Fr. Erik Tjeunfin, sx
Each one of us has a love story which we experienced it in our family, friendships, congregation, mission etc. This love story enkindled and made us to remain to live our live despite of all the challenges that we encountered. The readings of this Sunday tell us on how a circle of love between God the Father, Jesus Christ and His disciples. This interpersonal love entails com-mission. In the gospel of today, Jesus says “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you….I commissioned you to go out and to bear fruit that will last” (Jn 15:9,16).
One of the great things in our doctrinal belief is that God is love. God the Father has so much loved his Son, Jesus Christ that He sent and gave everything to him (cf Jn 3:35). “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Mat 3:17). Because of love God the Father gave out his divine attributes to Jesus Christ to create and save the world, to give life, to judge, and to forgive sin. What God the Father has so Jesus has also. Jesus remains in the love of the Father and does the Father’s commandments. As the Father loves him so much, Jesus also loves him. Jesus says “The Father is in me and I am in the Father “and so “the world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded me” (Jn 14:10, 31). There is communion – mutual indwelling in word and action here and yet the distinction among them is preserved.
Because of the interchange love between him and the Father, Jesus expressed his love also to the disciples. In his life, death and resurrection, Jesus shows to the disciples how he loves them to the fulness. He calls them, he reveals God’s word and deeds, he gives them living water and bread and he forgives their sins. More than that, at the last Supper and Passover Jesus shows his love by washing their feet and sacrificing himself to the point of death. Additionally, he dignifies and raises their status by calling them as his friends but not as servant. At this point, Jesus expresses his humanity and intimacy with them. He lows down himself and makes himself as a friend for them. It is a change of paradigm. If before the disciples treated him and perceived God as king who can coerce and manipulate them and they must be afraid of, now Jesus presents to them that God is a friend that you can talk and share with. Friendship is a way of making disciples.
Love is an act of going or moving out from oneself to reach others - mission. God the Father has loved Jesus and so Jesus did also to the Father and to extent it to his disciples. Jesus invites his disciples to remain in his love by keeping his commandment – love one another. Jesus wants that the disciples also participate and experience the mutual indwelling between him and the disciples. The purpose of this mutual indwelling through friendship and discipleship is so that they can experience a complete joy and salvation and they can be fruitful in doing mission.
Thus, through the readings of today, we are invited to have mutual indwelling with Jesus Christ by remaining in our faith (in his love) and keeping on doing God’s commandments. Since God always loves us, let us love one another in our mission. We should evaluate how far our mutual indwelling happens in our family and community. This mutual indwelling can be sharing experience, idea, plan, project etc. Sometimes we didn’t experience the complete joy of our faith in him and didn’t performed the same deed that he has done, because we haven’t shared the same mind and deeds with him. As Jesus says, “if you believe in [mutual indwelling] me, then you can perform the same works as I do myself” (Jn 14:12). Yes, we have faith in him and our faith is a journey of mutual indwelling in him, so we should ask him to strengthen us that we can increase our faith by making use of our sacraments especially sacrament of eucharist where we can physically and spiritually be united with him. Amen.
Fr Erik Tjeunfin, sx
Each one of us has a love story which we experienced it in our family, friendships, congregation, mission etc. This love story enkindled and made us to remain to live our live despite of all the challenges that we encountered. The readings of this Sunday tell us on how a circle of love between God the Father, Jesus Christ and His disciples. This interpersonal love entails com-mission. In the gospel of today, Jesus says “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you….I commissioned you to go out and to bear fruit that will last” (Jn 15:9,16).
One of the great things in our doctrinal belief is that God is love. God the Father has so much loved his Son, Jesus Christ that He sent and gave everything to him (cf Jn 3:35). “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Mat 3:17). Because of love God the Father gave out his divine attributes to Jesus Christ to create and save the world, to give life, to judge, and to forgive sin. What God the Father has so Jesus has also. Jesus remains in the love of the Father and does the Father’s commandments. As the Father loves him so much, Jesus also loves him. Jesus says “The Father is in me and I am in the Father “and so “the world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded me” (Jn 14:10, 31). There is communion – mutual indwelling in word and action here and yet the distinction among them is preserved.
Because of the interchange love between him and the Father, Jesus expressed his love also to the disciples. In his life, death and resurrection, Jesus shows to the disciples how he loves them to the fulness. He calls them, he reveals God’s word and deeds, he gives them living water and bread and he forgives their sins. More than that, at the last Supper and Passover Jesus shows his love by washing their feet and sacrificing himself to the point of death. Additionally, he dignifies and raises their status by calling them as his friends but not as servant. At this point, Jesus expresses his humanity and intimacy with them. He lows down himself and makes himself as a friend for them. It is a change of paradigm. If before the disciples treated him and perceived God as king who can coerce and manipulate them and they must be afraid of, now Jesus presents to them that God is a friend that you can talk and share with. Friendship is a way of making disciples.
Love is an act of going or moving out from oneself to reach others - mission. God the Father has loved Jesus and so Jesus did also to the Father and to extent it to his disciples. Jesus invites his disciples to remain in his love by keeping his commandment – love one another. Jesus wants that the disciples also participate and experience the mutual indwelling between him and the disciples. The purpose of this mutual indwelling through friendship and discipleship is so that they can experience a complete joy and salvation and they can be fruitful in doing mission.
Thus, through the readings of today, we are invited to have mutual indwelling with Jesus Christ by remaining in our faith (in his love) and keeping on doing God’s commandments. Since God always loves us, let us love one another in our mission. We should evaluate how far our mutual indwelling happens in our family and community. This mutual indwelling can be sharing experience, idea, plan, project etc. Sometimes we didn’t experience the complete joy of our faith in him and didn’t performed the same deed that he has done, because we haven’t shared the same mind and deeds with him. As Jesus says, “if you believe in [mutual indwelling] me, then you can perform the same works as I do myself” (Jn 14:12). Yes, we have faith in him and our faith is a journey of mutual indwelling in him, so we should ask him to strengthen us that we can increase our faith by making use of our sacraments especially sacrament of eucharist where we can physically and spiritually be united with him. Amen.
Fr Erik Tjeunfin, sx