Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Lectionary: 289
Lectionary: 289
The Apostles and presbyters, in agreement with the whole Church,
decided to choose representatives
and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.
The ones chosen were Judas, who was called Barsabbas,
and Silas, leaders among the brothers.
This is the letter delivered by them:
"The Apostles and the presbyters, your brothers,
to the brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia
of Gentile origin: greetings.
Since we have heard that some of our number
who went out without any mandate from us
have upset you with their teachings
and disturbed your peace of mind,
we have with one accord decided to choose representatives
and to send them to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
who have dedicated their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So we are sending Judas and Silas
who will also convey this same message by word of mouth:
'It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us
not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities,
namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols,
from blood, from meats of strangled animals,
and from unlawful marriage.
If you keep free of these,
you will be doing what is right. Farewell.'"
And so they were sent on their journey.
Upon their arrival in Antioch
they called the assembly together and delivered the letter.
When the people read it, they were delighted with the exhortation.
decided to choose representatives
and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.
The ones chosen were Judas, who was called Barsabbas,
and Silas, leaders among the brothers.
This is the letter delivered by them:
"The Apostles and the presbyters, your brothers,
to the brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia
of Gentile origin: greetings.
Since we have heard that some of our number
who went out without any mandate from us
have upset you with their teachings
and disturbed your peace of mind,
we have with one accord decided to choose representatives
and to send them to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
who have dedicated their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So we are sending Judas and Silas
who will also convey this same message by word of mouth:
'It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us
not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities,
namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols,
from blood, from meats of strangled animals,
and from unlawful marriage.
If you keep free of these,
you will be doing what is right. Farewell.'"
And so they were sent on their journey.
Upon their arrival in Antioch
they called the assembly together and delivered the letter.
When the people read it, they were delighted with the exhortation.
Responsorial
PsalmPS 57:8-9, 10 AND 12
R. (10a) I will
give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
My heart is steadfast, O God; my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and chant praise.
Awake, O my soul; awake, lyre and harp!
I will wake the dawn.
R. I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will give thanks to you among the peoples, O LORD,
I will chant your praise among the nations.
For your mercy towers to the heavens,
and your faithfulness to the skies.
Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
above all the earth be your glory!
R. I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
My heart is steadfast, O God; my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and chant praise.
Awake, O my soul; awake, lyre and harp!
I will wake the dawn.
R. I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will give thanks to you among the peoples, O LORD,
I will chant your praise among the nations.
For your mercy towers to the heavens,
and your faithfulness to the skies.
Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
above all the earth be your glory!
R. I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
AlleluiaJN 15:15B
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
I call you my friends, says the Lord,
For I have made known to you all that the Father has told me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I call you my friends, says the Lord,
For I have made known to you all that the Father has told me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelJN 15:12-17
Jesus said to his disciples:
"This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one's life for one's friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I no longer call you slaves,
because a slave does not know what his master is doing.
I have called you friends,
because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.
This I command you: love one another."
"This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one's life for one's friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I no longer call you slaves,
because a slave does not know what his master is doing.
I have called you friends,
because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.
This I command you: love one another."
Meditation: "I have called you friends"
What is the greatest act of love which one can give
for the sake of another? Jesus defines friendship - the mutual bond of trust
and affection which people choose to have for one another - as the willingness
to give totally of oneself - even to the point of laying down one's life for a
friend. How is such love possible or even desirable? God made us in love for
love. That is our reason for being, our purpose for living, and our goal in
dying.
Scripture tells us that God is love (1
John 4:8) - and everything he does flows from his immense love for us. He loved
us so much - far beyond what we could ever expect or deserve - that he was
willing to pay any price to redeem us from our slavery to sin and death. That
is why the Father sent us his beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave up
his life as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. In this great exchange - the
Father giving up his Son to death on the cross in order to give us abundant
everlasting life and adopt us as his beloved sons and daughters in Christ
(Romans 8:14-17).
God has poured his love into our hearts
It is for this reason that we can take hold of a hope that does not fade and a joy that does not diminish because God has poured his love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Romans 5:5). God's love is not limited or subject to changing circumstances. It is an enduring love that has power to change and transform us to be like him - merciful, gracious, kind, forgiving, and steadfast in showing love not only for our friends, but for our enemies as well. God's love is boundless because he is the source of abundant life, perfect peace, and immeasurable joy for all who open their hearts to him. That is why Jesus came to give us abundant life through the gift and working of the Holy Spirit.
It is for this reason that we can take hold of a hope that does not fade and a joy that does not diminish because God has poured his love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Romans 5:5). God's love is not limited or subject to changing circumstances. It is an enduring love that has power to change and transform us to be like him - merciful, gracious, kind, forgiving, and steadfast in showing love not only for our friends, but for our enemies as well. God's love is boundless because he is the source of abundant life, perfect peace, and immeasurable joy for all who open their hearts to him. That is why Jesus came to give us abundant life through the gift and working of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus gave his disciples a new commandment - a new way
of loving and serving one another. Jesus' love was wholly directed toward the
good of others. He loved them for their sake and for their welfare. That is why
he willingly laid down his own life for us to free us from sin, death, fear,
and everything that could separate us from the love of God. Our love for God
and our willingness to lay down our life for others is a response to the
exceeding love God has given us in Christ. Paul the Apostle states,
"Who shall separate us from the love
of Christ?... For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height,
nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from
the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:35,38-39).
Friendship with God
Jesus calls his disciples his personal friends. Jesus not only showed his disciples that he personally cared for them and sought their welfare. He personally enjoyed their company and wanted to be with them in a close and intimate relationship. He ate with them, shared everything he had with them - even his innermost heart and thoughts. And he spent himself in doing as much good for them as he could. To know Jesus personally is to know God and the love and friendship he offers to each one of us.
Jesus calls his disciples his personal friends. Jesus not only showed his disciples that he personally cared for them and sought their welfare. He personally enjoyed their company and wanted to be with them in a close and intimate relationship. He ate with them, shared everything he had with them - even his innermost heart and thoughts. And he spent himself in doing as much good for them as he could. To know Jesus personally is to know God and the love and friendship he offers to each one of us.
One of the special marks of favor shown in the
Scriptures is to be called the friend of God. Abraham is called
the friend of God (Isaiah 41:8, James 2:23). God spoke with
Moses as a man speaks with his friend (Exodus 33:11). Jesus, the Lord and
Master, calls the disciples his friends rather than his servants.
What does it mean to be a friend of God? Friendship
with God who is our everlasting Father and with his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ
entails a personal, close, and loving relationship and a union of heart, mind,
and spirit with the One who created us in love for love. Such a relationship
with our Father, Creator, and Redeemer involves loyalty, respect, and
obedience. But it is even more than these because God has chosen to love us in
the same way in which the Father and the Son love and serve each other - a
total giving of oneself to the other in a bond of affection, esteem, and joy in
each others company.
Jesus' discourse on friendship and brotherly love
echoes the words of Proverbs: A friend loves at all times; and a
brother is born for adversity (Proverbs 17:17). The distinctive
feature of Jesus' relationship with his disciples was his personal, loyal, and
sacrificial love for each one of them. He loved his own to the
end (John 13:1). His love was unconditional and wholly directed to the
good of others. His love was costly and sacrificial. He gave the best he had
and all that he had. He gave his very own life for those he loved in order to
secure for them an everlasting life of union and love with the Father in heaven.
Love to the death
The Lord Jesus gives his followers a new commandment - a new way of love that goes beyond giving only what is required or what we think others might deserve. What is the essence of Jesus' new commandment of love? It is a love to the death - a purifying love that overcomes selfishness, fear, and pride. It is a total giving of oneself for the sake of others - a selfless and self-giving love that is oriented towards putting the welfare of others ahead of myself.
The Lord Jesus gives his followers a new commandment - a new way of love that goes beyond giving only what is required or what we think others might deserve. What is the essence of Jesus' new commandment of love? It is a love to the death - a purifying love that overcomes selfishness, fear, and pride. It is a total giving of oneself for the sake of others - a selfless and self-giving love that is oriented towards putting the welfare of others ahead of myself.
Jesus says that there is no greater proof in love than
the sacrifice of one's life for the sake of another. Jesus proved his love by
giving his life for us on the cross of Calvary. Through the shedding of his
blood for our sake, our sins are not only washed clean, but new life is poured
out for us through the gift of the Holy Spirit. We prove our love for God and
for one another when we embrace the way of the cross. What is the cross in my
life? When my will crosses with God's will, then God's will must be done. Do
you know the peace and joy of a life fully surrendered to God and consumed with
his love?
Love that produces abundant fruit and joy
The Lord Jesus tells us that he is our personal friend and he loves us wholeheartedly and unconditionally. He wants us to love one another just as he has loved us, wholeheartedly, without reserve, and full of mercy, kindness, and forgiveness. His love fills our hearts and transforms our minds and frees us to give ourselves in loving service to others. If we open our hearts to his love and obey his command to love our neighbor, then we will know his love more fully and we will bear much fruit - especially the fruit of peace, joy, patience, kindness, and goodness - the kind of fruit that lasts for eternity. Do you wish to be fruitful and to abound in the love of God? Trust and obey him and he will fill you with his overflowing love.
The Lord Jesus tells us that he is our personal friend and he loves us wholeheartedly and unconditionally. He wants us to love one another just as he has loved us, wholeheartedly, without reserve, and full of mercy, kindness, and forgiveness. His love fills our hearts and transforms our minds and frees us to give ourselves in loving service to others. If we open our hearts to his love and obey his command to love our neighbor, then we will know his love more fully and we will bear much fruit - especially the fruit of peace, joy, patience, kindness, and goodness - the kind of fruit that lasts for eternity. Do you wish to be fruitful and to abound in the love of God? Trust and obey him and he will fill you with his overflowing love.
"Teach us, good Lord, to serve you as you
deserve, to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the
wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labor and not to ask for any reward,
save that of knowing that we do your will; through Jesus Christ our
Lord." (Prayer of Ignatius Loyola)
Daily Quote from the early church fathers: Love encompasses the other commandments,
by Ephrem the Syrian (306-373 AD)
"This is my commandment." Have you then only
one precept? This is sufficient, even if it is unique and so great.
Nevertheless he also said, "Do not kill" (Matthew 19:18) because the
one who loves does not kill. He said, "Do not steal," because the one
who loves does even more—he gives. He said, "Do not lie," for the one
who loves speaks the truth, against falsehood. "I give you a new
commandment" (John 13:14). If you have not understood what "This is
my commandment" means, let the apostle be summoned as interpreter and say,
"The goal of his commandment is love" (1 Timothy 1:5). What is its
binding force? It is that of which [the Lord] spoke, "Whatever you want
others to do to you, you should do also" (Matthew 7:12)."Love one
another" in accordance with this measure, "as I have loved you."
That is not possible, for you are our Lord who loves your servants. But we who
are equals, how can we love one another as you have loved us? Nevertheless, he
has said it... His love is that he has called us his friends. If we were to
give our life for you, would our love be equal to yours?... How then can what
he said be explained, "As I have loved you"? "Let us die for
each other," he said. As for us, we do not even want to live for one
another! "If I, who am your Lord and God, die for you, how much more
should you die for one another." (excerpt
from COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 19.13)
FRIDAY, MAY 4, JOHN 15:12-17
Easter Weekday
(Acts 15:22-31; Psalm 57)
Easter Weekday
(Acts 15:22-31; Psalm 57)
KEY VERSE: "You are my friends if you do what I command you" (v.14).
TO KNOW: As Jesus anticipated his return to the Father, he prepared his disciples for the work that he would hand over to them. Jesus told his followers that to be God's servant (Greek, doulos, literally a slave) was not a title of shame. The great leaders of the past: Moses (Deut 34:5); Joshua (Josh 24:29); David (Ps 89:20); and later Paul (Ti 1:1) and James (Jas 1:1) all counted it an honor to be God’s servants. But Jesus had something even greater in store for his disciples. He called them "friends" (Jn 14:15b). In the Old Testament, Abraham and Moses were each called a "friend of God" (2 Chr 20:7; Ex 33:11). The mark of friendship is an intimate knowledge of one another. Slaves did not have this kind of relationship with their masters. Jesus called his disciples "friends" because he shared with them everything he received from the Father. Jesus’ followers must imitate his example by being servants of one another (Jn 12:26; 13:14-16). Their labors would be fruitful if they obeyed his command to love, which was not a burden, but a loving response to God who loved them.
TO LOVE: In what ways am I a servant to my community?
TO SERVE: Risen Lord, help me to willingly obey your command to love in all I say and do.
www.togetherwithgodsword.com
Friday 4 May
2018
Day of Penance.
Acts 15:22-31. Psalm 56(57):8-12. John 15:12-17.
I will praise you among the nations, O Lord—Psalm 56(57):8-12.
My command is this: love each other as I loved you.
We often complicate our faith, sometimes losing sight of what
really matters. Things such as the number of candles on the altar, the quality
of the homilies being preached can start to preoccupy and distract us.
That does not say these things don’t need attention, but in
today’s Gospel we see how simple the core message of our faith is. Jesus asks
one thing of us—that we love one another. The rest is all commentary.
Blessed Michael Giedroyc
Saint of the Day for May 4
(c. 1425 – May 4, 1485)
Blessed Michael Giedroyc’s Story
A life of physical pain and mental torment didn’t prevent
Michael Giedroyc from achieving holiness.
Born near Vilnius, Lithuania, Michael suffered from physical and
permanent handicaps from birth. He was a dwarf who had the use of only one
foot. Because of his delicate physical condition, his formal education was
frequently interrupted. But over time, Michael showed special skills at metalwork.
Working with bronze and silver, he created sacred vessels, including chalices.
He traveled to Kraków, Poland, where he joined the Augustinians.
He received permission to live the life of a hermit in a cell adjoining the
monastery. There Michael spent his days in prayer, fasted and abstained from
all meat and lived to an old age. Though he knew the meaning of suffering
throughout his years, his rich spiritual life brought him consolation.
Michael’s long life ended in 1485 in Kraków.
Five hundred years later, Pope John Paul II visited the city and spoke to the
faculty of the Pontifical Academy of Theology. The 15th century in Kraków, the
pope said, was “the century of saints.” Among those he cited was Blessed
Michael Giedroyc.
Reflection
Many people today face a life of suffering and discrimination
due to physical handicaps. Let’s ask Blessed Michael Giedroyc to pray for them
that their situation might be addressed by society at large.
LECTIO DIVINA: JOHN 15:12-17
Lectio Divina:
Friday, May 4, 2018
1) OPENING PRAYER
Lord our God, loving Father,
You have given us your Son Jesus Christ
as the true vine of life
and our source of strength.
Help us to live His life
as living branches attached to the vine,
and to bear plentiful fruit
of justice, goodness and love.
Let our union with Him become visible
in our openness to one another
and in our unity as brothers and sisters,
that He may be visibly present among us
now and for ever.
You have given us your Son Jesus Christ
as the true vine of life
and our source of strength.
Help us to live His life
as living branches attached to the vine,
and to bear plentiful fruit
of justice, goodness and love.
Let our union with Him become visible
in our openness to one another
and in our unity as brothers and sisters,
that He may be visibly present among us
now and for ever.
2) GOSPEL READING - JOHN
15:12-17
Jesus said to his disciples: "This
is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than
this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do
what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know
what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you
everything I have heard from my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who
chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that
whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you:
love one another."
3) REFLECTION
• Today Gospel of John 15:12-17: Jesus
defines His relationship with the disciples and gives His final commandment to
them. Let us take some of the points considered that day.
• John 15:12-13: To love one another as
He has loved us. The commandment of Jesus is only one: “to love one another as
I have loved you!” (Jn 15:12) Jesus exceeds the Old Testament. The ancient
criteria was the following: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Lv
18:19). The new criteria is this: “Love one another as I have loved you.”
It is the sentence that we sing even today and which says, “There is no
greater love than to give one’s life for one’s brother!”
• John 15:14-15: Friends and not
servants. You are My friends if you do what I command you,” that is, the
practice of love to the point of total gift of oneself! Immediately Jesus
presents a very high ideal for the life of His disciples. He says, “I shall no
longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s
business. I call you friends because I have made known to you everything I have
learned from My Father!” Jesus no longer held any secrets from His disciples.
He tells us everything that He has heard from the Father! Behold the wonderful
ideal of life in community: to reach a state of total transparency to the point
of not having any secrets among us and to have full trust in one another. Being
able to enrich one another by speaking about the experience of God that we
have. The first Christians succeeded in reaching this ideal after many
years: “They had one only heart and one only soul” (Acts 4:32; 1:14; 2:42-46).
• John 15:16-17: Jesus has chosen us. We
have not chosen Jesus. He met us, called us and entrusted a mission to us to go
and bear fruit, and a fruit which lasts. We need Him, but He also wants to need
us and our work in order to be able to continue to do today for the people what
He did for the people of Galilee. This is My commandment: love one another!”
4) FOR PERSONAL CONSIDERATION
• To love our neighbor as Jesus has
loved us. This is the ideal of every Christian. He showed this not only by
dying for us, but by devoting His life to helping us to know and find God the
Father. Do I love as Jesus loved and devote my life in the same way?
• All that I have heard from the Father
I make it known to you. This is the ideal of the community: total transparency.
How do I live this in my community, which can be family, parish, neighborhood
or religious order?
• Jesus called them “friends” and told
them to love one another. Do I make distinctions, rather than considering all
equally, among those in my community whom I should call “friends”? How do I
respond or accept it when I am treated differently than another “friend” in my
community?
5) CONCLUDING PRAYER
My heart is ready, God, my heart is
ready;
I will sing, and make music for You.
Awake, my glory, awake, lyre and harp,
that I may awake the dawn. (Ps 57:7-8)
I will sing, and make music for You.
Awake, my glory, awake, lyre and harp,
that I may awake the dawn. (Ps 57:7-8)
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