Fifth Sunday of Easter

I’m not sure if this is a Parish urban legion or if it’s for real, but I’ve heard the story both when I was in the seminary and then again here as a Priest here in this Diocese. In these cases, the parishes in question were having a particularly difficult time with people leaving church early … beginning right after Communion. So, the Pastors of those churches had signs posted above the doors and on the doors as people exited: “Please Remember … Judas Iscariot was the first to leave Mass early.”

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Entrance Antiphon: Ps 98(97):1-2 – “O sing a new song to the Lord, for He has worked wonders; in the sight of the nations He has shown His deliverance, alleluia.”

First Reading: Acts 14:21-27 – “They called the Church together and reported what God had done with them.” 

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 145:8-9, 10-11, 12-13 – “I will praise Your name forever, my King and my God.”

Second Reading: Rev 21:1-5a – “God will wipe every tear from their eyes.” 

Alleluia: Jn 13:34 – “Alleluia, Alleluia. I give you a new commandment, says the Lord: Love one another as I have loved you. Alleluia, Alleluia.” 

Gospel: Jn 13:31-33a, 34-35 – “I give you a new commandment: Love one another.”

Communion Antiphon: Jn 15:1, 5 – “I am the true vine and you are the branches, says the Lord. Whoever remains in me, and I in him, bears fruit in plenty, alleluia.”

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And so, what do we think about when we hear the word “commandment?” Perhaps many of us will picture in our minds a bearded Charlton Heston holding up two inscribed stone tablets with a stormy red sky in the background. Others might hear the words, “Thou shall not,” and cringe. Finally, some may think of the so-called “culture wars” that western society has been dealing with for over fifty years.

         And so, when we hear that Jesus gives us a new commandment, “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another” (John 13:34), perhaps it comes with some relief. It is given in the intimate setting of the Last Supper, not on a fiery mountain. We do not hear the negative “Thou shall not” anywhere in this passage. And I think that everyone in our society can agree that love is a good thing, right?

         The problem is that while everyone agrees that love is good and should be shared, we do not all share the same idea of what love is. Some see love as making another person happy. It is like being nice but only more intentional and sincere. Others view love as a contract: “I will be loyal to you and help you no matter what if you will do the same for me.” And there are those that see love as a voluntary servitude to others, always placing the needs of others before their own.

         While these notions appear to be good descriptions, they all fall short of true love. Is a parent or teacher unloving in correcting a young person … a correction that might upset them? Many of us would agree that it is not. The contractual idea of love is merely loving ourselves through other people. We only love another because we want to be loved ourselves. The final idea of voluntary servitude opens people up to being used by the unscrupulous. Love is turned inside-out and becomes a means of abuse.

         The key to knowing what love is is found in the commandment Jesus gives us, “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another” (John 13:34). We need to consider how Jesus loved us. This means following Him through the Gospels as He repairs what was broken in His society. Wherever Jesus encountered people who were cut off from their society by sickness, infirmity, or sin, Jesus would heal and forgive. Wherever people were trying to make life hard on others through rules and customs, Jesus corrected them. Wherever there were people in need of being fed physically or spiritually. Jesus provided for them.

         Through all of this Jesus maintained a strong prayerful connection with His Father, always discerning and following the Father’s will.

         To look at Jesus as the one who loved is to see Him as one who restored relationship. Love always involves a relationship, and hatred is what destroys relationships. This Easter season we celebrate how Jesus broke down the barriers that stand in the way of our relationship with God. Those barriers are sin and death. He did this in the most loving way He could, by accepting a cross and dragging into nothingness the powers of sin and death. Jesus, through whom everything came to be, became nothing so that we may experience the fullness of eternal life in God.

         By virtue of our Baptism, we are to carry on this mission of love by repairing what is broken in ourselves, in our families, in our communities, and throughout the world. Wherever we find a relationship strained or broken, we can step in and repair. This is our commandment, the commandment of love that Jesus has given to us. It is my prayer that we may strive to live it out daily in our prayers and in our actions … in what we do, in what we say, in how we act, and how we treat others.