22 May 2014 - pope francis style

22 May 2014 - pope francis style

Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,

We don't keep the commandments just to be good people, to measure up to a standard, to check items off of a list, or so that we can think positively about ourselves.  We keep the commandments so that we can remain in the love of Jesus.  Importantly, we don't keep the commandments so that we can enter into his love, only to remain there.  To enter his love is only and entirely a gift from him which is completely free and undeserved.

“I have told you this so that
my joy might be in you and
your joy might be complete.”

Imagine, the joy of Jesus in us!  Complete joy!  The commandments are ordered toward relationship with Jesus.  And he wants this relationship with us precisely because of how much we need it.  He, in fact, doesn't need us at all.  His happiness and joy are perfect and complete in his union of love with the Father and the Spirit.  It is not increased when we do good things.  Yet he is so good that he wants to share that joy with us.  This is why we see what we might call a Pope Francis approach in the reading from Acts.  This approach can be summarized this way:

It is my judgment, therefore,
that we ought to stop troubling the Gentiles who turn to God,

The approach here prioritizes relationship before the finer points of morality.  It is flexible to the degree that it can be flexible because what rules there may be do not exist for there own sake but so that we can remain in his love.  It isn't about placing burdens which are impossible to bear on people's shoulders.  It is all about grace. 

It is all about the saving relationship with Jesus through which we receive the Holy Spirit.  It is this Spirit who empowers us to remain in the love of Jesus.  He is the source of our ability to keep the commandments, for "without faith it is impossible to please God" (cf. Heb. 11:6).  But now we have been set free.  We must choose to stand in this freedom in the strength he gives us (cf. Heb. 5:1).  In other words, if we live by the Spirit we need to walk by the Spirit (cf. Gal. 5:25)!  We need to recognize the source of our life and strength and learn to rely on him when we are tempted to turn to our own resources. 

When we realize that this is what the commandments are all about our approach to sharing the gospel changes.  Yes, we still use what influence we have to change things at the level of society.  We definitely still vote for laws and politicians that are informed by natural law.  But when it comes to people, we realize that relationship and love must precede obedience. 

This has the wonderful side effect of making us all equal.  No one stands before God on his own merit.  We are now united as brothers and sisters and no longer strangers because Jesus freely invites us all to come to him.  And he provides everything we need to remain in him.  So let us remain in him!  Let's open ourselves to the joy he wants to give us.  Let us be filled with this joy until with the psalmist we can't help but sing:

Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Sing to the LORD; bless his name.