The Epistle today leads us to hear an echo of the story of Abraham’s
offering of Isaac at the dawn of salvation history. Because Abraham obeyed
God’s command and did not withhold his only beloved son, God promised that
Abraham’s descendants, the children of Israel, would be the source of blessing
for all nations (Genesis 22:16-18).
We see that
promise coming to fulfillment in the first reading. God pours out his
Spirit upon the Gentiles, the non-Israelites, as they listen to Peter’s preaching. Notice they receive the same gifts received by the devout
Jews who heard Peter’s preaching at Pentecost—the Spirit comes to rest upon
them and they speak in tongues, glorifying God (Acts 2:5-11).
In his love
today, God reveals that salvation embraces the house of Israel and peoples
of all nations. Not by circumcision or blood relation to Abraham, but by faith
in the Word of Christ, sealed in the sacrament of baptism. All peoples are to be
made children of Abraham, heirs to God’s covenants of promise (Galatians 3:7-9;
Ephesians 2:12).
In the
Church, each of us has been begotten by the love of God. The readings for this sixth Sunday of Easter (Mother's Day) reveal that this divine gift brings with it a command and a duty. We are
to love one another as we have been loved. We are to lay down our lives in
giving ourselves to server others so that they too may find friendship with Christ, and
new life through Him.
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| The Blessed Virgin of Pochaev |
On this Mother’s Day, the Gospel tells us about the love of God for all
people and then commands us to mirror
that love to others. God’s primary identity, St. John reminds us, is that of
love. At their very best, then, human
relationships are to imitate that love, mirroring the relationship between God
and humanity.
Certainly a mother’s love for her children does that. In fact, in our
Blessed Mother, Mary whom with the universal Church we celebrate in a special
way this month of May, we have literally the perfect human example of
self-giving love.
Just as the love of Christ dwells within those who believe, so the love
of mothers remains with their children who first dwelt within them — an inner
dwelling during those first nine months of life, and then a dwelling together
and nurturing for the next 15 - 16 years, or however long the child remains at
home.
Mothers who have mothered for 20 or 30 years, or even 70 years, know
that a mother’s job is never done, and their love remains long after a child
has left home, pursued his or her vocation, perhaps married and begun a family. Just as God’s love never ends, a mother’s
love for her children is ontological, i.e. of her very being. From the moment of
conception when a woman becomes a mother, no matter what happens to the child
or to her, the woman is a mother and nothing in heaven or earth can alter that
reality.
God compares those two loves in the words of the Prophet Isaiah: “Can a mother forget her child? Can she feel
no love for the child she has
born? [but] Even if these forget,I, [the Lord God] will not forget you”
(Is. 49:15).
The love of God and of a mother is not a saccharine sentiment nor a
feeling, nor a romantic notion. Sometimes it is a fierce love. Often, if not
always, it means self-sacrifice. In the case of God, in Christ, even death.
In light of God’s self-giving love, consider how often mothers
relinquish their own desires, their time, their comfort, even their careers,
and their financial security to bring children into the world and to love and
nurture their children.
When we think of that divine love mirrored by mothers, we likely can’t
help but think of the mothers in our own lives — mothers, grandmothers, and
godmothers. How have they impacted us? Were they the first to teach us to pray?
Did we always consult Mum before making a really important decision? Did we
lean on our Mother during the most difficult time in our lives?
Whether they are across town, or far away, or have gone home to the
Lord, they remain in our hearts and prayers, and we are still their sons and
daughters. Along with our blessed mother, Mary, our Mum is our mother for
eternity.
On this Mother’s Day, we recognize all mothers for the love that they
have shown. Those who have been cooperators with God in bringing life into the
world, those who have been spiritually fruitful in teaching the faith and witnessing
to it in their lives, and also those who have gone before us who continue to
intercede for us. We thank
all mothers for the love they have shown in imitation of God’s sacrificial
love for us.
Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48; 1 John 4:7-10; John
15:9-17
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