“GOD SHOWS NO PARTIALITY.” UNIVERSALITY OF SALVATION, UNIVERSALITY OF LOVE.
May 5, 2024.
Sixth Sunday of Easter – B.
“As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my
love…” John 15:9
A Bantu proverb says: “A mother of twins should have
impartial breasts.” An Indian proverb adds: “If you are buying a cow, make sure
that the price of the tail is included.”
One of the greatest and most beautiful truths that we learn
from the Resurrection of the Lord is that the Salvation of God is an offer to
all. God shows no partiality. Or to sing it with the Psalmist, “The Lord has
revealed to the nations his saving power.”
In the teaching of the Church, the doctrine of universal
salvation is known as Apokatastasis or Apocatastasis. It is said that in
theology, apocatastasis is the restoration of creation to a condition of
perfection. It is a form of Christian universalism that includes the ultimate
salvation of everyone—including the damned in Hell and the Devil. The New
Testament refers to the "apokatastasis of all things".
In his Encyclical Letter Redemptoris Missio, Pope John Paul
II expresses forcefully the same position, that the aim of the mission of
Christ was for the redemption of all. So, in the paragraph 10th of his letter,
the Holy Father titled: “Salvation in Christ Is Offered to All” and he states
it clearly: “The universality of salvation means that it is granted not only to
those who explicitly believe in Christ and have entered the Church. Since
salvation is offered to all, it must be made concretely available to all. But
it is clear that today, as in the past, many people do not have an opportunity
to come to know or accept the gospel revelation or to enter the Church. The
social and cultural conditions in which they live do not permit this, and
frequently they have been brought up in other religious traditions. For such
people, salvation in Christ is accessible by virtue of a grace which, while
having a mysterious relationship to the Church, does not make them formally
part of the Church but enlightens them in a way that is accommodated to their
spiritual and material situation. This grace comes from Christ; it is the
result of his Sacrifice and is communicated by the Holy Spirit. It enables each
person to attain salvation through his or her free cooperation. For this
reason, the Council, after affirming the centrality of the Paschal Mystery, went
on to declare that "this applies not only to Christians but to all people
of goodwill in whose hearts grace is secretly at work. Since Christ died for
everyone, and since the ultimate calling of each of us comes from God and is,
therefore, a universal one, we are obliged to hold that the Holy Spirit offers
everyone the possibility of sharing in this Paschal Mystery in a manner known
to God".”
In this sixth Sunday of Easter, our reflection and
meditation are turned on this reality of the universality of salvation. God
wants us all to be saved, that is why he sent his Son who suffered, died, and
rose from the dead to give us hope of resurrection. In Jesus, all are called to
be saved. This message springs from the first reading and is proved true in the
Gospel. The experience of Peter and his companions in the house of Cornelius
the expressive of the salvation offered to all. And Peter states: “In truth, I
see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and
acts uprightly is acceptable to him.” Neither he nor his extremists and radicalists
Circumcised Christians or Judaists could understand why God poured His Holy
Spirit on Gentiles, even before these ones were baptized. As a consequence,
Peter ordered them to be baptized in Jesus’ name.
Salvation is a gift of God to all. It is also the
overflowing of his love. That is why he sent his Son. And that is also the
reason why the Son of God chose the twelve and made them intendants of his
love.
In the Gospel, Jesus speaks of that love. Love is actually
the reason and the cause of our salvation. “As the Father loves me, so I also
love you. Remain in my love.” Jesus said. And it is for that love and out of
that love Jesus mandated his apostles. Love sat them free and sent them to
become instruments of love toward others. “This I command you: love one
another.”
We live in a world where love has turned to be a mere word
or an expression everyone uses, but that very few live. John made it a request
last Sunday, in the second reading: “Let us love not in word or speech but in
deed and truth.” Today again, the Apostle of love, the beloved disciple pushes
further the teaching. He says: “Let us love one another, because love is of
God.” We become children of God and we truly know him only when our love for
each other is sincere and tangible. As we said ahead, the mystery of salvation
is a mystery of love. That is why salvation is universal because love is
universal. Love makes no partiality. It is open to all and embraces all. Those
who refuse to love consequently refuse themselves to salvation.
Regrettably, with selfishness, egoism, and indifference
being opposed to love, many people today doom themselves to damnation because
they refuse to love. Everyone who refuses to give a helping hand to his brother
or sister in need condemns himself. When we play the blind, deaf, mute, and
indifferent in front of a situation of injustice, we make one step of giant
toward our own damnation.
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