Thursday of Week 5 of Easter – Gospel


Commentary on John 15:9-11

Jesus continues speaking to his disciples at the Last Supper. After giving them the parable of the vine he now goes on to give its real meaning: the Father, the Son and his followers are all to be united in love. As the Father pours out his love on the Son, so the Son pours out his love on his disciples. They, in turn, are to pour out the same love on their brothers and sisters everywhere. That is how we keep the “commandments” of Jesus; all his commandments can be summarised in that one word ‘love’ (agape).

As someone once describe it, the love of Jesus is like electric current. If the current does not pass through you, it cannot enter into you. Similarly, if the love of Jesus does not pour through us to others, it is a sign that that love is not really in us. The love of God has to be recognised, responded to and passed on. It is not just a ‘given’.

And the fruit of that love is joy, the same joy that Jesus himself experiences. The normal situation of the Christian disciples should be joy and consolation. After all, as has been said, “a sad saint is a sad kind of saint”. It is a contradiction in terms. Some Christians are incredibly serious about their faith. One wonders if they have yet experienced the love of Jesus. If they did, it would be joyfully flowing out to others.

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