Gospel
John 15:9-11
Jesus said to his disciples:
“As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.
“I have told you this so that
my joy might be in you and
your joy might be complete.”
Reflection
As I read this Gospel reading, the sentence that stood our to me was, “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.” Jesus is speaking truth about love, and this sentence goes against the thinking that God’s love is unconditional.
I recently had a conversation with a friend and he is very grounded in the fact that God loves us. He was telling everyone around us how much God loves us. He said, "no matter what you do, nothing can separate you from the love of God!"
I have heard this in the Bible before, I was enamored with all he was saying. I looked it up and sure enough it was from Romans 8:38-39. He continued with, "God's love is the strongest and most pure love, it is unconditional. He will always be there for you.”
So, I have learned that we should listen and ask questions about all that we learn. We should be learning everyday, whether it is from someone we talk with or from a book or article we read. Everything my friend said seemed spot on! I didn't even think twice about questioning what he said in that moment. However, as the day went on, I was more and more convinced that God’s love is not unconditional.
When I read this short Gospel, I noticed the word “If”. When someone says “if”, that implies that there is a condition. Why does Jesus say, "if"? "If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love.” This is definitely a condition to remaining in God’s love. Whenever we sin, we go against the commandments of God, we separate ourselves from God’s love. Therefore, we cannot remain in His love. This is a condition, and the implication of which means that God's love is not unconditional.
There are so many teachings out in the world on the Bible and on God's love. Some of these teachings contradict each other. So, how do we know who to believe?
Today we celebrate the Memorial of St. Athanasius. He fought against the teachings of the Arian movement. Arians believed that Jesus was only a created being and not divine, therefore, there was no Holy Trinity. St. Athanasius composed many writings that opposed every aspect of Arianism. Praise God for the Saints who remained in the love of Christ and allowed the Holy Spirit to inspire their minds to think critically. These are the teachings we can go to when in doubt.
We are also called to keep God's commandments and remain in His love. God really does love us, but we will not benefit from this love without fulfilling the conditions He has given us.
Please pray with me the Prayer for Priests, and ask the Lord to help our priests to receive the graces needed to follow the commandments so they can remain in His love and teach the Truth.
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