4 days ago

Sixth Sunday of Easter
May 9, 2021

John 15: 9-17
As God has loved me, so I have loved you;
abide in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love,
just as I have kept God’s commandments and abide in God’s love.
I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing;
but I have called you friends,
because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from God.
You did not choose me but I chose you.
And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last,
so that the Creator will give you whatever you ask in my name.
I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

Prayer
God, Source of Love,
Christ, Embodiment of Love,
Spirit, who unites us in Love,
you call us friends,
and in your sure, strong voice,
you command us to love one another.

Your call to love is not:
a dreamy euphoria,
a superficial emotion,
a mere tolerance,
a naïve flight of fancy.
Your call is to a powerful, resilient, passionate love, which
demands work and discipline,
envisions accompaniment and solidarity,
requires clear-eyed acknowledgement,
and forceful response,
to the realities of this world.

So in the face of
the brokenness of socio-pollical polarities,
the exclusion of injustice and colonial history,
the oppression of empire and poverty and racism,
guide us to love the world in imaginative and creative and sustainable ways.

In the midst of
the alienation of anxiety and isolation,
the challenge of communities in conflict,
the stress in many relationships,
lead us to a love that encourages,
hospitality and welcome,
care and concern,
respect and dignity.

In this work,
may we abide in your love.
In this discipleship,
may your joy be in us.
In this living,
may your abundance bear fruit. … See MoreSee Less