Apr 30, 2024 Written by 
Art'working

6th Easter Sunday

6th Easter Sunday

(Jn 15:9-17)

John 15:12 This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

John 15:13 No one has greater love than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.

John 15:14 You are my friends, if you do what I command you.

John 15:15 I no longer call you servants, because the servant does not know what his master does; but I have called you friends, because everything I have heard from the Father I have made known to you.

John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and have appointed you that ye should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide; that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may grant it unto you.

John 15:17 This I command you: love one another.

 

"This is my commandment: that you love one another, as I have loved you." V. 12 opens in an imperious and authoritative manner, which says all the urgency of such a command, but which at the same time also serves as a spiritual legacy, which Jesus leaves to his own: 'This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you'. It is a commandment aimed at inculcating mutual love within community relations; a love from which one cannot disregard if one wants to "abide in his love" (v. 10) and thus be in communion of life with Jesus and the Father, thus avoiding becoming branches that the Father cuts off. A communion of life that must be reflected in the mutual relationships between believers.

V. 13 decrees the dimensions and quality of this love, which goes far beyond all sentimentality. A gift that takes place through the modality of sacrifice and that the expressions 'no one' and 'greater' make exclusive, unique and superlative, since it is a gift that drives the one who loves to offer all of himself up to the extreme act of life. But at the same time, that "no one" assigns to this kind of sacrificial love a universal valence, in which all are called to configure themselves, reparameterizing their living on that "as I have loved you".

This love has its benchmark of comparison in the crucified Jesus, who made of his life a gift of love for others. Significant here is the use of the noun 'psyche' to indicate life. According to the anthropology of the ancients, man is a composite of spirit and flesh, two irreconcilable elements, but held together by the 'psyche', which thus becomes the expression of the wholeness and totality of the human being. The sacrificial offering of the 'psyche' defines the gift as total, admitting no conditions or reservations. This was the gift that Jesus made of himself for his own; this is the love that his own must let shine through in their intercommunal relationships.

As well as defining the nature of this love, v. 13 also specifies its object: "friends". The Greek word 'phílon' predominantly means dear, beloved, beloved, defining the nature of the friend as one who enters into the intimacy of the giver of friendship. However, these human aspects of friendship are wholly insufficient to explain a relationship that actually implies the total gift of life, which is sacrificed for the friend. Here then is the further passage that gives the friend a new meaning: "You are my friends if you do what I command you" (v. 14).

The friend, then, is he who 'does' what he is commanded. Friend, therefore, is the one who conforms his life to the one who offers his friendship. And finally, v. 15, if on the one hand further qualifies the figure of this friend, who has now lost all his human connotations to take on exquisitely divine aspects, on the other hand it explains the dynamic that has produced the passage from a state of servitude to one of friendship: "I no longer call you servants, for the servant does not know what his lord does; but I have called you friends, because everything I have heard from the Father I have made known to you". Here we are faced with a fundamental passage that ontologically modifies the disciple's own being, defined as "friend" and thus somehow associated with the person of Jesus and his destiny.

True knowledge of God is not acquired by study. By study we can acquire what others have thought and written about God. But it is their knowledge of God, not ours. Instead, by keeping the commandments we become friends of Jesus Christ. Having become friends of Christ, we are no longer servants. No longer being servants, Jesus opens his heart to us, reveals the mystery of the Father. In friendship Jesus converses with us and our minds are enlightened with the mystery of God and man. Friendship with Jesus is the true way to know God.

V.15 is divided into two parts: the first defines the nature of the servant as one who follows his master, but does not participate in his life: the servant does not know what his master does. The condition of servant, in fact, defines the initial position of the disciple, such for following, but who does not yet have access to the master's knowledge. Before arriving at such knowledge, the disciple had to complete a long apprenticeship involving obedience, subjection and service to his master, with whom he lived in order to learn, and then be able to perpetuate his teaching. This was the initial position of Jesus' disciples, who, having come to the end of their Master's earthly mission, had access to his knowledge.

The second part of v. 15 marks the substantial transition from the status of servants to that of friends, since now the disciples have been made sharers in the revealed mystery. There is a real constitution that elevates the disciples from the rank of servants to that of friends, which affects them on an ontological level, that is, the state of being of the disciples, which determines a relational passage with Jesus. There is thus a spiritual evolution, which is a prelude to v. 16 where it will be said that the disciples have been "chosen and constituted", laying the foundation for the apostolate, that is, the continuation of Jesus' mission.

Usually in antiquity it was the disciple who chose his master. They chose him according to their hopes, desires, expectations and also according to the talents they thought they possessed. With Jesus everything is reversed. It is the Master who chooses the disciples. What does this truth imply? That it is no longer the expectations, hopes, desires of the disciple that are to be realised. It is not the disciple's aspirations that are to be fulfilled, but those of the Master. What are the Master's aspirations? Let his disciples go and bear much fruit. What is the fruit they are to bear? That of leading many men to Christ Jesus.  Fruit that remains for ever is only the saved soul. When the disciple of Jesus goes and produces fruit that remains for ever, all that he asks of the Father in his name, the Father grants him. We fulfil the desires and expectations of Jesus, the Father fulfils the desires and expectations of the disciple of Jesus. We work for Jesus, the Father works for all those who work for Jesus.  

 

 Argentino Quintavalle, author of the books 

- Revelation - exegetical commentary 

- The Apostle Paul and the Judaizers - Law or Gospel?

Jesus Christ true God and true Man in the Trinitarian mystery

Jesus' prophetic discourse (Matthew 24-25)

All generations will call me blessed

 Catholics and Protestants compared - In defence of the faith

 

(Buyable on Amazon)

                                                                          

  

70 Last modified on Tuesday, 30 April 2024 00:10
Rate this item
(1 Vote)
don Giuseppe Nespeca

Giuseppe Nespeca è architetto e sacerdote. Cultore della Sacra scrittura è autore della raccolta "Due Fuochi due Vie - Religione e Fede, Vangeli e Tao"; coautore del libro "Dialogo e Solstizio".

Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Latest from don Giuseppe Nespeca

Previous
« 5th Easter Sunday
Next
Ascension of the Lord B »
back to top
For the prodigious and instantaneous healing of the paralytic, the apostle St. Matthew is more sober than the other synoptics, St. Mark and St. Luke. These add broader details, including that of the opening of the roof in the environment where Jesus was, to lower the sick man with his lettuce, given the huge crowd that crowded at the entrance. Evident is the hope of the pitiful companions: they almost want to force Jesus to take care of the unexpected guest and to begin a dialogue with him (Pope Paul VI)
Per la prodigiosa ed istantanea guarigione del paralitico, l’apostolo San Matteo è più sobrio degli altri sinottici, San Marco e San Luca. Questi aggiungono più ampi particolari, tra cui quello dell’avvenuta apertura del tetto nell’ambiente ove si trovava Gesù, per calarvi l’infermo col suo lettuccio, data l’enorme folla che faceva ressa all’entrata. Evidente è la speranza dei pietosi accompagnatori: essi vogliono quasi obbligare Gesù ad occuparsi dell’inatteso ospite e ad iniziare un dialogo con lui (Papa Paolo VI)
The invitation given to Thomas is valid for us as well. We, where do we seek the Risen One? In some special event, in some spectacular or amazing religious manifestation, only in our emotions and feelings? [Pope Francis]
L’invito fatto a Tommaso è valido anche per noi. Noi, dove cerchiamo il Risorto? In qualche evento speciale, in qualche manifestazione religiosa spettacolare o eclatante, unicamente nelle nostre emozioni e sensazioni? [Papa Francesco]
His slumber causes us to wake up. Because to be disciples of Jesus, it is not enough to believe God is there, that he exists, but we must put ourselves out there with him; we must also raise our voice with him. Hear this: we must cry out to him. Prayer is often a cry: “Lord, save me!” (Pope Francis)
Il suo sonno provoca noi a svegliarci. Perché, per essere discepoli di Gesù, non basta credere che Dio c’è, che esiste, ma bisogna mettersi in gioco con Lui, bisogna anche alzare la voce con Lui. Sentite questo: bisogna gridare a Lui. La preghiera, tante volte, è un grido: “Signore, salvami!” (Papa Francesco)
Evangelical poverty - it’s appropriate to clarify - does not entail contempt for earthly goods, made available by God to man for his life and for his collaboration in the design of creation (Pope John Paul II)
La povertà evangelica – è opportuno chiarirlo – non comporta disprezzo per i beni terreni, messi da Dio a disposizione dell’uomo per la sua vita e per la sua collaborazione al disegno della creazione (Papa Giovanni Paolo II)
St Jerome commented on these words, underlining Jesus’ saving power: “Little girl, stand up for my sake, not for your own merit but for my grace. Therefore get up for me: being healed does not depend on your own virtues (Pope Benedict)
San Girolamo commenta queste parole, sottolineando la potenza salvifica di Gesù: «Fanciulla, alzati per me: non per merito tuo, ma per la mia grazia. Alzati dunque per me: il fatto di essere guarita non è dipeso dalle tue virtù» (Papa Benedetto)
May we obtain this gift [the full unity of all believers in Christ] through the Apostles Peter and Paul, who are remembered by the Church of Rome on this day that commemorates their martyrdom and therefore their birth to life in God. For the sake of the Gospel they accepted suffering and death, and became sharers in the Lord's Resurrection […] Today the Church again proclaims their faith. It is our faith (Pope John Paul II)

duevie.art

don Giuseppe Nespeca

Tel. 333-1329741


Disclaimer

Questo blog non rappresenta una testata giornalistica in quanto viene aggiornato senza alcuna periodicità. Non può pertanto considerarsi un prodotto editoriale ai sensi della legge N°62 del 07/03/2001.
Le immagini sono tratte da internet, ma se il loro uso violasse diritti d'autore, lo si comunichi all'autore del blog che provvederà alla loro pronta rimozione.
L'autore dichiara di non essere responsabile dei commenti lasciati nei post. Eventuali commenti dei lettori, lesivi dell'immagine o dell'onorabilità di persone terze, il cui contenuto fosse ritenuto non idoneo alla pubblicazione verranno insindacabilmente rimossi.