The Joy of Unconditional Love: Freedom from the Yoke

Acts 15:7-21, Psalm: 95, Jn 15:9-11

My dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

The Easter season is a time of liberation. Today, the Church celebrates the great decision of the first Council of Jerusalem—a moment when the apostles declared that salvation is not earned by the burden of the law, but received as a gift of grace. And Jesus, in the Gospel, reveals the fruit of this freedom: a joy that nothing can diminish, rooted in the simple command to remain in His love.

In the Acts of the Apostles, the Council of Jerusalem reaches its climax. After much debate, Peter stands and speaks with the authority of the first Pope. He recalls how God chose him to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles, how the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as upon the Jews, and how God “made no distinction between us and them, for by faith he purified their hearts.” Then Peter asks the crucial question: “Why, then, are you now putting God to the test by placing on the shoulders of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear?” The yoke of the law, with its countless regulations, could not save. Salvation comes “through the grace of the Lord Jesus.” James, the leader of the Jerusalem church, agrees, adding only a few necessary restrictions for the sake of unity. The Church is freed from the burden of circumcision and the full Mosaic law. The door is opened wide to the Gentiles.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus speaks to His disciples on the night before He dies. He says, “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love.” This is the new commandment, the only yoke that is easy and the only burden that is light: to abide in the love of Christ. “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.” And then He adds the promise: “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.”

The joy of which Jesus speaks is the fruit of liberation. The Council of Jerusalem removed the yoke of the law that no one could bear. Jesus places upon us the gentle yoke of His love. Keeping His commandments is not a matter of external observance; it is the natural expression of remaining in His love. When we abide in Him, we are free—free from the anxiety of earning salvation, free from the burden of impossible demands, free to love as we have been loved.

Pope Francis, reflecting on the Council of Jerusalem, said, “The Church is not a customs house; it is the house of the Father, where there is room for everyone.” St. Augustine, contemplating the Gospel, wrote, “Love God and do what you will. For when you love, you will not will to do anything that would displease the Beloved.”

This Easter season, let us lay down the heavy yokes we have placed on ourselves and others—the yokes of perfectionism, of comparison, of fear. Let us receive the grace of the Council of Jerusalem: salvation is a gift, not a wage. And let us embrace the simple command of Jesus: remain in His love. In that abiding, we will find a joy that the world cannot give and cannot take away—the complete joy of the Risen Lord, who has freed us to love. Amen.

May God bless you all!