Father Thomas Welbers' Homily	Jump back to Homily Index
Sixth Sunday of Easter, May 25, 2003 Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48 1 John 4:4-10 John 15:9-17	Listen to Audio

If you were asked, what’s the most difficult thing about being a follower of Christ, what would you answer? Would it be keeping some aspect of the moral code? After all, chastity, no matter what our state in life, is never easy. We know that God’s law clearly defines the purpose of our sexuality, and yet so many forces within us and outside of us are continually urging us to use it for our own selfish pleasure and even domination of others rather than place it at the service of life and committed love.

Of course, in speaking of moral codes, the demands of justice, and truth, and respect for life are not easy either. Each of us has to deal with blind spots in our attitudes towards the rights and dignity of others, and even toward truth itself.
Or, perhaps you would say that the most difficult thing about being a Christian is maintaining a consistent prayer life. You may be confident that you are living a good life, but not sure that you are fulfilling your duties toward God adequately. Choosing to place Jesus Christ at the center of our lives cannot be easy – there are so many other things in our world and even inside us that compete for being the center of our lives. Even keeping faith and believing in God sometimes may be very difficult.

If we really think about it, many of us might say that the most difficult thing about being a follower of Christ is found right here in the Gospel reading we just heard: to love one another as Jesus loves us. We know that that kind of love means self-sacrifice, even total self-sacrifice. And we are afraid, we fear what might be the consequences of loving the way Jesus loves us. After all, this love nailed him to the cross!

And yet, I don’t think even that really is the heart of the difficulty in following Christ. I don’t think the most difficult thing about following Christ is any commandment, even the command to love without limit, self-sacrificing as Jesus did. OK, so, what is it? The most difficult thing about following Christ is letting ourselves believe how much, how deeply, and how unconditionally we are loved by God – this love of God of which Jesus himself is the sign.

Look inside yourself. Isn’t your deepest need, the need to be loved? To be loved unconditionally, for who you are, not for what you do or accomplish?

And yet, isn’t there a fear of being loved in this way? It may be a fear of being hurt or disappointed. It may also be a fear of disappointing or even driving away the one who offers us such a love. This fear is also deep-seated, because in letting ourselves be loved we are relinquishing control.

If you look at the Gospels, you will see that it is not by accident that Jesus so often tells his disciples, “Do not fear. Don’t be afraid.” Fear is the most impenetrable barrier to love. Not even God can penetrate that barrier of fear, unless we simply put that fear into his hands – to remove and to heal the hurts and wounds in our hearts that want to keep that fear strongly in place.

Then, if we let ourselves be loved, if we let God in to take possession of us in love, fulfilling the commandment, “Love one another as I love you,” becomes the obvious response, natural and even easy. We no longer have to be afraid. We learn to trust enough in God’s love to allow him to be in control.

© Thomas Welbers, 2003