FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
18 MAY 2025
If
you have gone on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, the vision of a new heaven and
a new earth in today’s reading from the Book of Revelation takes on new meaning. The vision speaks of the holy city, a new
Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for
her husband. The old city of Jerusalem
is a remarkable place. In the year 2000,
I spent four months living and studying in the town of Bethany, now in the
occupied West Bank. We would study in
the morning and be free to do whatever we wanted in the afternoon. I spent almost every free afternoon going to
the old city and exploring its wonders.
Its narrow streets take visitors
through the different quarters of the city:
the Arab, the Jewish, the Christian, and the Armenian Quarters. Each has its own character and its own food
and drink. The city can be traced back
to the days of King David, where kings and prophets and priests lived and had
their impact on the city. Jesus himself
was present in the Temple, now occupied by the Islamic Dome of the Rock. Pilgrims can pray in a number of ancient
churches, especially the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, built over Calvary and
the empty tomb. However, the city will
be transformed at the end of the world.
In the new Jerusalem, people can walk through the Damascus Gate without
having their pockets picked. In the new
Jerusalem, there will be more regular garbage collection. In the New Jerusalem, Arab kids will not be
throwing stones at armed Jewish soldiers.
This image is proclaimed as good
news by Paul and Barnabas in the Acts of the Apostles. In their travels, they preach first in Jewish
synagogues, where they are usually thrown out.
Then, they witness the faith to the Gentiles. They strengthen, console, and uplift the
members of the newly formed churches.
They promise that death is not the end for those who believe in Jesus
Christ. They promise transformation,
just as the risen Christ was transformed.
They promise that death will not destroy all those positive qualities
possessed by believers in life. Like the
new Jerusalem, there will be no more suffering, no more sin, no more conflict,
and no more death.
At the Last Supper, Judas leaves
the room to betray Jesus. In that dark
hour, Jesus proclaims to his disciples that the Son of Man is glorified NOW,
and that God is glorified in him. Jesus
trusts that his Father will transform his horrific suffering and death into
victory. Knowing what will happen, Jesus
gives a new commandment. He commands
that they love one another, as he has loved them. He has spent three years revealing the
presence of the Kingdom of God through miracles, teachings, and quality time
together. He has just washed their feet,
as humble servants would wash feet. He
will give his life completely out of love for them.
At this Memorial of the Last
Supper, he gives the same command to us.
The command is simple. He doesn’t
tell us to participate at Mass every Sunday.
He doesn’t command us to work as a parish to bring in new members or to
participate in parish ministries. Of
course, all of these are good and necessary.
As simple and straightforward as his command may be, it is demanding and
difficult. This command involves dying
to ourselves. It can involve suffering humiliation rather
than attacking another. It might involve
listening to a political opponent and showing love and respect instead of
biting his or her head off. It might
mean being kind to someone who has betrayed us.
It can involve giving a helping hand and a real,
personal friendship to the homeless, migrants, non-Christians, the
disoriented or those confused by mental illness, or to those who have been
mocked or turned away by others. If we
can love as he has loved us, all will clearly know us as his disciples, just as
many came to know Paul and Barnabas as his disciples.
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