Fifth Sunday of Easter
As I listened to this Sunday’s readings, I reflected on the words that Jesus said to his apostles—his time with them is over and he will only be with them for a short time. I often think about what Jesus must have felt throughout his Passion, but for the first time, as I read this Gospel, I imagined what the disciples must have thought and felt at that moment. They left everything to follow Jesus, and now he’s decided to leave them?!
Most of us would agree that our greatest fear is losing someone we love, so you can imagine the confusion and anxiety that the apostles felt at not knowing what was going to happen. Just the thought of Jesus leaving was enough to cause turmoil in their hearts. It’s this fear and uncertainty that we allow to take hold of us when we don’t know what will happen and we have something, or someone, to lose. And this fear can start to take control of our lives and decision-making.
This is precisely why, in today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches them to choose love. There will be so many people to be angry with, so much reason to feel confused, and so many opportunities to experience shame, but Jesus tells them to choose love, despite every motivation to choose fear. If they will be the ones to continue the mission of Jesus, they need to lead with love and be led by Love. This unconditional love should be the basis of relationships among all Christians.
And Jesus is clear that Christian love is not limited to a circle of a few people, but real Christian love extends to everyone, especially those who are difficult to love. It is a love that knows no barriers or distinctions— the love that Jesus carried for Judas. Could it be that Judas was the very person Jesus was thinking of when he preached this message?
However difficult this message must have been to hear didn’t compare to the difficulty of putting this into practice. We understand this too well, and we even add caveats to what Jesus said to make excuses for our gossip, complaining, and curses. But the truth is that nothing excuses our behavior, and Jesus was clear about that. We must have love in our hearts— it is the only way in which we can genuinely preach his word and it is the only way in which we will have peace and tranquility in our relationships. Just like his apostles, we are called to go wherever Love takes us.