This blog follows the daily bible readings of the Catholic Church

Reading 1,  Acts 15:22-31

22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose delegates from among themselves to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas, known as Barsabbas, and Silas, both leading men in the brotherhood,

23 and gave them this letter to take with them: ‘The apostles and elders, your brothers, send greetings to the brothers of gentile birth in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia.

24 We hear that some people coming from here, but acting without any authority from ourselves, have disturbed you with their demands and have unsettled your minds;

25 and so we have decided unanimously to elect delegates and to send them to you with our well-beloved Barnabas and Paul,

26 who have committed their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

27 Accordingly we are sending you Judas and Silas, who will confirm by word of mouth what we have written.

28 It has been decided by the Holy Spirit and by ourselves not to impose on you any burden beyond these essentials:

29 you are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from illicit marriages. Avoid these, and you will do what is right. Farewell.’

30 The party left and went down to Antioch, where they summoned the whole community and delivered the letter.

31 The community read it and were delighted with the encouragement it gave them.

An unequal balance

The result of a genuine political process in the church brought delight when news of it arrived amongst the Gentiles, who had been second class citizens in the Jewish-Christian community. I can’t imagine that today’s election result will bring joy to any who feel they are second class in the U.K. as it reveals an electorate the majority of whom are not much  concerned with issues of equality-a word barely mentioned in the campaign- but very concerned about personal wealth. This should not surprise anyone, as we all have real needs. Very few politicians have dared to take on the basic economic orthodoxy, that we can only make a better society by means of economic growth, that is, by consuming more and more of the resources of the earth, while failing to address issues of ecological and human justice.

The witness of the book of Acts is that generosity towards others is possible and helps create just communities. Those who are disappointed with the election result, can spell out, rigorously, the social principles of generosity, and act upon them.

Gospel, John 15:12-17

12 This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you.

13 No one can have greater love than to lay down his life for his friends.

14 You are my friends, if you do what I command you.

15 I shall no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know the master’s business; I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father.

16 You did not choose me, no, I chose you; and I commissioned you to go out and to bear fruit, fruit that will last; so that the Father will give you anything you ask him in my name.

17 My command to you is to love one another.

The reformation gave us a very poor view of commandments, because they didn’t seem to fit the theology of justification by faith. They were not rejected, but assigned rather to the “outworking” of salvation in the believer’s life.

Jesus’ commandment of love, as reported by John, IS the laying down of his life: it is his crucifixion. When he is lifted up, he draws all people to him, and enables them to love. The giving and receiving of THIS command abolishes the notion of mere obedience, because it is given, not in power, but rather in the weakness of love; and it cannot be obeyed in ignorance, but only in the full commitment of a person’s mind and soul. Those who do what Jesus commands are friends.