Gospel Reflection 2021/2022

‘Deus caritas est.’ [Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI]

The very foundation of Christianity is ‘Deus caritas est’, which means ‘God is love’ [cf. 1 Jn 4: 7-21].

St John [cf. 1 Jn 4: 7-21] deliberately says, “God IS love,” and not “God is LIKE love” – because for St John, God’s very nature, His very essence and His very being is love.

St Augustine, when explaining the mystery of the Holy Trinity, says:

"Wherever there is love (God),

there is TRINITY:

a lover (the Father),

a beloved (the Son),

and a fountain of love (the Holy Spirit)."

The Commandment of Love. [Jn 13: 34]

In the Gospel reading of the 5^th Sunday of Easter, Jesus gives us a new commandment – the Commandment of Love.

Jesus Himself commands us that:

“I give you a new commandment: love one another;

just as I have loved you, you also MUST love one another.

By this love you have for one another, everyone will know that you are My disciples.”

A ‘commandment’ is not an idea, an ideal, or an option: it is a divine law, and it is mandatory, compulsory and obligatory. Yes, love MUST BE the intrinsic characteristic of the disciples of Christ.

St John [1 Jn 4: 7-8] exhorts that:

“Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God;

everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

The love of Christ compels us. [1 Co 5: 14]

“The love of Christ compels us…,” St Paul exclaims. It means to say that the life of a Christian – a true disciple of the Lord – must be restrained, inspired, motivated, sustained and guided by the love of Jesus.

“Just as I have loved you, you also MUST love one another.” [Jn 13: 34]

We love because Christ has loved us first; and because we have experienced His infinite love and boundless mercy, we are ‘compelled’ to love one another. No one – who has deeply and profoundly experienced Christ’s love and mercy – will remain individualistic, isolated, self-absorbed and self-centred.

When Mary Magdalene deeply experienced the love of the Risen Crucified Lord at the Empty Tomb of Jerusalem, she did not remain at the Tomb. Instead, she ran to the Apostles and told them the great news of the Resurrection and all that she had encountered and experienced. [Mt 28: 1-10; Mk 16: 1-7; Lk 24: 1-12]

Paul and Barnabas, in the First Reading [Ac 14: 21-27], went around proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ. Compelled by the love of Christ, they did not just approach the Jews (the privileged) but they also reached out to the pagans (the underprivileged). The love of Christ always compels us to move out of our familiar grounds and comfort zones to reach out with love.

Love is always a conscious decision.

Love is not a fuzzy, warm and romantic feeling. Love is always a conscious decision.

Abortion, euthanasia, corporal punishment, physical abuse, sexual assault, discrimination, persecution, terrorism, child marriage, human trafficking, modern-day slavery, death penalty, warfare, etc. are the enemies of love. An attack on love is a brutal and sacrilegious attack on God who is love.

Therefore, Christians are NEVER called to sit on the fence, be passive bystanders, or remain silent in the face of evil. We are called to make a conscious decision: to stand up, to speak up and to do something.

Love is transformed into action.

The Father loves the Son; and the Son loves the Father. And the fountain of love between the Father and the Son is the Holy Spirit.

The love between the Father and the Son is dynamic and not static, alive and not dead, active and not passive; this fountain of love is the Holy Spirit, God’s love in action. Therefore, by the power of the Holy Spirit in us, our Christian love must be transformed into concrete actions: to love one another means to put others first.

The COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us that no man is an island, ‘we are all in the same boat’ [Pope Francis, Urbi et Orbi, 27 Mar 2020], and we need to work TOGETHER for the COMMON GOOD to keep afloat:

✝️ We choose to wear proper face masks, not only to protect ourselves, but more importantly to protect others, so that we do not unintentionally infect others or spread the virus. It is love in action.

✝️ We choose to receive vaccination and booster shots, not only to protect ourselves, but more importantly to form herd immunity (shield) so that others who cannot be vaccinated due to medical reasons are also protected. It is love in action. [cf. Pope Francis, 18 Aug 2021]

✝️ We choose to isolate ourselves when we are identified as casual contact, close contact or COVID-19 positive so that others may be safe. It is love in action.

✝️ When we choose to put the COMMON GOOD above our own personal freedom, rights, conveniences and preferences by humbly following the COVID-19 SOP, it is love in action.

True love is challenging yet rewarding.

Behold the Risen Crucified Lord; gaze upon His holy wounds and know that love – which is easy and convenient – is not love. True love is always difficult, challenging, painful, hurtful and sacrificial because when we open our hearts to love, we allow ourselves to be vulnerable. Yet, true love is always rewarding and fruitful – love always begets love – the more that we share, the more God will pour His love and mercy into our hearts.

St Mother Teresa of Calcutta wonderfully explains, “True love is love that causes us pain, that hurts, and YET brings us joy. That is why we must pray to God and ask Him to give us the courage to love.”

Compelled by the love of Christ, may we always be firm in faith, unwavering in hope and active in love.

Let our fervent prayer be:

“Lord Jesus Christ, let me be an instrument of Your love.”

Let us also pray with and pray for Ukraine that:

“The weapons of war be silenced, the evil of the aggressors be stopped, and those who hold the fate of the world in their hands may spare us from the horror and madness of war.”