Sunday May 15, 2022

FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

See How They Love One Another

If you would be asked to define what is most typical of our Christian community, could it be said of us, as of the first Christians, “See how they love one another”? According to our Lord himself, the mark of his disciples should be that we love one another as he has loved us. Gathered here for the Lord’s meal of love, let us ask him to make us love one another the way he has loved us.

                

First Reading: Acts 14:21b-27

After proclaiming the Message in Derbe and establishing a strong core of disciples, they retraced their steps to Lystra, then Iconium, and then Antioch, putting muscle and sinew in the lives of the disciples, urging them to stick with what they had begun to believe and not quit, making it clear to them that it wouldn’t be easy: “Anyone signing up for the kingdom of God has to go through plenty of hard times.”

Paul and Barnabas handpicked leaders in each church. After praying—their prayers intensified by fasting—they presented these new leaders to the Master to whom they had entrusted their lives. Working their way back through Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia and preached in Perga. Finally, they made it to Attalia and caught a ship back to Antioch, where it had all started—launched by God’s grace and now safely home by God’s grace. A good piece

On arrival, they got the church together and reported on their trip, telling in detail how God had used them to throw the door of faith wide open so people of all nations could come streaming in.

 

Second Reading: Revelation 21:1-5

I saw Heaven and earth new-created. Gone the first Heaven, gone the first earth, gone the sea.

I saw Holy Jerusalem, new-created, descending resplendent out of Heaven, as ready for God as a bride for her husband.

I heard a voice thunder from the Throne: “Look! Look! God has moved into the neighborhood, making his home with men and women! They’re his people, he’s their God. He’ll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good—tears gone, crying gone, pain gone—all the first order of things gone.” The Enthroned continued, “Look! I’m making everything new. Write it all down—each word dependable and accurate.”

 

Gospel: John 13:31-35

When he had left, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is seen for who he is, and God seen for who he is in him. The moment God is seen in him, God’s glory will be on display. In glorifying him, he himself is glorified—glory all around!

 “Children, I am with you for only a short time longer. You are going to look high and low for me. But just as I told the Jews, I’m telling you: ‘Where I go, you are not able to come.’

 “Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.”

 

Prayer
God, loving Father,
you made us aware of the depth of your love
when your own Son laid down his life for us.
Jesus asks us to love one another
the way he has loved us—all the way.
And yet, our love remains brittle and fickle;
it will always fall short.
Give us a bit of your own love,
make it reliable and lasting like yours,
ever respectful of people,
always inventive and new,
and reaching out especially
to the poor and the unloved.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.  Amen.

 

Reflection:

15 May 2022 – V Sunday of Easter
John 13: 31-35
As I have loved you…

This Sunday’s Gospel opens with the words, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him….” In the first verses of today’s Gospel (Vv. 31-32), the verb ‘glorify’ appears five times. Jesus is in the ‘Upper Room’ and only a few hours away from his capture and condemnation to death. John recorded in four chapters the farewell discourse of Jesus– the final Will before his death.

The common understanding of the word “glorify” is attaining people’s approval and praise, fame and popularity. People desire, yearn, and struggle for this glory of the world. Those seeking the glory of the world often distance themselves from God.

But the glory that Jesus speaks of is different. In his glory, God does not astound people with a demonstration of his strength. A few days earlier, Jesus had made it clear that the glory that awaited him was the moment of sacrificing his life, by which he would reveal to the world the great love of God for his people. “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified… If the grain of wheat that falls into the earth does not die, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (Jn 12:23-24).

After washing the feet of the Twelve, Jesus offers his Will: “I give you a new commandment: “Love one another… just as I have loved you” (Jn 13.34). But why is this a new commandment? In the Old Testament too, God commanded his people to love their neighbour as they loved themselves (cf. Lev 19.18). Jesus himself had taught his disciples that the greatest commandment is to love God with all their heart, and the second is to love one’s neighbour as oneself.

So what is new in this commandment? The novelty is: “…as I have loved you.” The novelty lies in the love of Jesus, the love with which he gave up his life for us. This is God’s universal love, without conditions and limits. God’s love for humanity is manifested on the Cross. When John writes the Gospel, he recalls the passion and agony of Christ and explains to his community the meaning of those words: “as I have loved you, so you too must love one another.”

The love of Christ makes us capable of loving our enemies and forgiving those who have offended us. Am I capable of forgiving and loving these people who have wounded me and humiliated me? If not, the reason is, I have not yet understood how does the Lord love me.

 

Video available on Youtube: As I have loved you…