I have called you friends

05-05-2024Pastor's LetterVery Rev. Richard C. Wilson, VF, Pastor

Dear Friends in Christ,

Today we celebrate the last Sunday before the solemnities of the Ascension and Pentecost, which close the Easter season. Throughout these Sundays, the risen Jesus has revealed himself as the Good Shepherd and the vine to which we must be connected as branches, and today he opens his Heart to us completely.

Certainly, in His Heart we can only find love. What constitutes the deepest mystery of God is that He is Love. Everything He has done from creation to redemption has been out of love. All that He expects from us in response to His actions is just love. Therefore, His words resonate today: “Abide in my love.” (John 15:9). Love asks for reciprocity; it is like a dialogue that makes us respond with increasing love to His initial love.

A fruit of love is joy: “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you,” (John 15:11). If our life does not reflect the joy of believing, if we let ourselves be overwhelmed by adversities without seeing that the Lord is also there present and comforting us, it is because we do not know Jesus sufficiently well.

God always takes the initiative. He explicitly tells us by saying, “I chose you.” (John 15:16). We might be tempted to think that we have chosen Him, but we have done nothing more than respond to a call. He has chosen us freely to be his friends: “No longer do I call you servants... I have called you friends.” (John 15:15).

In the beginning, God spoke to Adam as a friend speaks to his friend. Christ, the new Adam, has not only restored that friendship but also intimacy with God since God is Love.

Everything boils down to this word: “Love.” Saint Augustine reminds us: “The good Master recommends us quite often that charity is the only possible commandment. Without charity all the other good qualities mean nothing. Charity, in fact, leads man necessarily to all the other virtues that make him good.”

All the best…in Christ,

Father Wilson