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6th Sunday of Easter

Jesus is a very good teacher. When he began his public life, he was aware that in order for the work of the kingdom of heaven to spread, people were needed – disciples who would carry this work, this message, forward. He therefore chooses and prepares the disciples. Jesus is also aware that his stay here on earth, too, will not be long, hence the announcement, which the disciples do not yet understand at the time,  a request to his Father for support, which will turn out to be the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, who acts and guides the Church to  this day.                                           But as today’s Gospel passage suggests to us, Jesus makes a suggestion in which the condition, and at the same time the essence, of Christianity is contained:  ” If you love me you will keep my commandments.”   The essence of Christianity is love for Christ, which naturally obliges man to live in accordance with His word, in accordance with His teaching.                                   Why, then, do we see, as it were, the opposite of   this statement?                                                   There is a section of society that rejects the teachings of Christ, and consequently it is difficult to speak of love here. Just as it was during Jesus’ earthly life, when some people did not like his teaching and along with it rejected Jesus himself.                                                                           A person for the love of Jesus has  to go through the certain way, which includes maturing into this love. This adolescence is as often as not marked by a concrete life experience, and it is then that one realises what is really at stake. What does he mean? What is it all about? Let our growing up as people be the best examples of this.   I grew up in a  family, where parents made every effort to bring me up so that I would grow up to be a good person.                                                 This, of course, was related not only to the everyday care , but also to the demands that every parent  made on you, on me. Did you understand everything   then?                                                 At the time, did you agree with everything your parents expected of you, everything they spoke to you about? Most of us will probably say no, but….Years go by, our parents are sometimes no longer with us, or if they are, they are aged. And you and I have our own lives, and how often life only shows us today what our parents once told us. There are situations where people feel lost, where they make mistakes because they don’t know what to do, how to behave. Because  they haven’t done their childhood homework.                                                                    Life verifies and, over time, shows how a person matures and how important these words once heard years ago have become , words that I have heard more than once but have not understood  at the   time.                                                                                                                                      It is this constant growing and maturing in the love of Jesus. Jesus continues to guide and educate each of us to love one another. That is why he asked the Father for the Advocate – the Spirit of Truth – so that he would continue this work today in the   modern world.                         Only one thing is needed: to allow and to be guided by Him.