5th
Sunday of Easter – May 18, 2025
Acts 14:21-27; Revelation 21:1-5a; John 13:31-33a,
34-35
Theme: Perseverance in Faith and Mission, Love of One Another, and Hope in Eternal Life
A. A Brief Exegetical Analysis of John 13:31-33a, 34-35
1. Historical and Literary Context
Our
Gospel passage occurs within the context of Jesus’ first farewell discourse
(13:31–14:31). Jesus prepares his disciples for how they should live after his
death. The account of Jesus revealing to his disciples that Judas will betray
him (13:21-30) immediately precedes our text, and the story about Jesus
predicting Peter’s denial (13:36-38) follows it.
2. Form, Structure, and Movement
This
narrative discourse can be divided into two parts: Jesus speaks of his
glorification (vv. 31-32) and addresses his disciples by giving them a new
commandment (vv. 33a-35).
3. Detailed Analysis
Vv.
31-32. Judas leaves the group, and Jesus begins his discourse to his disciples.
His first topic is his and God’s glorification. “Now is the Son of Man
glorified.” The word “now” refers to the beginning of Jesus’ Passion and Death,
which marks the time of his glorification. Jesus’ Cross will not be seen as a
defeat but as the manifestation of God’s glorification in him. Throughout his
public ministry, Jesus has sought not only his glory but also the glory of God.
That is why he says that God is glorified in him. He
adds that God will glorify him, Jesus, at once.
In
vv. 33a-35, Jesus changes the topic. He now speaks to his disciples, addressing
them as “My children,” expressing his affection. He first tells them about the
short time that he is with them. In v. 33b, which the lectionary has omitted,
Jesus tells them that where he goes, they cannot follow him. He already
mentioned the same thing to the Jews in 7:32-36. And in 13:36, responding to
Peter’s question: “Master, where are you going?” Jesus will clarify that where
he goes, they will follow him later but not now. “Where I go” can be
interpreted as Jesus’ prediction of his Death or his departure to his Father
(Ascension). Jesus’ departure implies his return, either at his Resurrection or
at the coming of the Holy Spirit (Pentecost), or his second coming at the end
of time.
Second,
Jesus gives his disciples a new commandment: they should love one another as
Jesus has loved them. The commandment to “love one another” is not new, because
it is found in Lv 19:18: “Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your
own people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.”
(NABRE). Why does Jesus make it new? This commandment becomes new because the
disciples are instructed to refer to the model of Jesus’ love for them when
they love one another. Jesus’ love entails self-sacrifice, including death for
the person one loves. Jesus adds that through this type of love, people will
recognize them as Jesus’ disciples.
4. Synthesis
Jesus’s cross will not be seen as a defeat but as a manifestation of God’s glorification in him. He addresses his disciples and gives them a new commandment: to love one another as he has loved them. They are instructed to use Jesus’ love for them as a model for their love for one another. Jesus’ love is the love for everyone and entails a supreme sacrifice for the person one loves. This type of love will distinguish Jesus’ disciples from others.
B. Pastoral Implications
1. Liturgical Context
As
we approach the end of the Easter season, our Holy Mother Church prepares us to
understand that trials can temper the joy of the Resurrection of Christ. Hence,
today’s Scripture readings instruct us to persevere in our faith and mission
(the first reading), observe the new commandment of love for one another (the
Gospel), and keep our hope on eternal life, which awaits us in a “Holy City”
and “New Jerusalem” (the second reading).
2. What the Church Teaches Us Today
Jesus’s cross is not viewed as a defeat but as
a sign of God’s glorification in him. Here, our Holy Mother Church urges us to
see our daily suffering not as a loss, but as a moment of our glorification and
God’s glorification. When we do not give up our faith and good works amid
our daily suffering, God is glorified in us, and as a result, he
will also glorify us (Mt 13:31-32). We are called to persist in our faith and
mission work. Our first reading presents Paul and Barnabas as models of
perseverance for us to imitate.
To
better understand our first reading passage, let us review the entirety of
chapter 14 from where it is taken. The preaching of Paul and Barnabas in the
Jewish synagogue in Iconium led a great number of people (both Jews and Greeks)
to believe in Jesus. However, the Jewish officials incited persecution,
intending to hinder the evangelization of the Gentiles. The people were
divided: some backed the unbelieving Jews, while others supported the apostles.
Paul and Barnabas fled to the city of Lystra because the Jews attempted to
attack and stone them (see Acts 14:1-7). In this city, Paul and Barnabas
miraculously healed a crippled man who had been born lame. This miracle
provoked considerable controversy among the crowds, who believed the gods Zeus
and Hermes (with Barnabas identified as Zeus and Paul as Hermes) had appeared
to them in human form. With this misunderstanding, the crowds stoned Paul and
Barnabas, compelling them to leave the city. They went to Derbe (see 14:8-20).
Our first reading picks up from here, at the end of Paul and Barnabas' first
mission.
Paul
and Barnabas faced hardships in their mission. They were rejected,
contradicted, persecuted, and stoned. However, they persevered in
their faith and mission work, continuing to draw people to God. The narrator of
our first reading tells us that after Paul and Barnabas proclaimed the Word of
God in the city of Derbe, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch. These
are the cities where people had previously tried to stone them. They returned
there to strengthen the disciples' spirits and exhort them to persevere in
their faith. They chose leaders from each community and appointed presbyters to
guide each Church they established (see Acts 14:23). We, too, clergy and laity,
from our baptism, have been appointed to minister to God’s people in our local
Churches and families. There are still many sheep that Jesus wants us to
minister to and bring to him. Let us transform our families, parishes,
neighborhoods, cities, and wherever we live into mission stations by inspiring
people and inviting them to God as Paul and Barnabas did.
I
have an assignment for each of us. The assignment contains three easy
questions. Question #1: Let us reach out to our former Church members who, for
some reason, have stopped attending Church, exhort them, and encourage them to
rejoin us. Question #2: Let us reach out to people we know who do not
attend any Church (our family members, relatives, friends, and neighbors),
exhort, and encourage them to join our Church family. Question #3: Let us
strengthen the faith of our existing Church members by ministering
to and praying for one another. Let us all become “the Paul and
Barnabas” of our time.
While
we are on our mission to reach out to old, new, and existing Church members and
minister to them, we should remember that we may experience hardships
(contradiction, rejection, persecution, and suffering) as Paul and Barnabas did
in our first reading. When we go through these trials, we must strengthen
ourselves with the words of Paul and Barnabas: “It is necessary for us to undergo
many hardships to enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). Paul and Barnabas
exhort us to persevere in our faith and mission.
In
vv. 33a-35 of our Gospel, Jesus gives his disciples and us a new commandment:
we should love one another as Jesus has loved us. The commandment to “love one
another” is not new because it is found in Lv 19:18: “Take no revenge and
cherish no grudge against your own people. You shall love your neighbor as
yourself. I am the Lord.” (NABRE). Why does Jesus make it new? This
commandment becomes new because we are instructed to refer to the model of
Jesus’ love for us when we love one another. We know that Jesus’ love involves
self-sacrifice. Jesus adds that through this type of love, people will
recognize us as his disciples. Therefore, when we love our brothers and sisters
with the same love Jesus has for us, we will certainly not abandon our faith or
relinquish our mission of ministering to our former, new, and existing Church
members, regardless of rejection or any trials we encounter.
While
we persevere in our faith and mission works and love one another as Jesus has
loved us, our Holy Mother Church calls us to keep our hope in eternal life in
God’s kingdom. The sacred author of our second reading reveals that in his
vision, he saw the kingdom of God, which he calls the “Holy City” and “New
Jerusalem,” coming down out of heaven from God. He says that God’s dwelling
place is among us, the people, and that God will dwell with us. We will be
God’s people, and God himself will be with us and be our God. He will wipe
every tear from our eyes, the tears caused by the hardships we are enduring now
in our mission as Jesus’ disciples. He reassures us that in the Holy City and
New Jerusalem, there will be no more death, or mourning, or crying, or pain
(see Revelation 21:1-5). Keeping our hope in eternal life in God’s kingdom
gives us the courage to persevere in our faith and mission works, and to love
one another using the model of Jesus’ love for us.
May
the liturgy of this Mass empower us to persevere in our faith and mission
works, love one another as Jesus has loved us, and maintain hope in eternal
life in God’s kingdom. Amen.
Rev. Leon Ngandu, SVD
Pastor of Holy Family Catholic Church, Jackson, MS
&
SVD USS Biblical Apostolate Coordinator
No comments:
Post a Comment