John 14:15-21

Jesus said to his disciples: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, aand he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows him. But you know him, because he remains in you, and will be with you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in the Father and you are in me and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”

There is a great deal to reflect on in this Gospel for the Sixth Sunday of Easter.

First, there is Jesus’ admonition, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” It seems to me that many in the Church today regard their presence at Sunday worship and their participation in the Church almost as a favor they are doing for the Church. They come to Mass every Sunday, or many Sundays, and maybe contribute some to the support of the Church in some way, shape, or form (usually financial). And they consider that the Church should be grateful for such. And, of course, the Church is grateful for the participation and support of all who provide such. But let’s not fool ourselves into thinking we are doing the Church any great favor by showing up. No. Rather, the Church is the institution founded by Christ to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ and to offer the sacraments to those who embrace that good news, all for the sake of our salvation. How is it, then, that so many think they can do without the Church, or could do without the Church should the Church upset them in some way? It’s as if people are thinking, “Well, here I am. Now don’t say or do anything that’s gonna make me mad, or I’ll be happy to leave you without so much as a good-bye.” Given that there are so many things today that easily upset people, what is the Church to do? I’ll tell you what the Church is to do. The Church is to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ boldy and with passion. To speak the truth, regardless of who it upsets. This doesn’t mean foolishly going out of one’s way to upset people, making one’s self a “martyr for the truth!” But it does mean not cowering in the face of pressure to say only those things with which people agree, or surrendering to ever preach on controversial issues, especially moral issues. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” This implies at least two things: first, that Jesus has commandments He expects people to keep and: second, that keeping His commandments is a sign of love for Him, a way we manifest our love for Jesus.

What that means, at the very least, is that we can’t just act the way we want to, or feel like acting, and claim that we love Jesus. What are Jesus’ commandments? A good place to start to find out is the Gospel According to Matthew, especially the Sermon on the Mount in chapters 5-7, and the Eschatological Sermon in chapters 24-25. There is a whole series of statements of Jesus along the pattern of, “You have heard it said … but I say to you …” In these statements Jesus first quotes the Law of Moses. Then He changes the Law by raising the bar of moral behavior. (BTW, this is one of the ways Jesus claimed to be God; for who can change the Law of Moses given to him by God except God Himself?). For instance, Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raqa,’ will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna.” “Raqa” was term of abuse in Jesus’ day, an insult, such as calling a man an imbecile. Gehenna refers to the Valley of Hinnom, the center of a cult during the monarchy that practiced child sacrifice. The point is, Jesus is raising the bar on our moral activity. It used to be that we could not kill, or otherwise we will be liable to judgment. But Jesus says, whoever is angry at another to the point of insulting him will be judged. Again, there is an entire series of these statements of Jesus where He expects more of us morally than what the Law of Moses expected.

In Matthew 24-25, there is the Eschatological Sermon, where Jesus prepares us for the end times, what to expect and how to act. In chapter 25, there is the famous scene of judgment by the king (Jesus) who judges between the sheep and the goats. The sheep are those who treated others as they would Jesus by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, caring for the ill, and visiting those in prison. These are judged righteous for their actions. Then the king judges the goats, those who did not treat others as they would treat Jesus. They refused to offer food, drink, clothing, shelter, or company to those in need. They will be judged unrighteous and condemned. It is clear that following or not following Jesus’ commandments are grounds for determining our eternal fate: being saved or being damned. The bottom line is, Jesus established a set of expectations for His followers. He also said that most will not follow Him, that most will choose the crooked and wide road rather than the straight and narrow road. This gives the lie to the claim that “Jesus loves me, and He is okay with my living my life anyway I want to.”

Contemporary society, and many in the contemporary Church, don’t like the image of Jesus as Judge. We prefer to image of Jesus who loves everyone, except the mean people who judge my lifestyle, and is gentle and mild. What does He have to judge, after all? Since it doesn’t matter what I believe, where I go to church (or if I go), what sort of life I live, what sort of relationships I enter into, what I do with my time, what I do with my money, or what I do with my talents, … none of this matters because Jesus loves me and He understands me, and He would never judge me as one who rejects Him, even if I barely think about Him over the course of the years. I suspect there will be many who are surprised to learn, too often too late, that Jesus has commandments and expects us to follow them. Pray for the strength to follow Jesus, to follow Him sincerely and lovingly, which means to keep His commandments.

Be Christ for all. Bring Christ to all. See Christ in all.