LOVE SEPARATES US FROM THE WORLD


SATURDAY, FIFTH WEEK OF EASTER

Act 16:1-10; Ps 100:1-3,5; Jn 15:18-21

Christ’s Love separates us from the World

As we read yesterday from Acts of Apostles, the decision of the Council of the Church held in Jerusalem aimed at reminding the Christians of their consecration to God through Jesus Christ. So, all the Council asked them to abstain from were things or behaviours capable of lessening their consecration or their consciousness of that fact. Our consecration to God through the Son of Man is the core message of the Gospel that we must not compromise. Nevertheless, Saint Paul’s action in the passage today shows that a good understanding of the Law of Moses does not remove from the Christian consecration to God in Jesus Christ. The law of circumcision, as a sacrament of the promise made to Abraham, leads to Jesus Christ as the fulfilment of the promise. Hence, we see Paul circumcise Timothy at Lystra to avoid causing unnecessary squabble with the Jews, which would prevent him from preaching the Good News he had the mandate to proclaim.

As he would state in his letter to Galatians 5:6, circumcision or no circumcision does not matter; what counts is faith working through love. Circumcision or obedience to the Law of Moses will not save us if we fail to believe in Jesus Christ and consecrate ourselves to him in love. For all that came in the way of revelation before the incarnation of the Son of God prepared the way for his coming. Therefore, to believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God is to receive the completion of all that God promised to the patriarchs. Though the Gentile nations do not have the promise God made to Abraham, nor do they know of it, their faith in Jesus Christ allows them to receive the complete package of salvation God offers through Jesus Christ. The decision of the Council of Jerusalem had this all-important content, which Paul handed on to them on his missionary journey. “As they visited one town after another, they passed on the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, with instructions to respect them. So the churches grew strong in the faith, as well as growing daily in numbers.” As we have already noted, the Holy Spirit plays a key role in the Church’s understanding of the mysteries of the Son of Man and its proclamation. As we draw near to the Solemnity of the Pentecost, we highlight the role of the Holy Spirit in the birth, growth, and development of the Church, physically and spiritually.

Fundamental to the general growth and development of the Church of Jesus Christ are the activities of the Holy Spirit in each of its members. The Holy Spirit, the love of the Father and the Son, is our consecration to Jesus Christ and the Father. He is the new Law, as we explained yesterday. Through his activities in each of us, he intensifies our love for Jesus Christ and our dedication to the proclamation of the Good News. Saint Paul’s life illustrates this for us. “They travelled through Phrygia and the Galatian country, having been told by the Holy Spirit not to preach the word in Asia. When they reached the frontier of Mysia they thought to cross into Bithynia, but as the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them, they went through Mysia and came down to Troas.” As our Lord explained in the Gospel, the world would hate us because the Holy Spirit directs our lives and activities, distinct from the lives and activities of the world ruled by its prince. The difference in lives and motivations is the cause of the persecution of the Christians. “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me before you. If you belong to the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you do not belong to the world, because my choice withdrew you from the world, therefore the world hates you.” The hatred is real because the two types of life are real, worldly or natural life, and heavenly or spiritual. If we have chosen Jesus Christ, let us stay with him and endure the hatred of this world and its prince, which is temporal.

Let us pray: Almighty and eternal God, who through the regenerating power of Baptism have been pleased to confer on us heavenly life, grant, we pray, that those you render capable of immortality by justifying them may by your guidance attain the fullness of glory. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. 

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