May 6, 2018
6th Sunday of Easter
John 15:9-17

My friends, we cannot understand Easter unless we see the gift of the Spirit as its great conclusion, the consequence of the resurrection. We are nearing the feast of the Spirit, that joyful celebration, when the point of all that has been said and done by Jesus becomes clear. The heart of our faith is a relationship that Jesus speaks again in next week’s Gospel. Sometimes in our ego-centered ways, we begin to think that the relationship is one to be found among ourselves. We have to get past that to realize that what the Spirit brings, and what Jesus speaks of, is in a loving relationship with one another and God. That is the friendship he speaks of and that the Spirit brings. It is because of that relationship loving one another begins to be transformed and lifted up from self-seeking to of self-sacrifice. What Jesus offers, what the church sustains first of all, is a friendship with God. A relationship like the one, which Jesus enjoyed, a relationship that gave Him life, grace and divine favor. It is a most extraordinary gift, in this relationship flows all the other relationships of our lives. However, we must get the order right. First friendship with God, then loving relationships with others that are nurturing, rich, blessed, and holy.

Fr. Tom Boyer