Fifth Sunday of Easter, May 15, 2022

We are to love others as Jesus loved us

John 13:31–33a, 34–35

Therefore when he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him; if God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him immediately. Little children, I am with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Music Meditations

• Love One Another --Bob Dufford, SJ
• Ubi Caritas-Ola Gjeilo
• Love One another-Mormon Tabernacle Choir
• Hold us together--Matt Maher ( Christian Rock)

Opening Prayer

Lord, help me to understand what it means to love, to understand that love is not a sentimental feeling but an action. Give me the grace to spend time with you and your disciples in this post-resurrection season learning how you loved them, and how in turn, they loved others after you were gone. Give me the generosity of spirit to think of others beside myself and to show them the compassion Jesus showed Peter, John and the rest of humanity.

Companions for the Journey

From “Living Space”, a service of the Irish Jesuits:

In the Gospel Jesus speaks of the foundation and heart of his teaching and message. These are his parting words to his disciples before he goes to his passion and death. What is this message? Is it to be faithful in keeping the Ten Commandments and leading a moral life? Not exactly. Does he warn us to be sure to be in church every Sunday and to go to confession regularly? Not really. Does he tell us to use all our energies in loving God? Surprisingly, perhaps, no!

What he does tell us is to love other people—and to love them as he has loved us. This, he says, is a “new” commandment. The Hebrew Testament told us to love God with our whole heart and soul and so on; and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Jesus has added a new element in telling us that the true test of discipleship is to love other people in the same way that he has loved us. And we might remember that these words lead the way to the “greatest possible love” that a person can show, that is, by letting go of one’s very life for others. This Jesus will very dramatically portray in the terrible suffering and degradation which he will submit to out of love for us, out of love for ME.

The only valid test: To incorporate that level of love in my life will surely call for a new way of thinking, of seeing, of behaving and of interacting with other people. And it will be the test, the only valid test, of whether I truly love God as well. Is this really the way, is this the frame of mind in which I live my normal day? Or rather, let me say, is this the way we—who dare to call ourselves Christians—live our normal days?

For it is clear that the disciple of Christ is not primarily an individual person but an inter-person. I am defined as a disciple not by how I individually behave, by my personal moral life, but by how I inter-act with other people. The solitary Christian is a contradiction in terms because the Christian is only to be measured by the way he/she loves and that love, by definition, involves other people. I am my relationships.

What is love?: The word “love”, of course, can lead to misunderstandings. The word is used by us mainly in contexts which imply deep affection, emotional attraction and a good feeling when the beloved is around or even just thought of. That is not quite the meaning of the word in this context. The word that is used by John in this passage is agape (pronounced ‘aga-pay’ (Greek: ἀγάπη)). This is not, strictly speaking, love in the mutual or romantic sense. Rather, it implies a reaching out to others in a caring attitude for their wellbeing, irrespective of whether there will be a similar response by the other. It is the compassion that Jesus shows for the sinner and the evil person. It would be difficult for me to love a Hitler, a Stalin, a serial rapist killer or child abuser in the first sense. It would have no meaning and Jesus does not expect me to create such an artificial attitude.

Loving enemies: On the other hand, in terms of deep caring for the good of another, I can certainly “love” Hitler, Stalin, the murdering rapist or any other person who causes me difficulties, who I believe has hurt me or failed me or who simply behaves in a way which I cannot accept as good. This is what makes it possible for me to “love” my “enemies” and to pray for them and to wish God’s blessings on them so that they may change their ways (not to suit me but for their own wellbeing and bring them back into harmony with God’s way). It is why the true Christian disciple does not in fact have enemies. This is what Jesus is doing in praying for forgiveness for those who were nailing him to the cross. He loves them then not as close friends obviously, but as people who truly needed enlightenment about what they were doing not just to him but to themselves. Jesus cared, he had a deep sense of agape at that moment. In the First Reading, from the Acts, we see another form of agape on the part of two early missionaries, Paul and Barnabas. They went through all kinds of hardships and misunderstandings so that the message and vision of Jesus might be communicated to as many people as they could reach. And to those who were already Christians they gave support and encouragement to persevere in their Christian convictions. In this sense, then, can people say of me that I am a truly loving, caring and forgiving person? A redeeming person, a person who makes hurt people whole again? It is all that Jesus, on the threshold of his suffering and death, asks of me and nothing else. It is not impossible, it is not hopelessly idealistic, it does not require massive willpower and self-control. What it does require is a change of attitude, of the way I see the world, others, myself. It is through this constant love-centered interaction among each other that the “new earth, the new heaven and the new Jerusalem” can begin to come into existence. It is in our hands. And we have a perfect example in Jesus our Lord. As disciples of Jesus, imbued with his message of agape, loving in the way that he loved us, we are called to do the same—to give support to our fellow disciples and to share our faith and our love with as many people as possible.

I might reflect today on the ways I personally fail to be a loving, caring, compassionate and understanding person. Who are the people I really love and care for? Who are the people I cannot bring myself to love and care for—and why? Who are the people I never even think of loving and caring for—and why? Do I only love the people of my own race, my own class, my own religion? Do I care for anybody outside the circle of my family and immediate friends? Do I love and care for my family members? Whom do I regard as my friends and why? Do I love and care in any tangible way for people who need my care—however indirectly—even though I do not know them and they can give me nothing in return, e.g. the poor, the addicted, the exploited and marginalized in my own and other societies? Finally, do I really love myself? A great deal of our difficulty in extending love and especially forgiveness to others is our own insecurity, the fragility of our egos, which can be so easily hurt. Only those persons who are fully convinced that they are themselves lovable can reach out comfortably and unconditionally to love others.

Find links to addtional commentaries on this Gospel >>

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

Love one another as I have loved you

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

• Have you ever been in a life situation (marriage, having a child, divorce, serious illness, losing someone you love, graduating from school, moving to a different location far away etc.) that made you feel as though you were leaving one phase of your life and entering another?
  Was it difficult?
  Were your sad about leaving some folks you loved behind?
  Did you stay close to them anyway?
• Has anyone you loved moved on to a new situation which took him or her away from you physically or emotionally?
  Did you feel sad, lonely, abandoned?
  How did you manage to stay close?
  Was the effort one sided? How does that work?
• How do you think Jesus felt when Judas left the group in order to betray Jesus?
  What is the “darkness” that Jesus might have experienced, knowing that He had “lost” Judas?
  How could he continue to love Judas?
• Have I ever felt I had to be rich or beautiful or accomplished in order to be recognized or loved?
• Have you ever had anyone in your life whom it was difficult to love?
  Have you ever been difficult to love at times in your life?
• How does it feel to contemplate that God makes a dwelling with the human race (Revelation reading)?
• How do you describe “love”? Can you love someone you don’t actually like or admire?
  What do you think is the difference between love and affection?
  Is your idea of love a feeling that is reciprocated?
  How do you deal with having your attempts at love rejected by someone?
• We witness to the love of Jesus by who we are, by what we do with our lives and how we treat others. In what ways is my life a witness to the love Jesus talks about?
  In what ways can I improve?
• Have you ever had to employ tough love with a friend or relative?
• Someone said that love without justice is sentimentality. Do you agree or disagree?
• Jesus (Luke 8) said: “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?” Father Bausch said love is not repaid, is passed on. Can you think of an instance where you passed on to another love that was freely extended to you?
• When is love tough?
• Love in community has its own set of challenges: Choosing the collective good over individual good Loving those you don’t like Forgiving those who hurt you or others Being an active witness of this community love (”See how they love one another”) Actually doing justice Which of these do I find the most difficult to live out?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

Adapted from Living Space 2022, a service of the Irish Jesuits:

The word “new” appears several times in today’s readings. The passage from Revelation speaks of a “new” heaven, a “new” earth and a “new” Jerusalem. Jesus in the Gospel speaks of a “new” commandment. What’s supposed to be “new”? A new life in Christ, of course, is something that can come early or late into the life of a person. For many saints it came after quite a long period of loose and immoral living without God. St Augustine and St Ignatius Loyola come to mind. For others, like Therese of Lisieux, it came relatively early. She was already a saint when she died at the tender age of 24. For most of us, it is something that may come in waves. In other words, it will not be a once-for-all experience but something that comes at different stages in our life, each time bringing us to a deeper level of understanding, insight and commitment.

Easter is the time when we both remember and celebrate the new life which has come to us through our Risen Lord. The “new life” that the Scripture speaks of is also referred to as “conversion”, a turning round, or, in Greek meta-noia (μετάνοια). It means a radical change of vision, of our priorities in life. It means new attitudes, new values, new standards of relating with God and with people and indeed with our whole living environment of which we are a synergistic part.

What do you understand this “new life” to mean ? Can you say that you have experienced this “new life” this Easter or, for that matter, in any previous Easter? Are you aware of becoming changed in any way—for the better—over the years? Or has the Easter experience simply passed you by? Speak to Jesus about his promise of a new life, and what your response might be.

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

The Acts of the Apostles, written by Luke the Evangelist, chronicles the ups and downs of the Church Jesus left behind, and a little later, of the Church the apostles left behind. Can you recall any examples of disagreements among various members of the early Church? How were they handled? What are some examples of ways in which the early Church communities lived out the command of Jesus, in spite of some real differences? Today’s first reading illustrates that Paul and Barnabas, through their love for Jesus and his message, spread the good news over 1200 miles, and still answered to their fellow Christians about their successes and failures.

Thomas Bokenkotter’s A Concise History of the Catholic Church is not so very concise at some 430 pages, but you might find some chapters very interesting and informative. And remember, we are dealing with over 2000 years of history, with theological and personal differences which at times the Church was unified and cohesive and at times rendered it riven by animosity and even violence.

From Jude Siciliano, O.P.:

What is the situation in our local churches? How are we like or unlike the community in Acts? Are the poor, uneducated, ill, disabled, unemployed, at home among us? Do some people come to church for years and never feel like they really belong? Some people say the hour in church on Sunday is the most segregated time of the week. Do minorities, refugees, and others feel a part of us? Are convicts visited by our faithful?

What are some of the issues in the contemporary Church that sometimes seem divisive? If you have attended any of the Synod listening sessions, you may have seen some differences of opinion in those very discussion groups. Can you think of any?

What are some constructive ways to handle the deeply different opinions and visions of the Church without slipping into divisiveness and hostility? Does it help to remember that none of us gets to say who is the real Catholic in the room? Does it help to assume the integrity, intelligence and good will of the person with whom I disagree? Does it help to give the other person’s opinion the respect it deserves? Can we have a discussion without becoming argumentative, or worse, enemies? Can others say of us: “See how they love one another…”?

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:

Has anyone in my life been a mirror of God’s love for me? Have I ever told that person how much his or her unconditional love means to me? Have I ever withheld love from someone who clearly wanted my love? What was the reason—I disapproved of his actions, or her personality irritated me or I simply saw that it gave me power over another? What do I do now?

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination:

Imagine that you are one of the disciples, and it is becoming clear that Jesus will not be with you for very much longer. How do you feel about having him go out of your life at this point? What are the things you want to say to him? What do you want to ask him? Are you comforted by the words of today’s gospel? Sit with Jesus a while and share your feelings about your desire to stay close to him and to do his will.

Literary Reflection:

Read the Following poem by Thomas Centolella. What does it say to you about Jesus’ exhortation to love one another?

“In The Evening We Shall Be Examined On Love”
-St. John of the Cross

And it won’t be multiple choice,
though some of us would prefer it that way.
Neither will it be essay, which tempts us to run on
when we should be sticking to the point, if not together.
In the evening there shall be implications
our fear will turn to complications. No cheating,
we’ll be told and we’ll try to figure the cost of being true
to ourselves. In the evening when the sky has turned
that certain blue, blue of exam books, blue of no more
daily evasions, we shall climb the hill as the light empties
and park our tired bodies on a bench above the city
and try to fill in the blanks. And we won’t be tested
like defendants on trial, cross-examined
till one of us breaks down, guilty as charged. No,
in the evening, after the day has refused to testify,
we shall be examined on love like students
who don’t even recall signing up for the course
and now must take their orals, forced to speak for once
from the heart and not off the top of their heads.
And when the evening is over and it’s late,
the student body asleep, even the great teachers
retired for the night, we shall stay up
and run back over the questions, each in our own way:
what’s true, what’s false, what unknown quantity
will balance the equation, what it would mean years from now
to look back and know
we did not fail.

(from Lights & Mysteries)

Closing Prayer

Lord, there are so many in this world who need the kind of love Jesus showed his disciples: the lonely, the ill, the poor, the depressed, those suffering from war and violence in their lives. Help me to move from sentimental pity to actually putting my feelings into action, Open my eyes to those in my life who are in need of my generous, and maybe even sacrificial, love. Help me to reach out to those outside my own circle of friends and family to address the vast needs of a world broken by hate and greed. Help me to be your love in my world.