A Homily for the 6th Sunday of Easter (B)

[Bella Swan and Edward Cullens, characters from the Twilight series]
Last weekend, in my homily, I said that being a Christian is not always comfortable — and that’s true. However, I do not want to give the impression that following Christ Jesus is complicated. In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus reduces the essence of what it means to be His follower into one sentence. This one sentence has come to be known as Jesus’ New Commandment, “Love one another as I have loved you.” If we do that, we are on Christ’s path, and we will experience the joy and meaning that only God can give.
Knowing that we tend to make things unnecessarily complicated, Jesus makes it even simpler by telling us exactly what He means by the word “love,” a word that the Devil is always trying to distort: “A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends.” In other words, love is self-giving, and so, the greater the self-giving, the greater the love. When we put our lives at the service of others, when we live in order to give and not to take, when we are willing to suffer so that someone else can rejoice, then we may call ourselves Jesus’ disciples. True charity, true love is the willingness to totally give of yourself in order to help the beloved achieve their ultimate destiny — eternal life with Christ in heaven.
Jesus really wanted us to understand this teaching about what real love is all about. To make sure that we did, He did not just explain the meaning of true love with words. He also explained it with His deeds, with His own suffering and death. Jesus accepted mockery, humiliation, torture, rejection, injustice, misunderstanding, betrayal and finally death, not because He was too weak to resist, but in order to show us what love really is: self-giving, self-forgetful generosity.
God’s idea of love is Jesus Christ hanging on the cross, bearing the weight of our sins, thinking not of Himself but of the men and women He came to save, even pleading for their forgiveness up until the very end; giving without counting the cost, and without asking for something in return. That is God’s idea of love, is it ours?
I do not know how many of you have gotten into the whole “Twilight” series; first of novels and since 2008 the novels have been turned into very successful movies. I must admit, I have not read the books, nor seen the movies, but I have heard a lot of people, especially teenagers talking about the series. It is a series about a teenage vampire named Edward Cullen. Edward is a tall, handsome vampire who is a junior in high school when the series begins. The character of Edward became overnight the biggest new heartthrob for young women, which is a bit strange if you think about it because vampires are scary, destructive monsters, aren’t they? “Twilight” puts a new twist on the old vampire theme. Edward thirsts for the blood of Bella, his human girlfriend, just as all vampires do. However, unlike other vampires, Edward actually cares about Bella. In fact he loves her so much that he is willing to resist his own urges. Instead of devouring her, he sacrifices himself in order to protect her. He is a guy who will not allow his girlfriend to get hurt, even if it means saying “no” to himself.
It is this self-sacrificial aspect of Edward’s character, I believe, that has made him so attractive to viewers. I read an interview of one 19-year-old about why she liked the movie so much, which I think beautifully sums up this point: “Edward loves Bella, and wants to be with her forever, so he controls himself. The self-discipline is very hard on him, but seeing her hurt would be even worse.”
Even in this Hollywood realm of pagan fantasy films, the truth about real love is what connects to the human heart; it is not the self-indulgent, rather it is the self-giving. Pope Benedict, in one of his Wednesday catechesis talks, summarized this point when he said, “Love, to be fully expressed, demands self-control.”
This idea of true love is not pie-in-the-sky; it is practical. It gives us a way to see our relationships from God’s perspective. From a merely human perspective, we tend to look at our relationships in terms of what we get out of them. When we are no longer “getting” anything out of the relationship, from the merely human perspective, it is time to move on. This is why the divorce rate is so high.
However, when we understand that the path to true wisdom and lasting joy is Christ-like love, self-forgetful, self-giving love, considerations such as whether the person is fun to be around, or whether they rub us the wrong way, begin to take a back seat. When we are self-centered, we tend to be passive and reactive. However, when we are Christ-centered, we tend to be proactive. We see relationships in terms of what we can give to them, and that is much more dynamic and energizing.
Imagine starting the week by making a list of things you want to do FOR people. It would change the whole tone of our week. We would be lighting lights instead of dodging shadows. Instead of having our light under a basket, we would be the Light of the World.
This week think of one small thing you can do to ease the burdens of your spouse, or your brother or sister. Think of one small thing you can do to make your boss’s or coworker’s job just a little bit easier. Think of one small thing you can do to bring some encouragement and joy into your parents’ lives. Think of a friend or relative who is suffering, and think of one small thing you can do to help support them.
Is it really so simple? YES!!! This is what self-giving looks like in real life. It is within the reach of all of us, if we are willing to step out of our comfort zone. Jesus did it for us on the wood of the cross; today, this week, let us promise to do it for Him on the pavement of our daily lives.







