Love one another, 5th Sunday of Easter, Cycle C

As school ends and summer approaches many of us have travel on our minds. Some of us will be traveling close to home, going to a state park in Brown County or a lake in Bloomington Maybe some of you are will be seeking adventure or excitement, hiking in the Rocky Mountains or riding thrill rides at King’s Island in Cincinnati. A relaxing time on the beach in Florida, doing nothing, may be just what some of you are planning. Where ever you travel take you, you’re bound to experience a few difficulties, delays, missed connections, or bad weather. If so, try to endure them patiently with love, as they’re probably nothing compared to the challenges that Paul and Barnabas endured to spread the Gospel.

During the Easter season we hear from the Book of Acts and the spread of the Gospel to the Gentiles.   Today Paul and Barnabas are returning from their success in making new disciples in Derbe.   Through the collaboration of their unique God given gifts, they were able to bring faith to many of the Gentiles.  They returned to cities they previously visited, to lift their spirits of new disciples with the good news to help them persevere in their faith.  They also spoke of hardships they endured in order to enter the kingdom of God. Paul and Barnabas endured risks of rejection, imprisonment, beatings, and even death to spread the Gospel. These new disciples were at risk as well.  To support the new disciples, Paul and Barnabas appointed elders, priests and deacons, in Churches to teach and administer the sacraments and the grace to help endure their trials.  Continuing on, Paul and Barnabas went out too many more cities to spread the Gospel to the Gentiles.

            The second reading from Revelations offers a vision that Paul and Barnabas could share with Gentiles.   A vision is presented of the old heaven and earth passing away and new heaven and earth appearing without a sea.   The sea was a symbol for chaos and death, and its absence represents peace. A New Jerusalem comes down from heaven, which represents Church.  The old Jerusalem was the center of worship for Jews.  The new Jerusalem would be for all the People of God.   Jesus resurrection conquered death in the old Jerusalem, so he could bring life to all people.   The author refers to the New Jerusalem, “prepared as for a bride for her husband”, which is the Church and Christ.  This image of a marriage represents a permanent relationship of God with his people forever.  What did the New Jerusalem have to offer?  No more death or morning, wailing or pain with the hope of eternal life in the kingdom of God.    The old world of death and destruction had passed away.   In the dangerous first century world of Roman domination, this offered much hope for the Gentiles.  It provides hope for us now as well!

             So how does this new Jerusalem come about?     Through love!  Not love as the world defines it, but as the way Jesus gave it to us.   Jesus showed his love for us and the Father by making the supreme act of love: obediently following the Father’s will in giving his life.  This opened up the gate of heaven for all of us. 

Jesus gives us the new commandment: To love one another.    People will know we are his disciples if we love one another.    The love that Jesus gave us is the sacrificial love offered for the good of others.   How do we show our love?   

In John 15:9-10, Jesus tells us, “Abide in my love.  If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love.”   By keeping the Commandments, living the Beatitudes, and following the teachings of the Church we can remain in the love of Jesus, and love one another.   If we follow the God’s Commandments and the Church’s teachings, it can be very hard.  

Many of them are contrary to the culture we live in.   In following them we will endure hardships and be persecuted.    But the Church, the New Jerusalem, was given to us by Christ, so that we death reigns no more and we can have life.   If we can let go of our ego, and are open to the Holy Spirit, we can seek to understand these teachings and the life they give us, eternal life!

When we show charity to our neighbor, we are loving them.  Loving others helps us bear fruit and leads to the joy of eternal life.   The fruit of charity is joy, peace, and mercy.  Don’t we all want more of this in our lives?  Joy is a good word to remember to how be loving.  The letters in joy can remind us of the priority for our love, J for Jesus, O for others, and Y for yourself.    The CCC states on how we can be loving: charity demands us to seek doing good for the other and fraternal correction, it fosters reciprocity and remains disinterested, it is friendship and communion.  In loving others, we will encounter people who live contrary God’s commandments and the Church’s teaching. They may view the Church and its members as a threat.  But if we encounter them with dignity and respect, and accompany them in a loving way, as friends, they can come to know Jesus through us and possibly enter his Church.

So as your travel takes you to places close by or far away this summer, please remember to love one another as Jesus calls us to.   If you encounter hardships in travel, take them in stride, be patient, kind, and loving.          By doing so, you’ll be known as Jesus’ disciple and may even make new disciples for Christ just like Barnabas and Paul did.