Acts 14: 21-27; Rev 21: 1-5; Jn 13: 31-33, 34-35 In 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. 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.
First reading: Acts 14: 21-27: Each Jewish synagogue served the faith
community year round as a) a House of Prayer (b) a House of Study and (c) a House
of Assembly or Socialization. When Jesus came upon the scene, he also fostered the
idea of small communities. He gathered a small group of twelve men to travel with
him, to share prayer, ministry, faith and values. He promised his followers that wherever
two or three would gather in his name, he would be present among them. After his death
and resurrection, Jesus’ disciples tried to establish small Christian communities
wherever they found a welcome. Paul and Barnabas knew that evangelization and baptism
were but the first steps in a lifelong process of turning to, and being transformed
by, Christ. Hence, in their subsequent visits to Christian communities, they continued
to instruct their converts. Already in the first Christian century, believers understood
that catechesis is a cradle-to-grave endeavor. Paul and Barnabas also considered their
mission an extension of the small community’s outreach to the world. Because of this
they were accountable to the Christian community that had sent them. Therefore, they
returned to relate all that they had done, careful to credit their success and the
increasingly universal character of the Church to God, who “had opened the door of
the faith to the Gentiles” (v. 27). It is a welcome sight to see modern Christian
communities, which are criticized for too much structural set-up, returning to their
first century roots by establishing congregations that are a network of individual
Christians, bound together in prayer, faith, mutual support, service, missionary outreach
and accountability. We may not be called to the same kind of missionary activity
as were Paul and Barnabas, but we must be as unselfish in our service of others as
were these early Christians. Second Reading, Revelation 21:1-5: The Book
of Revelation was written to bolster the faith of persecuted early Christians. Today's
passage begins the of the book. The scene is really a vision of the new age of eschatological
fulfillment inaugurated by the death and resurrection of Jesus. The ancient city of
Jerusalem had long been for the Jews a token of God's presence with them. God had
aided them in capturing and holding it, in making it their capital, in building the
Temple there, and in returning to it after their exile in Babylon. Within the holiest
chamber of the Jerusalem Temple, they kept the stone tablets of the Law given to Moses
and kept in a chest known as the Ark of the Covenant. God dwelt in a particular way
above this chamber. These details give richness to the image of the “New Jerusalem"
spoken of in Revelation. The image is also a metaphor for the Church, which is always
called to reveal God's presence among us. Today’s passage from the Book of Revelation
(21:3) gives us the assurance that “God’s dwelling is with the human race." It affirms
the fact that God is present at every moment of human history, even those most desperate
and threatening. Jesus' death and resurrection have created a state in which a once-distant
God is now present to every person and in every situation. Moreover, Jesus has given
us the insight and power to transform everything in our lives by practicing agápe
love in our interactions with people. It is through this constant love-centered interaction
among us that the "new earth, the new heaven and the new Jerusalem" can begin to come
into existence - not at some unknown future time and in some other place but here
and now. Today's Gospel reading comes from Chapters 13:1--17:26 of St. John's Gospel,
known as "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. 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 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.