9.5.2004 Fifth Sunday after Easter - Year C
First Reading: Acts 14, 21-27 Psalm 145
Second Reading: Revelation 21, 1-5 Gospel Reading: John 13,31-33,34-35
The short gospel passage shows us a moment of great intimacy at the last supper.
Judas has left; it is easier for Jesus to speak without the weight of a closed
heart beside him lusting for money and determined to act out its own hidden
decisions. Judas has left to realize the plans of the evil one. Jesus knows
that the time has come for his offer of love to the Father, the reason for his
life, "Lo, I come to do your will, Oh Lord".
The glory of the Father is all in the Son, who manifests the beauty and the
greatness, the wisdom and the holiness of a wonderful love, a love which respects
man's freedom fully and donates itself without reserve. Father and Son reveal
themselves in the only fully realized love. Jesus offers himself and the Father
raises him immediately showing His full satisfaction in His Son's offering and
their oneness. Jesus appreciates that 'immediately' of God which, as prophesied
by Hosea takes place on the third day and he announces this to his disciples
who are still shocked at Judas walking out.
There is not much time left, just a few hours. Jesus knows it and says so clearly.
It is the time of the last words, the last advice, the things that mean most
to our Lord. He wants his disciples to glorify the Father, so that they too
will participate in his glorification. This can happen when they participate
in the fullness of his love. Jesus then gives his most important "commandment",
the summary of his teaching. It is new: "that you love one another".
The commandment of love is old: love the Lord your God, love your neighbour.
What is new is "one another", the communion which is established between
whoever tries to love and accepts with humility being loved by others. Washing
the feet of one's brothers or strangers is indeed a great love, but does not
create that communion between us. This happens when we are not only ready to
wash the feet of others, but accept that others wash our feet. One needs humility,
meekness, respect of one's brothers. Accepting that we are small and incapable
and in need of help and correction, accepting that others suffer for us, this
is the attitude that creates communion. And then Jesus adds "as I have
loved you". We need not invent how to love one another. "As I have
loved you"! Jesus is our example and not only in his symbolical gesture
of washing his disciples feet, but in the fullness of his love which reaches
fulfilment on the cross. The word "as" gives us not only the model
to imitate, but also gives us the motivation "even as I have loved you"!
We love, not because we are good, nor because the others deserve it, but because
Jesus loved us. From now on our love becomes free, disinterested and we could
say, divine!
In living this love we are truly in a new city, the one that descends from heaven
and within whose walls God dwells! "He will dwell with them" says
the "voice from the throne". God lives among Jesus' disciples: one
can tell from the love they have for one another! In this way the tears can
be dried by Him and everything can be made new.
The city that descends from Heaven becomes visible on this earth when Jesus'
disciples join together to celebrate the mysteries of faith, mysteries that
reside in the cross and are spoken by the risen Jesus. In order to encourage
this coming together and to make it faithful and persevering even in moments
of temptation and difficulty, the disciples are organized by Paul and Barnabas
in the towns they travel to: Listra, Iconium and Antioch. To complete their
work, the two missionary apostles return to their community to refer all that
happened: this too is an act of humble love, fruit and source of unity for all
the Church. And so the Lord Jesus was glorified by those who loved him! Love
and the gospel is also, therefore, the organization of the various ministries
in the Church, the city that descends from heaven "as a bride adorned for
her husband"