Sunday Homily, May 25, 2014, 6th Easter
Readings:
Acts 8, 5-8, 14-17 There was great joy in that city.
Psalm 66, Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
1 Peter 3, 15-18, It is better to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
John 14, 15-21, Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Reminders on Acts:
What : The second half of Luke’s work, the first part being his gospel. Acts starts after the Resurrection. We will read Acts all through May and read the last selection June 1, then June 7, Pentecost. The work focuses on the spread of the early church with special attention given to Peter and Paul and their conflicts over who was to be a Christian, and Jewish laws, like circumcision. The conversion of Paul is described.
Who: Luke, an educated and civilized Jew who wrote in Greek.
Date: around the year 65, or about 30 years after Jesus’ death.
Our Selection: More growing pains in the early community.
Watch 2 readings today, the lovely Psalm 66, and the conditional love in John's gospel. I would like to talk about unconditional love.
Could the Love be Unconditional ?
I would like to talk about conditional vs. unconditional love this morning.
It seems I hear a lot about unconditional love for kids, for animals, and for other people. I like that. I would like to be able to love unconditionally, at least, once in a while.
Ever think about how the New Testament presents unconditional love? In fact, I think the New Testament presents a conditional love. The whole story of our redemption is based on conditional love.
What does conditional love sound like? When Rosemary tells me I will love you if you bring me coffee in bed. Or I will stay with you another year if you mow the grass. Look at the word John puts in Jesus mouth this morning, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments."
I would propose that God’s love and acceptance of us is unconditional. I can see this love in people and I think people reflect the nature of God. Let me illustrate the point with a little story.
As you know, Rosemary & I head to New York every first weekend in May for the 5 Bike Tour and for a big family reunion at her nephew Brian’s house in Essex Fells, NJ. After all this is finished Sunday evening, Rosemary & I stay Monday to visit The City and to have dinner with one of her girl friends and classmates from her days at the College of New Rochelle. Her girl friend is Juanita and her husband is Charlie, fun people.
Believe it or not, they are members of a community very similar to ours. Anthony Padovano is the priest who coordinates the community. It was this couple who mentioned they know you folks by name because they read our blogs. Juanita rattled off the names of the kids, Zoe & Emma, Leo & Cowboy Cole, and others.
So we are having dinner this Monday night. At least they are and I am having a glass of wine. I don’t eat after 4:00 and, therefore, don’t have to take meds for acid reflux.
We were talking about blessings and good things in our lives, when Juanita says that about 4 months ago she had one of those special experiences.
They are getting ready for the beginning of their Sunday Mass when a new couple comes in and sits next to Juanita. The celebrant welcomes the new couple and says that the man is Jack Egan, formerly a priest of their archdiocese.
Juanita is immediately curious. Her mother used to work at the local Catholic Charities and she remembered hearing her mother talk about this Jack Egan.
As soon as their Mass is over she immediately asks the man if he ever worked at the local Catholic Charities. He says, “Certainly.” She says, “Do you remember my mother, Jo Torres. She worked there many years. And I remember that she liked you and mentioned your name often. ”
“Yes, absolutely, I loved her. In fact, I remember frequently coming into her office while she was working on a case study, tears just streaming down her cheeks.”
Juanita is quite touched and says that she never knew that about her mother.
Jack Egan says, “What a special moment. I did not know your mom liked me so much and you did not know how touched she was by the people.”
An illustration of unconditional love. And this from human beings. They receive the gift from The Source.
What is your image of Our God’s love for you and acceptance of you? Conditional or unconditional. How do you know?
Source: Thanks, Juanita, for letting me share your story with our community.