Let’s not take God’s love for granted
Reflections on the readings for the Sixth Sunday of Easter (May 6, 2018): ACTS 10:25-26,34-35,44-48; PS 98:1, 2-3,3-4; 1 JN 4:7-10; JN 15:9-17
MISSIO offers “Mission In Scripture” to nurture a missionary heart, providing reflections on the missionary themes in the readings of Sundays, Feast Days and Holy Days.
St. John the Evangelist, probably the Apostle closest to Jesus, is know for the emphasis he puts in his New Testament writings on the preeminence of love among all the virtues.
Both today’s Gospel and the reading from his first letter speak of God’s immeasurable love for us. “God sent His only Son into the world so that we might have life through Him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as expiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10).
As Catholics living 2,000 years after Jesus lived among us on earth, we accept the truth that He came for our salvation, to swing wide the gates of heaven for His beloved people. Unfortunately, it is an all-too-human characteristic to take even the most vital matters for granted, to make them seem commonplace. God has loved us forever and He will keep on loving us through eternity. He yearns for us to reciprocate that love and to offer it to our brothers and sisters. That is how we follow the way of His Son and spread His boundless mercy wherever we go.
Suggested missionary action: Let us take time to read today’s Gospel and second reading on our own. Let us ask their author, St. John, to help us grow in a greater understanding of God’s love.
