V Sunday Easter[C]: Acts 14: 21-27; Rev 21: 1-5; Jn 13: 31-33, 34-35
Introduction: Jesus tells his disciples in this passage from the Last Supper Discourse that now he is glorified, and God is glorified in him and will soon glorify him further. Jesus says that he will be with them only a little while longer. Then Jesus gives them a new commandment: "As I have loved you, so you also should love one another." This is the sign whereby people will be able to recognize disciples of Jesus -- their love for one another.
Exegesis: The word "glory" appears about 375 times in the Old Testament and about 175 times in the New. The key to grasping its elusive meaning is to understand that, like a sacramental sign, its purpose is to create or to deepen personal relationship. "The heavens declare the glory of God...the whole earth is full of his glory" (Ps 19:2 and Is 6:3). It is possible, however, for an individual to express deep awe in the presence of the beauty of the heavens and the earth, yet not recognize the beauty as a gift of God's glory. For its inter-personal meaning to be realized, glory (like a sacrament) must at the same time be objectively given and subjectively received. To recognize the glory of divine presence in gratitude -- now doubling the meaning of the term -- is to give glory to God.
The Gospel according to John tells the good news that Jesus is the complete, human manifestation of God's presence among us: he is the glory or sacramental sign of the divine presence. John structures his gospel around seven major signs or expressions of divine glory: changing water to wine at the wedding feast ("Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs in Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him" [Jn 2:11]); cure of the noble's son; cure of the paralytic; feeding the multitude with bread; showing power over the sea; giving sight to the blind man; raising Lazarus from death. Through these signs some began to recognize the divine presence in him. Others, however, remained blind and did not perceive these events as the presence of God's glory.
In his farewell address, Jesus speaks of the eighth event that will be the summary and climax of the seven previous signs. This will happen when he is lifted up for all to see, giving himself in love even to death on a cross. This sign is the ultimate revelation that God is love -- the complete expression of God's glory. God is thus manifested or glorified in him. Jesus on the cross declares the supreme glory of God to be love. God then glorifies him through resurrection.
Anecdote: Jesus says, "I give you a new commandment: Love one another - as I have loved you..."
An incident from the life of Blessed Mother Teresa illustrates this new way of love: Once a journalist accompanied her as she made her rounds, caring for the dying. One of the men had a wound that oozed decay and gave off a foul odor. Mother Teresa calmly washed the wound, all the while speaking softly to the man.
After Mother Teresa finished and they were walking away, the journalist said, "I wouldn't do that for all the gold in the world."
Mother Teresa replied, "Neither would I." She did it for something - or someone - worth more than the entire world's gold. Her strength and love came from the time she spent before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament - an hour or more each day.
You and I are not Blessed Mother Teresa - but Jesus may call us to a similar love. One of my friends is caring for his elderly father. His dad always said that, more than anything else, he feared two things: dementia and incontinence. Now, both those afflictions have befallen him. His children, including my friend, take turns caring for their dad, one or two days a week.
"I give you a new commandment: Love one another - as I have loved you."
Joke: There was an old woman on a plane, sitting next to the Pope. It was stormy outside, and the plane was being rocked by some severe turbulence. So this kindly old lady looked upon Death's door, and said to her papal neighbour. 'Father, surely you can do something about this...' To which the Pope replied, 'Sorry lady, I'm in sales, not management.'
Practical Applications: 1) Let us learn to love ourselves so that we may learn to love each other. The old commandment (Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18) says: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” How do we learn to cherish others and care for them if we have never learned to do the same for ourselves? 2) Let us love others in our daily lives: We are asked to love as Jesus loved in the ordinary course of our lives. This means that we should love others by allowing ourselves to be moved with pity for them. 3) Let us demonstrate our love for others: When we are assembled and have guests, we have an opportunity to demonstrate our love for another. They must see Christians as people who are glad to see one another, who are willing to take the time to visit with each other and who know each other.
Introduction: V Sunday of Easter
Message: At the conclusion of their missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas tell the Antioch community all that the Lord had accomplished in their preaching the kingdom of God
Saints and events in this week: 29-Monday-Saint Catherine of Siena, Virgin, doctor of the Church; 30-Tuesday-Saint Pius V, Pope; May-1-Wednesday-Saint Joseph the Worker; 2-Thursday-saint Athanasius, bishop, doctor of the Church; 3-Friday-Saint Philip and James, Apostles
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