We all know that God gave Moses 10 Commandments on Mount Sinai.  These commandments were given to help the ancient Israelites know how to show their respect and love for God and his people.  Unfortunately, they reduced their relationship with God to just following rules.  And, since they thought God liked rules, they made even more rules.  If you go through the Old Testament, you will find 613 of them.  And, the people thought that, if they followed these rules, God owed them a good life.  God then sent his son, Jesus, to help them understand that he just wanted them to live in a good relationship with him and their neighbor.  If you examine the 10 Commandments, you will see that the first three help us to grow in our relationship with God and the other seven direct us in our love of one another.  Jesus made this very clear when he simplified things for the Jews of his day, reducing their 613 laws to just two:  love of God and love of neighbor.  He hear this in both the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. 

 

But, in John’s Gospel, we learn more clearly what this love should look like.  John’s Gospel bookends with Jesus’ command to follow him.  At the very beginning of his public ministry, we hear Jesus give this command – follow me – to Philip when Philip comes to meet him.  Jesus gives the same command – you, follow me – to Peter after he serves breakfast to his apostles in his last appearance to them following his resurrection from the dead.  And, today’s Gospel makes it very clear how they – and we – are to follow Jesus.  “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”  And, he says this on the evening before he is to offer his life for us on the cross.  So, his commandments – love of God and love of neighbor – aren’t just another version of the Golden Rule, which instructs us to treat others as we would like them to treat us.  As good as the Golden Rule is, it’s not the full message that Jesus comes to teach.  His message is much more demanding; it calls for total self-giving, as he showed us on the cross.

But, how are we to have the courage and strength to do this?  We can’t on our own.  But, Jesus promised his disciples – and us – that he would send another Advocate to accompany us and continue to teach us the truth that Jesus has already taught us.  We hear that in today’s Gospel and we will celebrate that in just two weeks – on Pentecost Sunday.

And, what’s in it for us?  Why would we go beyond the nice “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”?  It is so that we may be one with the Father as Jesus, his Son, is one with him.  It is because “whoever loves me will be loved by my Father.” 

This isn’t to say that God’s love is conditional – that is, conditioned on how well we love – but rather that true Christian love is expressed in action.  And, we see that the most important actions we, as followers of Christ, can perform are to worship God – that’s one of the ways we grow in our relationship with God – and to spread the Gospel – the good news of our salvation – in both word and deed.  We hear about that in today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles.  Philip, one of the seven deacons we heard about last Sunday, goes to Samaria to teach them about Jesus.  Remember, Samaria is enemy territory for the Jews.  The people of Samaria had turned away from worshiping just the one, true God and had begun to worship the false gods of their neighbors.  So, they were despised by the Jews.  But, when word got back to Jerusalem that the people of Samaria had accepted the word of God that Philip preached, Peter and John – the first pope and the beloved of the Lord – went to Samaria not to correct Philip for working with the enemy but to bring the Holy Spirit upon them, as well, so that they would have the necessary courage and strength to become, once again, followers of the one, true God.

 As we continue to hunker down at home, trying to stave off the coronavirus, I invite you to try this yourselves.  Rather than just being nice to each other so that they will be nice to you, become a true follower of Jesus.  Love your spouse or children or mother or neighbor living alone just as Jesus did; selflessly giving without counting the cost.  And, when you find it too hard to do – and you will if you try it on your own – call on the Holy Spirit to help you.  Remember, you received the Holy Spirit when you were baptized – and the fullness of the Holy Spirit if you were confirmed – so you can call on him and he will accompany you, giving you the necessary patience, kindness, understanding and long-suffering; those precious gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit. 

In today’s second reading from the first of Letter of Saint Peter, we are reminded that Christ suffered for us sinners, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might lead us to God.  And, as I mentioned a moment ago, the great command that he gave all of his followers is to proclaim that Gospel to the ends of the earth – that includes our homes and neighborhoods.     

As we prepare to celebrate Pentecost in just two weeks, let us reflect on how well we are following Jesus.  And, let us always remember that the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, longs to speak God’s word to us and guide us.  All we need to do is to be open to his guidance.  It will bring us peace of mind in this life and lead us to be one with the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.