Eastertide Day 25 Wednesday May 14 2025
John 15: 9-17 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
In this Gospel passage, Jesus speaks to His disciples about abiding in His love and living out His commandment to love one another as He has loved us. This love is not conditional or fleeting but is rooted in the eternal, self-giving love of God. Jesus calls us His friends, not servants, and reminds us that we are chosen to bear fruit that will last. The call to love is both a gift and a responsibility, one that reflects the heart of the Easter message of new life and resurrection.
As we reflect on this passage during Eastertide, we are reminded that the resurrection is not just an event to celebrate but a reality to live out. To abide in Christ’s love means to remain in constant connection to Him, drawing strength and purpose from His presence. Loving others as Christ has loved us is a challenge, but it is also the way we participate in His mission and share His joy with the world.
Take a moment today to consider: How am I abiding in Christ’s love? In what ways can I bear lasting fruit through acts of love and service to others?
Prayer: Loving God, You have chosen me to abide in Your love and to share that love with others. Help me to remain rooted in You, drawing strength and courage from Your presence. Teach me to love as You have loved, with a heart that is generous, forgiving, and kind. May my life bear lasting fruit, and may I bring Your joy into the lives of those around me. I ask this in the name of Jesus, who calls me friend. Amen.