Daily Retreat 05/18/06

2006 May 18 Thu: Easter Weekday/ John I, pp, mt

Acts 15: 7-21/ Ps 95(96): 1-2a. 2b-3. 10/ Jn 15: 9-11

From today’s readings: "By faith, He purified their hearts.... Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.... 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."

Love and Commandments

St. John is well known as the evangelist who best stressed the dimension of divine love, but it’s essential to also note that, in both his Gospel and his letters, the love of God is emphatically connected with the fulfillment of His commandments.

There’s a tendency to resent any commandment from another as a restriction and an imposition on our freedom, but as St. John explains elsewhere, God’s commandments aren’t burdensome (cf. 1 John 5:3). Quite the contrary - since God is our loving Creator, He knows and wants what is best for us, and so His commandments give clear direction for us to likewise choose what is best for us.

As Jesus insists, only by keeping the divine commandments, can we remain in God’s love. And the commandments and teachings of Christ, far from being a bitter burden, show us the very source of happiness, for as Jesus explained "I have told you this so that My joy might be in you, and your joy might be complete!"