As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; remain in my love. John 15:9
What exactly does it mean to “remain” in Jesus’ love? Jesus tells us that one way to remain in His love is by keeping His commandments, just as He has kept God the Father’s commandments (John 15:10). Then He goes on to sum up what He means by “commandments” into one thought: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12). Think about this: to remain in Jesus’ love, we must love one another the way that He loves us: unconditionally, agape love. Jesus is describing a chain of divine love that must not be broken. Jesus’ commandment is to love.
This teaching is part of the allegory of the Vine and the Branches. Jesus tells His disciples that He is the True Vine, and they are the branches. Grace – the life and love of God – flows through the vine to the branches and enables us to bear fruit. (John 15:1-8). The chain of divine love flows in this way: Jesus, the True Vine, is in perfect union with God the Father. Their love flows through Jesus (the Vine) to us, His disciples (the branches) by the working of the Holy Spirit. We, in turn, allow the love of God to flow through us to others. In this way, we become fruitful. This is agape – divine love – flowing through us like water from God the Father.
God the Father is the source of this love: “In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us” (1 John 4:10-12). Notice how St. John brings this all back to “remaining” in God. The chain of divine love continues. God pours agape, divine love, into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5), we pour it out to others, who in turn will come to love Him and others, continuing the chain of divine love.
Abba, Father, thank you for the gift of your love, the divine love that is oriented to my salvation. Help me to remain in Jesus, Your Son, so that the Holy Spirit of love flows through me to others.
Readings for the 6th Sunday in Easter: May 9, 2021
- Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48
- Psalm 98:1-4
- 1 John 4:7-10
- John 15: 9-17