Readings:
• Acts 4:32-35
• Ps 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24
• 1 Jn 5:1-6
• Jn 20:19-31
What is love without faith and commitment? A lie.
And it’s a popular lie, one sprouting wildly from the thin soil of undisciplined passions, feeding on the fast food of popular culture, which so often presents love as a matter of emotions and circumstances. These feelings are gauged on a scale of faux authenticity, with the highest order of love being that representing one’s selfish choice to be “true to himself.”
For example, a famous music star explained to Oprah a few years ago that he had to leave his first wife and marry his second wife because he couldn’t live “a lie”. What he meant, as he explained further, was that because he was “in love” with the second woman, so it couldn’t be right to be stuck in his first marriage.
The same approach is taken by many Catholics when it comes to certain Church teachings, most having to do with sexual morality, marriage, or life issues. “I love being Catholic,” seems to be their unspoken approach, “but I’m not always so keen on living or loving what the Church teaches.” For some people, being a Catholic is a birthright, not a call to discipleship; it becomes a matter of status, not one of taking a stand.
Today’s Gospel and Epistle were both written by St. John, the disciple “whom Jesus loved” (Jn 13:23), the lone apostle at the Crucifixion (Jn 19:25-27) who decades later spent his final years exiled on the rocky island of Patmos (Rev. 1:9). Both readings make the vital connection between faith, love, and obedience. Together, they show that the true disciple of Jesus is faithful and obedient because of his love for the Lord, while his love for Christ is rooted in a humble gratitude for the mercy and grace granted by the Holy Spirit.
Words alone do not demonstrate one’s love for God: “In this way, we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments.” The strength and ability to obey the commandments of God come from the Holy Spirit and the gift of faith. Yes, we must accept it. And, yes, we must put it into practice. But all is grace, even while our freely chosen actions increase or corrode that divine gift.
The gift of divine sonship is ours through Jesus Christ and “through water and blood,” that is, through baptism and the sacrificial death on the Cross. Just as the Spirit moved over the face of the waters before creation (Gen 1:2), he moves over the waters of baptism, from which emerges the face of a new creation in Christ (cf. 2 Cor 5:17).
“The Son of God came not by water only, in order to cleanse us from our sins,” wrote St. Bede, “but also with the blood of his passion, by which he consecrates the sacrament of our baptism, giving his blood for us, redeeming us by his suffering and nourishing us with his sacraments so that we might be made fit for salvation.”
We are begotten by God through baptism, and we are nourished, as children of God, by the Eucharistic sacrifice. And all of this happens within the mystery of the Church, which “received the faith from the apostles and their disciples” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 173). As today’s Gospel reading reminds us, the Church is apostolic not because the apostles were perfect, but because they believed, they were chosen, they were ordained, and they were granted authority by the risen Lord.
Further, the founding and growth of the Church and the Kingdom are “symbolized by the blood and water which flowed from the open side of a crucified Jesus …” (Lumen Gentium, 3). Jesus loved the Church so much, he died for her; the New Adam loved his Bride so much, he died to bring her to life. Because when it comes to love, faith, and commitment, we are never asked to do something our Savior hasn’t already done perfectly—for us.
(This “Opening the Word” column originally appeared in the April 19, 2009, edition of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper.)
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Blessed Divine Mercy Sunday and Feast of Mercy !
https://www.universalis.com/20210411/today.htm Some more good meditations on responsibility as love and the related respect for the body as well , how the struggle that St.Thomas was allowed to undergo was likely in that realm . He, who is known as The Twin ,? from his ardent desire to be like a twin to The Lord , desiring to do His Will always , ? allowed that trial , in the mystery of the Divine Will as mercy , since he was destined to go where in reigns the darkness of errors through the lie of reincarnation .
May The Spirit bless us all too , to elicit in us the marvelous response that St.Thomas was blessed with in touching the Fatherly Heart -‘ My Lord and my God ‘.
Love and glory to You my Lord with all and in all !
Blind obedience to anyone or anything is not a virtue to be celebrated or admired. It is a sign of weakness. Show me a man who is obedient and I will show you a man incapable of thinking for himself.
Obedience comes from the Latin for listening intently, which is something you do with your mind, not blindly or thoughtlessly.
True obedience is listening intently to God, whether that is in prayer, in the movement of the Holy Spirit, by logical deduction from the moral principles taught by the Church and by natural law, or in the commands or suggestions of our superiors. That requires some discernment, given that we can be deceived in any of those. It requires an active mind, yearning for truth and working to find it so that God’s will can be done.
One might call the Protestant “plain meaning” interpretation of the Scripture a good example of blind obedience.
Possibly the best example of non-blind obedience is Our Lady at the Annunciation. Given the tradition that she was vowed to virginity, she had good reason to be asking the angel how she was going to give birth to the Savior. And having verified that there was no contradiction between becoming pregnant and keeping her vow (clearly God’s will), she accepted. She was thinking, and her thinking was independent of the mildly terrifying angel. But her sight was set on God’s will, and not on what the cost would be to herself.
Many Saints have encountered similar problems, with demons showing up as angels, Saints, or Our Lord, so the Saints had to reject their teaching and commands. Especially now, normal Catholics have to deal with Catholic clerics teaching falsehood, or commanding or allowing evil. Blind obedience isn’t mere weakness, it’s a guarantee that we will wind up disobeying God. We are meant to worship God with all our minds, as well as all our strength, so the brain needs to be engaged.
Carl Olson is correct on this point. Karl Olsen is not.
For one, Karl, in just two sentences, confuses “blind obedience” with “obedience”. Sloppy. It goes downhill from there.
Karl,
Show me a man who is DISobedient to the Word and His words and I will show you a man incapable of thinking for himself or anyone else.
An insightful and instructive comment, dear Amanda, on Carl’s excellent article.
Always in the grace & mercy of King Jesus Christ; love & blessings from marty
A minor point for Carl:
The ekklēsia is never explicitly called “the bride of Christ” in the New Testament but The New Jerusalem is – a city most perfect, whose architect and builder is God. Again & again we of The Church are referred to as parts of The Body of Christ, who is our Head, & who is The Bridegroom. It is as such that we become married to, and one with, The New Jerusalem, that is Christ’s Spotless Eternal Bride. It is ONLY as part of the perfection of Jesus Christ that we could be married to the divine perfection of The New Jerusalem at The Marriage Feast of The Lamb. An event to be longed for with all of our heart, soul, & mind, and a rock-solid certainty for those who are found in Christ.
Well said, Carl.
Proverbs 23:23 (ESV)
23 Buy truth, and do not sell it…
There is a price to pay in order to know the truth, and the Apostles paid it. They knew Jesus was God and that He rose from the dead. However, this verse teaches that hardwon truth will be continually bargained for in the life of its possessor. There will be an ongoing price to pay to keep the truth you’ve already attained. Throughout their lifetimes, they paid the ultimate price to stand by the truth of the resurrection. Will we? I think we’re going to find out pretty soon.
Blind obedience will make you fall; obedience for love of Christ will make you see the light of Christ and His truth.
A crucially important perspective, dear Edith Wohldmann. Thank you.
Thinking about the spectrum of *Obedience Disobedience*: it runs from mindless fanaticism at one end to rebellious self-indulgence at the other end. Clearly, the equivocating mid-range is the norm that can stabilize a society.
Yet, as you say, in loving Jesus, and having the Mind of Christ, we Catholics live by a different rule. Whatever He showed us, whatever He commanded, THAT is our rule of life, even though considered to be weird in the eyes of the world.
For example, see John 14:23b – 24.
“If you love Me, you will keep My word, and My Father will love you, and We shall come to you and make Our home with you. Those who do not love Me do not keep My words. And My Word is not My Own; it is The Word of The One who sent Me.”
Yesterday, I was glorifying God for, in an authentic Sunday sermon, our priest firmly instructed us that obedience to Christ is a non-negotiable essential of Catholic life.
The resultant ‘chain-reaction’ also needs to be taught: If we keep doing our level best to understand & obey Christ (& keep on helping one another to do that), The Holy Trinity of God will indwell us individually and congregationally, making it easier for us all to more deeply obey, and thus inviting a richer indwelling by The Holy Trinity, thus making it even easier . . .
This is a powerful, Christ Anointed, practical program for continuing parish renewal & growth in the love of God. It far, far exceeds the efficacy of seminars by overseas celebrities, is much less expensive, and is freely accessible, 365.
Always seeking to hear & obey King Jesus Christ; love & blessings from marty