6th Sunday of Easter (B)

• Lectionary Readings from the USCCB

This Sunday will be our final Mass on campus for the semester, and the last Mass of what has been a very different and at times challenging year for most of us. I’ll be preaching this weekend at Mass so I’ll have an opportunity then to go deeper into the beautiful scripture readings we have this week, including Peter’s proclamation that God shows no partiality but accepts everyone who fears him and acts uprightly (Acts 10:34-35), John’s beautiful testimony that “God is love” (1 Jn 4:8), and Jesus calling us “friends” who were chosen by him (Jn 15:9-17). But I can summarize the theme of these readings in just seven words: God is love and he loves us.

I know everyone is stressed out at the end of the semester. You’ve got last minute projects to finish up. Exams are starting. This whole year has been – well, not what anyone expects the college experience to be. There are questions about the summer and what next semester will be like. Many of you are dealing with issues at home. It’s a lot. I know.

But one thing having faith really does for you is put things in a broader perspective. And that broader perspective is this: God is love and he loves you. Everything else is secondary.

Whether you pass your exams or fail them, God is love and he loves you.

Whether you get that summer internship you want or end up doing something else, God is love and he loves you.

Whether you get accepted into grad school or not, or get that job you applied for, God is still love and he loves you.

And whether things go back to “normal” next year or if we’re still wearing masks and social distancing, God is still love and he still loves you.

The revelation that love is the fundamental reality behind everything allows us to experience all of life’s ups and downs with a sense of gratitude, accepting everything as a blessing, even the things that seem hard at the time.

And when it comes right down to it, if there’s only one thing you take away from our ministry this year, that’s what I want it to be: God is love, and he has chosen you to share in his love, and to share his love. So I’ll end with the final words of our gospel reading this week: “This I command you: love one another” (Jn 15:17).