Acts 14: 21-27; Rev 21: 1-5; Jn 13: 31-33, 34-35In the lovely book, Chicken Soup for
the Soul, there's a story about a man who came out of his office one Christmas morning
and found a little boy from a nearby project looking with great admiration at the
man’s new vehicle. The little boy asked, "Does this car belong to you?" And the man
said, "Yes. In fact my brother gave it to me for Christmas. I've just gotten it."
With that, the little boy's eyes widened. He said, "You mean to say that somebody
gave it to you? And you didn't have to pay anything for it?" And the man said, "That's
right. My brother gave it to me as a gift." With that the little boy let out a long
sigh and said, "Boy, I would really like..." And the man fully expected the boy to
say, "I would like to have a brother like that, who would give me such a beautiful
car," but instead the man was amazed when the little boy said, "Wow! I would like
to be that kind of brother. I wish I could give that kind of car to my little brother."
Somehow that child understood the secret of the “new commandment” of love, which Jesus
gave to his apostles during his last discourse, as described in today’s gospel: “Love
one another as I have loved you.” True love consists, not in "getting" something from
the lover, but in "giving" something to the loved one. The most familiar example
of this type of love is a mother’s love for her child. Introduction: Today’s
readings are about new things: the New Jerusalem, a new heaven and a new earth, and
a new commandment. In the reading from the Book of Revelation, God promises that his
saving and healing work in the world is ongoing: "See, I am making all things new"
(Revelation 21:5). The first reading, from the Acts of the Apostles, describes
how the small Christian communities helped the work of renewal in their members by
their agápe love, imitating the agápe love of Paul and Barnabas. The second reading
from the Book of Revelation explains how God renews His Church by being present in
her members and in their parish communities and liturgical celebrations. Today’s
gospel passage gives us the secret of Christian renewal as the faithful practice
of Jesus’ new commandment: “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 13: 35).
Jesus has added a new element to the Old Testament command of love by telling us that
the true test of discipleship is to love other people in the same way that he has
loved us. Hence, the renewal of Christian life means a radical change of vision and
a reordering of our priorities in life. Such a renewal brings us to embrace new attitudes,
new values and new standards of relating to God, to other people and, indeed, to our
whole environment. For most of us, “renewal" is something that comes at different
stages in our lives, each time bringing us to a deeper understanding, insight and
commitment.
Today's Gospel reading is from St. John and comes from “The Last
Discourse," which took place at the Last Supper, on the night before Jesus went to
the Cross. In these chapters, Jesus has left urgent messages for his Apostles and
for us – things that he wanted to tell us before he went away. This farewell discourse
is a powerful and intimate part of Jesus' teaching on the Christian concepts of glory
and love. The glorification mentioned in today’s passage refers, above all, “to
the glory which Christ will receive once he is raised up on the cross (John
3:14; 12:32). St. John stresses that Christ's death is the beginning of his victory:
his very crucifixion can be considered the first step in his ascension to his Father.
At the same time it is glorification of the Father, because Christ, by voluntarily
accepting death out of love, as a supreme act of obedience to the Will of God, performs
the greatest sacrifice man can offer for the glorification of God. The Father will
respond to this glorification which Christ offers Him by glorifying Christ as Son
of Man, that is, in his holy human nature, through his resurrection and ascension
to God's right hand. Thus the glory which the Son gives the Father is at the same
time glory for the Son.” (The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries). As Christ's disciples,
we also will find our highest motivation and glory by identifying ourselves with Christ's
obedience in our daily lives, especially by keeping his new commandment of sacrificial,
unconditional and forgiving agápe love. The new commandment: In the second
part of Jesus’ farewell discourse, he gives his followers a new commandment: they
must love one another as he has loved them. They would be known, not by the sign
of the fish, or even of the cross, but by their mutual love, the fruit of their conversion.
Just as Solomon was able to discern the identity of the true mother by her love in
the story of the disputed child, so will the world be able to identify the true disciples
of Jesus by their love for one another. The command of Jesus is both new and old.
It repeats the precept of Lev. 19:18 to love one’s neighbor as one’s self. What is
new is that this love characterizes the new life inaugurated by Jesus and is proof
of one’s love for God (1 Jn. 4:7). Jesus’ new commandment calls for love without limits,
conditions, or prerequisites. This love opens our eyes to facts that we might otherwise
overlook: that the poor in the world belong to our family; that those who live in
despair might be saved by our care of them; that peace can come to the world through
our efforts The nature of Christian love: Jesus speaks of agápe, a love
that requires total commitment and trust. It is the kind of love with which God loves
us, a love that should be the model of the love we have for others. This love should
be more than just a warm feeling toward others; it should be a compassionate gift
of ourselves to the spiritual and bodily needs of our brothers and sisters. Agápe
implies a reaching out to others in a caring attitude for their wellbeing without
expecting any favor in return. It is strong, positive, difficult, determined action.
Jesus repeats the command to love one another three times, first explaining what it
is ("a new commandment"), how it is to be applied ("as I have loved you"), and finally
noting that this love would stand as the trademark of his disciples. Not only is this
a new commandment, but also, Jesus teaches, it is the greatest. To love, in fact,
is to know God—"Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love" (1 John
4:7-8). The early Christians practiced this love literally. That is why Tertullian
stated that the heathens held the Christian congregations in high regard: "See, how
these Christians love one another." The fact is that Jesus' death and resurrection
served, not just as an example of how to love, but as the agent that actually freed
us from our selfish love through His indwelling presence. It was this new kind of
love which was manifested by the first disciples of Jesus in Jerusalem (Ac 2:44-45),
and in the churches in Macedonia (2 Co 8:1-5). It was a love that was attentive to
the poor and the needy. During his life on earth, Jesus Himself was lovingly present
to those who were not at all lovable. He allowed himself to be moved with pity and
compassion when he encountered those in need, and he was moved to tears in the midst
of sadness. He openly shed tears at the tomb of Lazarus. He shed tears also over
the city of Jerusalem. Even the anger that Jesus displayed in the Temple was rooted
in love -- the love for His Father and for His Father's house. Jesus loved by serving
others, by helping them and by healing others. His was a love that healed and built
up, that challenged and inspired people. It was a deeply forgiving and sacrificial
love. “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends"
(15: 13). Life messages: 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? We live in a culture
that devalues life and worships death—a culture in which people drug themselves into
oblivion. Women and girls are willing to starve themselves to fit some unrealistic
media image of beauty and worth. People and relationships are sacrificed on the altar
of “workaholism.” How are we to love ourselves when we are told over and over again
that we are unlovable? How do we reclaim our basic worth? We can become whole and
holy only when we learn to love ourselves properly, acknowledging the presence of
the Triune God in our souls, making our bodies the “temple of the Holy Spirit.” Only
those persons who are fully convinced that they are themselves lovable can reach out
comfortably and unconditionally to love those who themselves cannot love but can only
hurt and hate and destroy. It is through constant love-centered interaction with God
and each other that the "new earth, the new heaven and the new Jerusalem" can begin
to come into existence. 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. We love
others by responding to their everyday needs. We can show love by materially sharing
with those who have less. We love others by comforting and protecting those who have
experienced loss. We love others by serving others in every possible way no matter
how small. We love others by forgiving rather than condemning, by challenging rather
than condoning. We love others by responding to the call of God in our lives and
by walking in the footsteps of Jesus. We love others by making sacrifices for them.
This is how the world will know that we are the Disciples of Christ. 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's names. Our assemblies may be the only time
some guests have the opportunity to see Christians interact with love and concern
for one another, an interaction that reveals the strong love and appreciation for
one another which the members have. Christians will often sin against one another
and offend one another. But others should see in us a quickness to forgive, even
as Christ has forgiven us. (adapted from homilies of Fr. Anthony Kadavil)