HOMILY EASTER SUNDAY 5-C (Homily 01)
The New Commandment
(Acts 14:21b-27; Psalm 145; Rev 21:1-5a; John 13:1, 31-33a, 34-35)
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Do you believe in heaven on earth?
Love as Jesus has loved us, and you will help it happen.
Imagine 50 men and women giving up a whole weekend to isolate themselves in a school, work hard, often spend their own money, get little sleep, all to try and help about 50 – 60 other people get to know Jesus better. It happens at times, and is called a Cursillo weekend. The interesting thing is that they really enjoy it, even love it, and are very happy to do it.
This example fits right in with the readings today. The first reading speaks of Paul and Barnabas overseeing the establishment of new Churches among the followers of Jesus.
The second reading adds to the scene: God is making all things new, creating a new heaven and a new earth, starting now, right here on earth, where “God dwells among men and women.” This is Good News – God is renewing all things now. How? The answer is in the gospel.
In the gospel, Jesus gives us the way – a new commandment. “Love one another as I have loved you.” To love others is not new – that is part of all religions and even great philosophies. What is new is the command to love as he has loved us. That is new and takes that teaching to a new level – a new height to which we are called by Jesus as his disciples.
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The new is that Jesus’ own are asked to enter into the love that marks the relationship of God and Jesus. Their participation in this relationship will express itself through acts of love like Jesus that will join the believer to God. Keeping this commandment is the identifying mark of discipleship because it is the tangible sign of the disciple’s abiding in Jesus.
Just how Jesus loved us, becomes the key question. It is interesting to note that Jesus sandwiched this commandment between the Last Supper on Holy Thursday night, and his death on the cross the following day. During the Last Supper, Jesus symbolically “acted out” his death on the following day, by washing the disciples’ feet. So, “loving as Jesus loved us” becomes for us, washing others’ feet, taking up our cross, and some sort of dying, only to rise again.
Hans Urs von Balthasar has a concise way of grasping this mystery. In his commentary on this passage, he states that “The Gospel points ahead to the Ascension of the Lord, the time when he will no longer be visibly present to his Church. Yet he gives them instruction about how to live so that, invisible, yet alive and effective, he might remain present among them. His rule is utterly short and unambiguous: “Love one another as I have loved you.” He calls this a new commandment because, even though there were many commandments in the Old Testament, this one could not yet be formulated because Jesus had not yet established the model of love of neighbour.
Now one need only look to him to know and carry out the single, all-sufficient commandment he gives. Of course, it makes an all-encompassing demand on us: since Jesus gives his life for us, his friends, we must lay our entire lives at the service of our neighbour, who ought to be our friend. And, as the epitome of Christianity, this new and all-sufficient commandment is precisely what assures Christianity’s continued existence. “By this all will know that you are my disciples” – by this and only by this. No other characteristic of the Church can convince the world of the rightness and necessity of Christ’s presence and teaching. Radiant love lived by Christians is the proof of all teaching, dogmas, and moral precepts of the Church of Christ.”
The love of Jesus was a complete emptying of self, an unrestrained pouring out of love – without motives, without calculation of cost. His love was not measured by percentage (for example, tithing) or by legal requirements. Rather, he gave according to the need each person presented, making himself fully available to everyone he encountered, even if this meant breaking laws of ritual purity or breaking the Sabbath in order to heal. To love as Jesus loved is to become love. It is a decision which comes from the experience of God’s love and from the desire to share this love with others. It comes from a willingness to die to self, so that God’s love can be present.
The love Jesus calls for by his death, is not giving upone’s life, but giving awayone’s life, because the love the Jesus embodies is above all grace, not just sacrifice. Jesus gave his life to his disciples as an expression of the fullness of his relationship with God and of God’s love for the world. Jesus’ death in love, therefore, was not an act of self-denial pure and simple, but an act of fullness, of living out his life and identity fully, even when that living would ultimately lead to death.
Modern examples of this love are Martin Luther King, who chose to continue to love as Jesus did despite the danger of death, and Oscar Romero, who did not choose to give up his life, but chose to love his sheep fully, which ultimately meant laying down his life for them. Here is a quote from Martin Luther King shortly before he was gunned down by an unknown assassin.
“Well, I don’t know what will happen now. But it really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land! And so, I’m happy, tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any one! Mine eyes have seen the glory of the Lord.”
Realistically, with the standard set so high, how can we love as Jesus has loved us? Here are a few practical suggestions to help us attain that high ideal. First, pray with humble faith to be filled with God’s love. Second, pray for the ability to forgive all those who have hurt us in any way, for in Jesus God is forgiveness. Finally, be ready to ask for forgiveness from anyone that we have hurt in any way, again in humble honesty. Simply doing these three suggested actions will take us a long way towards loving others as Jesus has loved us. It will help us be Church, the sacrament of God’s reign here on earth.
The Eucharist is our agape meal, food for the journey into fulfilling this new commandment. By it we are forgiven, healed and commissioned to go out to the world and love as Jesus has loved us.
So, love other as Jesus has loved us, and help fashion the reign of God on earth.
We should keep in living out this New Commandment because Jesus taught us to love one another like loving our neighbors. We also need to love ourselves when we forgave ourselves. The most difficult thing is loving our enemies because we have forgiven them or made admends. We cannot forget all the hurts they have done unto us because it is too painful. We don’t know if they would change their ways and behaviour or not. To be forgiven and fully healed we need to go through reconcilation by asking God to forgive our faults and sins. We are to repent and try to change our ways and behaviour by learning to love and have that unconditional love. So, God taught us to have forgiveness and love others as we love ourselves. To be fully healed ; we will receive God’s unconditional love and compassion . We are sent to spread the word of love out to the world . Jesus always love us. Amen. Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanks Bishop Sylvain for the valuable lesson and teachings we should inherit and cherish in our daily lives. We are to live out this commandment everyday . Many Blessings!