Fifth Sunday of Easter

(5/18/2025) Gospel Reading: John 13:31-35

 

“Love One Another as I Have Loved You”

 

I give you a new commandment, says the Lord:
love one another as I have loved you.

 

 

From the desk of Fr. Leo

     Little children tire of their parents' telling them what to do and what not to do. To them the list seems endless. “Do your homework. Don't bite your nails. Turn off the TV. Get to bed. Wake up. Eat your breakfast. Don't be late for school.” Jesus by contrast is satisfied to sum up all he wants to tell us in a single commandment. “Love one another.”

     The setting of this weekend's Gospel is the Last Supper. Twas the night before Jesus was to die. He had promised to give the Holy Spirit to instruct and guide the Church after his Ascension into heaven., but at this moment of his final meeting with the apostles before his death he was eager to tell them what was close to his heart. He did so in but a few words. “Love one another.” Not only must we never underestimate the importance of this commandment; we must never underestimate its demands.

     These days some Catholics think that the Church has gone soft or lax. They lament the fact that the practice of fasting and abstinence has been lessened both in its frequency and its severity. They say there is too much talk about mercy and not enough about penance. They miss the “fire and brimstone” approach to preaching. They judge that the Church is lax about allowing frequent communion. They seem to be of the opinion that the “good old days” meant it was a challenge to be a good Catholic.
 
     The truth is that some of the external practices were easy to comply with in comparison with the command of Jesus. When we face what his commandment entails, we see that it is far from easy, especially when we understand what Jesus meant when he declared that his commandment is new. In what way is it new? After all, the Old Testament demanded love for others. What is new is that Jesus is the model and the measure of our love. That is what he meant when he added, “Such as my love has been for you, so must your love be for each other.” That love is truly great.
     
     It was this commandment of love which inspired the preachers of the early Church, like St. Paul and Barnabas whom we heard about in the First Reading this weekend, to travel great distances under difficult circumstances to proclaim the good news. It was love which made their hearers accept the faith and persevere in it so that the Church spread throughout the world. It was love which moved the martyrs to give up their lives. It was love which inspired the saints to serve others unselfishly without hope of gain. And it is this same love for each other which will make us good Catholics today. 
 

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Meditation: 

How does God reveal his glory to us? During his last supper with his disciples on the eve of his sacrifice on the cross, Jesus speaks of his glory and the glory of his Father. What is this glory? It is the cross which Jesus speaks of here. The cross of Jesus reveals the tremendous love and mercy of God the Father and his beloved Son for the human race. John the Evangelist writes, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

The true nature of love
There is no greater glory and honor that one can offer than the willing sacrifice of one's life for the sake of another. This is the true nature of love - the total self-giving and free offering of one's life for the good of another. A mother who loves her child will do everything in her power to nurture, protect, and save the life of the child. A soldier devoted to his country's welfare, will endure any hardship and suffering and willingly sacrifice his own life to defend his people. God the Father showed the unfathomable depth of his love and mercy by willingly offering his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the atoning sacrifice for the sin of the world. To ransom a slave God gave his only Son. That slave is you and me and the whole human race which is bound in sin and death and separation from God.

The cancer of sin is healed by Christ's merciful love
Paul the Apostle tells us, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). The Lord Jesus died for our sins to bring us abundant new life in his Spirit and to restore our nature in the true image and likeness of God. The cancer of sin shows us the ugliness of greed, hatred, and envy which destroy the very core of our being and rob us of life and love. That is why evil infects the world which God created out of his boundless love and goodness. God did not create evil and suffering, but through suffering he conquers evil with goodness, truth, and mercy and righteousness.

That is why Jesus gave his disciples a new commandment and way of love - not a commandment that replaces the Old Covenant commandment to love one's neighbor as oneself. This new commandment transforms the old commandment with the love and mercy which the Lord Jesus poured out for us on the Cross of Calvary. There death was defeated, and sin was covered with merciful love and forgiveness, and Satan's power was crushed through Godly meekness and obedience. Jesus proved that love is stronger than death. That is how we overcome the world and conquer our enemies - Satan, who is the father of lies and a murderer from the beginning, the world which stands in opposition to God, and our own sinful pride and fear of death.

The love of Christ conquers all
The Father has glorified his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, by raising him from the dead. And the Lord shares his glory with us and with all who believe in him as their Lord and Savior. Augustine of Hippo wrote, God loves each one of us as if there were only one of us to love. God's love is direct, personal, and wholly oriented to our good welfare and happiness. What can hold us back from loving the One who suffered and died for us and who offers us abundant joy and happiness with him forever? Nothing can separate us from that love except our own stubborn pride, envy, and self-deception. Satan rebelled out of pride and envy - he wanted to be God's rival. Adam disobeyed because he listened to Satan's lie and deceptive promise to glory apart from God. We sin because we love ourselves more than we love God and our neighbor. Only the cross can break the curse of sin and bring full restoration of body, mind, and soul.

We are called to love as Christ loves us
We were made for glory - the glory which comes from God and which lasts forever. That glory can only be obtained in the cross of Jesus Christ. And the price for that glory is the total offering of our lives for the One who loved us first and who died on the cross to save us from everlasting death and destruction. God offers us the free gift of faith which enables us to believe in his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who frees us from slavery to sin so we can live as sons and daughters of God. The distinctive mark of the followers of Jesus is love - a love not bound by fear, greed, or selfishness - but a love full of compassion, mercy, kindness, and goodness.

God's love has been poured into our hearts
How can we love one another as Christ has loved us? Paul the Apostle tells us that "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us" (Romans 5:5). Jesus poured out his Holy Spirit on his disciples at Pentecost and he pours out his Spirit today on all who believe in him. If we yield our hearts to Jesus and submit to his will for us, then the Holy Spirit will purify all that is unloving, unkind, and unforgiving in us. The Lord wants to transform our minds so we can understand his word of truth and life which has power to set us free from ignorance, unbelief, deception, and prejudice.

This is the power that overcomes the world - the triumphant cross of Christ which breaks the destructive forces of sin, hatred, and division. And we share in the power of Christ's victory by embracing the cross which the Lord Jesus sets before each one of us. What is the cross that I must take up daily in order to follow the Lord Jesus? When my will crosses with God's will, then his will must be done. The cross of Christ sets us free to live no longer for ourselves but for Christ and his kingdom of peace, joy, and righteousness (moral goodness). Our calling and privilege is to serve as Christ has served and to love and he has loved. That is the way we share in the glory of our heavenly Father who gave us his beloved Son who laid down his life for each one of us.

The distinctive mark of every disciple and follower of Jesus Christ is love - a love that is ready to forgive and forget past injuries, to heal and restore rather than inflict revenge and injury. The cross of Jesus is the only way to pardon, peace, forgiveness, and reconciliation. Every other way will fail or fall short of the glory and victory which Jesus Christ has won for us through his death and resurrection. If we embrace his love and truth and allow his Holy Spirit to purify and transform our hearts and minds, then we will find the inner freedom, joy, and strength we need to love without measure, to forgive without limit, and to serve without reward - save that of knowing we are serving the One who wants to be united with us in an unbreakable bond of peace and joy forever.
 

Lord Jesus, your love knows no bounds and surpasses everything I could desire and long for. Fill me with the fire of your love and with the joy of your Holy Spirit that I may freely serve my neighbor with loving-kindness, tenderhearted mercy, and generous care for their well-being.

     read more at: http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org

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