Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year B), May 17, 2009
BCP: Acts 11:19-30 or Isaiah 45:11-13, 18-19; Psalm 33 or 33:1-8, 18-22; 1 John 4:7-21 or Acts 11:19-30; John 15:9-17
RCL: Acts 10:44-48; Psalm 98; 1 John 5:1-6; John 15:9-17
Love and a willingness to sacrifice g hand in hand. Some years ago a mother claimed that a man stole her car and took her little children at gunpoint. She seemed to be distraught over what happened to her kids, but the story didn’t add up. It turned out that the real situation was quite different from her version of the truth.
What loving mother would let a threatening stranger take her kids without protest? What loving mother would remain passive in the face of a kidnapper taking her children? Her response is, “Over my dead body!”
Real love accepts sacrifices. People who love will not always put themselves first. Sometimes love draws us out of the places we feel most comfortable. Sometimes love turns things upside down. Sometimes love will even get us killed.
That’s what happened to our Lord. Again and again, love reveals to us that we need more than just ourselves. In love, we discover that our true life has everything to do with reaching beyond ourselves to focus on others.
Jesus says, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). That’s what he did. He lived perfect love, but it was anything but comfortable or easy. His love meant sacrificing his life for others. He offered himself every day through his preaching and teaching and ministry for those who needed him. Ultimately, it meant laying down his life for all of us on the cross.
Jesus shows us how to live his way, and that’s the way of the cross. We can share his sacrifice and love on a daily basis. Living his way is free, available to us all, but very expensive. We can find the heart to sacrifice the things that have been cluttering the center of our attention — our agendas, our selfish distractions, our anxious self-concern.
As we give ourselves generously and sacrificially, we can know God’s love in our own lives. We can discover our true focus beyond ourselves, in Jesus, giving everything in love.
Look It Up
See Hymn 448, “O love, how deep, how broad, how high.” How does this text express the sacrificial love of Jesus?
Think About It
When has love motivated you to make a sacrifice? How did this sacrifice express your love for God and for others? When have others made loving sacrifices for you?
Next Sunday
Seventh Sunday of Easter (Year B), May 24, 2009
BCP: Acts 1:15-26 or Exod. 28:1-4, 9-10, 29-30; Psalm 68:1-20 or 47; 1 John 5:9-15 or Acts 1:15-26; John 17:11b-19
RCL: Acts 1:15-17, 21-26; Psalm 1; 1 John 5:9-13; John 17:6-19
