Or, we can look to Christ’s people, the ones who try to live by his commandments and God’s too and seek out ways to get to know them. Participation in small groups in our parishes, attending parish functions regularly and volunteering some of our time is an excellent way to meet like minded people.
We can fill the empty places in our hearts with new people to love and regain the joy we once felt in life. No one needs to ever feel alone in the body of Christ and when you make the effort to reach out to others, you will find that they will reach back for you too, because Christ also has a human face.
May your joy be found in Jesus Christ, your family and friends and your brothers and sisters in Christ as well!
Peace be with you today!
