May 12, 2024
7th Sunday of Easter
Loving As God Loves
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another.
1 John 4:11
St. John’s logic is simple: If God loves us so much that he was willing to give up his own Son for the chance at reconciling us to himself, how can we then refuse to extend that same love and mercy to others? It would be the height of hypocrisy for me to accept the salvation won for us on the Cross but refuse to forgive those who have wronged me or fail to help those in need.
Indeed, refusing to forgive others, to see Christ in the poor, to act as disciples, is tantamount to refusing God’s offer of love and mercy. In the Lord’s Prayer, we ask God to “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us.” Our own salvation is sealed, as it were, by our willingness to love others.
Lord, give me today an open and loving heart.
Acts 1:15-17, 20a, 20c-26 • Psalm 103:1-2, 11-12, 19-20 • 1 John 4:11-16 • John 17:11b-19