Fifth Sunday of Easter
Readings for the Fifth Sunday of Easter[i][ii]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[iii]
Reading 1: Acts 14:21-27
After Paul and Barnabas had proclaimed the good news
to that city
and made a considerable number of disciples,
they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.
They strengthened the spirits of the disciples
and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying,
“It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships
to enter the kingdom of God.”
They appointed elders for them in each church and,
with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord
in whom they had put their faith.
Then they traveled through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia.
After proclaiming the word at Perga they went down to Attalia.
From there they sailed to Antioch,
where they had been commended to the grace of God
for the work they had now accomplished.
And when they arrived, they called the church together
and reported what God had done with them
and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Acts 14:21-27
This first reading recounts the first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas. It describes the model of how the church was built. Persecution drives further expansion of the Church to another town. Paul and Barnabas would enter a region and proclaim the Good News. They would then identify leaders among the converted, entrust the word to them and then move on having accomplished the establishment of a foothold among the gentiles. (See also 1 Corinthians 16:9 and 2 Corinthians 2:12.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 145:8-9, 10-11, 12-13
R. (cf. 1) I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.
R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might.
R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let them make known your might to the children of Adam,
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is a kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 145:8-9, 10-11, 12-13
The psalm selection today is a song of thanksgiving. The hymn extols God’s saving works and commends the people to proclaim the word to all “the children of Adam” – the whole human race.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reading II: Revelation 21:1-5a
Then I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth.
The former heaven and the former earth had passed away,
and the sea was no more.
I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race.
He will dwell with them and they will be his people
and God himself will always be with them as their God.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes,
and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain,
for the old order has passed away.”
The One who sat on the throne said,
“Behold, I make all things new.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Rev 21:1-5a
This is the high point of St. John’s Revelation. All evil has been wiped away and St. John has a vision of the “New Heaven” and the “New Earth”, after Christ begins his reign at God’s right hand. The New Jerusalem, the image of God’s Church viewed as the bride with Christ the bridegroom. In this New Jerusalem, the Church, God dwells and there he will show his tender mercy (“He will wipe every tear from their eyes”). The old order is washed away; “Behold, I make all things new.” (see also Isaiah 43:18ff, 2 Corinthians 5:17, and Galatians 6:15)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel Jn 13:31-33a, 34-35
When Judas had left them, 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 God will glorify him at once.
My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.
I give you a new commandment: love one another.
As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.
This is how all will know that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 13:31-33a, 34-35
In the Gospel of St. John this passage is a key part of what is called the Book of Exultation – “Those who accept him become Sons of God”. We enter the Jesus story in St. John’s Gospel during the Last Supper. Judas has just fled and the Lord delivers the “New Commandment” - Love one another. Christ’s love is not only the model but the motive. By using those words, Jesus places himself with God whose commandments the disciples follow.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homily:
There are probably not many of us who would recognize the name “Nikki Carpenter”. Nikki was one of the ten people killed in the tornados the spread across the deep south this past weekend. Nikki was 31 years old and the mother of three sons Austin, 1, Ethan, 2, and Layne, 7. They were all together in their mobile home near Yazoo City, Mississippi last Saturday. According to Layne, the 7 year old, Nikki got a call just prior to the storm from someone telling her that there was a tornado on the ground and headed her way. With no time to get somewhere safer, she got the kids in the house piled some pillows under the little ones, put Layne at her feet and laid her body across the top of Austin and Ethan. Accounts say the trailer was picked up by the storm and thrown one hundred yards. Rescuers found the children bruised but safe under Nikki’s body. She had been killed when the walls and ceiling collapsed.
Around Yazoo City Nikki is being hailed a hero for sacrificing her own life for those of her children, and rightfully so. Her’s is a modern day example of what Jesus meant when he told his disciples to love one another. Whatever else Nikki did in her life, good or bad; she will be remembered for her last act of sacrifice on behalf of her children. For those of you who are curious, nothing was ever said about the father of the children. They are now being taken care of by Nikki’s parents.
We use this story not because acts of heroism by mothers to protect their children are unusual. More heroic actions have no doubt been taken by others with less fanfare or recognition. But what is important is our understanding what it means to love one another as Christ loved us.
No one who hears this story and knows Jesus would doubt for one minute that if it had been Jesus with those children, he would have done the same thing. He did, after all, give up his own life (a life by the way which was probably about at the same age as Nikki’s) for all of us. His words, passed on by St. John carry both an instruction and an example.
It is especially important to hear Christ’s commandment in this day and age where the word “love” is twisted and used so synonymously with “lust”. The media uses the word poorly at best. They tell us, and most especially our children, that love is a selfish act directed only at self gratification. Too frequently the idea of love that Jesus intended, the idea that love is an act of selfless charity to others, is hidden under media that celebrates sex and violence and calls it love.
So what is it that we must do to refute secular values and demonstrate by our actions that we understand what the Lord meant when he said to “Love one another”? Perhaps if we redouble our efforts to be constantly aware that we are all adopted by Jesus as his Father’s children we could show our attitude of love and concern for others. Familial love is what Jesus calls us to. We help one another at need and hold each other accountable to the same standards we ourselves are held to by Christ. We give to those in need and forgive those who, out of ignorance, have done us wrong. At the very high point of our love for one another is self sacrifice for those we love. It is difficult what the Lord asks. But it is what we are called to be.
St. John the Evangelist, whose words we heard today is said to have spent the last years of his life on an island called Patmos. One of his followers recounts that each day around noon he would come down to his followers and deliver a short message. He would say simply, “love one another.” After having done this for some time, one of his disciples asked him “Master, you spent three years with the Lord and he must have taught you so much. Why is it that you only tell us in your messages to ‘Love one another’?”
St. John answered and said, “Yes, he taught us many things, but he repeated that message, to love one another frequently and I have come to believe that it is the most important message he left us.”
As we continue our Easter journey we are asked to remember this most important commandment that the Lord left us. St. John says “This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Readings for the Fifth Sunday of Easter[i][ii]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[iii]
Reading 1: Acts 14:21-27
After Paul and Barnabas had proclaimed the good news
to that city
and made a considerable number of disciples,
they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.
They strengthened the spirits of the disciples
and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying,
“It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships
to enter the kingdom of God.”
They appointed elders for them in each church and,
with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord
in whom they had put their faith.
Then they traveled through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia.
After proclaiming the word at Perga they went down to Attalia.
From there they sailed to Antioch,
where they had been commended to the grace of God
for the work they had now accomplished.
And when they arrived, they called the church together
and reported what God had done with them
and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Acts 14:21-27
This first reading recounts the first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas. It describes the model of how the church was built. Persecution drives further expansion of the Church to another town. Paul and Barnabas would enter a region and proclaim the Good News. They would then identify leaders among the converted, entrust the word to them and then move on having accomplished the establishment of a foothold among the gentiles. (See also 1 Corinthians 16:9 and 2 Corinthians 2:12.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 145:8-9, 10-11, 12-13
R. (cf. 1) I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.
R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might.
R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let them make known your might to the children of Adam,
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is a kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 145:8-9, 10-11, 12-13
The psalm selection today is a song of thanksgiving. The hymn extols God’s saving works and commends the people to proclaim the word to all “the children of Adam” – the whole human race.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reading II: Revelation 21:1-5a
Then I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth.
The former heaven and the former earth had passed away,
and the sea was no more.
I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race.
He will dwell with them and they will be his people
and God himself will always be with them as their God.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes,
and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain,
for the old order has passed away.”
The One who sat on the throne said,
“Behold, I make all things new.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Rev 21:1-5a
This is the high point of St. John’s Revelation. All evil has been wiped away and St. John has a vision of the “New Heaven” and the “New Earth”, after Christ begins his reign at God’s right hand. The New Jerusalem, the image of God’s Church viewed as the bride with Christ the bridegroom. In this New Jerusalem, the Church, God dwells and there he will show his tender mercy (“He will wipe every tear from their eyes”). The old order is washed away; “Behold, I make all things new.” (see also Isaiah 43:18ff, 2 Corinthians 5:17, and Galatians 6:15)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel Jn 13:31-33a, 34-35
When Judas had left them, 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 God will glorify him at once.
My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.
I give you a new commandment: love one another.
As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.
This is how all will know that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 13:31-33a, 34-35
In the Gospel of St. John this passage is a key part of what is called the Book of Exultation – “Those who accept him become Sons of God”. We enter the Jesus story in St. John’s Gospel during the Last Supper. Judas has just fled and the Lord delivers the “New Commandment” - Love one another. Christ’s love is not only the model but the motive. By using those words, Jesus places himself with God whose commandments the disciples follow.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homily:
There are probably not many of us who would recognize the name “Nikki Carpenter”. Nikki was one of the ten people killed in the tornados the spread across the deep south this past weekend. Nikki was 31 years old and the mother of three sons Austin, 1, Ethan, 2, and Layne, 7. They were all together in their mobile home near Yazoo City, Mississippi last Saturday. According to Layne, the 7 year old, Nikki got a call just prior to the storm from someone telling her that there was a tornado on the ground and headed her way. With no time to get somewhere safer, she got the kids in the house piled some pillows under the little ones, put Layne at her feet and laid her body across the top of Austin and Ethan. Accounts say the trailer was picked up by the storm and thrown one hundred yards. Rescuers found the children bruised but safe under Nikki’s body. She had been killed when the walls and ceiling collapsed.
Around Yazoo City Nikki is being hailed a hero for sacrificing her own life for those of her children, and rightfully so. Her’s is a modern day example of what Jesus meant when he told his disciples to love one another. Whatever else Nikki did in her life, good or bad; she will be remembered for her last act of sacrifice on behalf of her children. For those of you who are curious, nothing was ever said about the father of the children. They are now being taken care of by Nikki’s parents.
We use this story not because acts of heroism by mothers to protect their children are unusual. More heroic actions have no doubt been taken by others with less fanfare or recognition. But what is important is our understanding what it means to love one another as Christ loved us.
No one who hears this story and knows Jesus would doubt for one minute that if it had been Jesus with those children, he would have done the same thing. He did, after all, give up his own life (a life by the way which was probably about at the same age as Nikki’s) for all of us. His words, passed on by St. John carry both an instruction and an example.
It is especially important to hear Christ’s commandment in this day and age where the word “love” is twisted and used so synonymously with “lust”. The media uses the word poorly at best. They tell us, and most especially our children, that love is a selfish act directed only at self gratification. Too frequently the idea of love that Jesus intended, the idea that love is an act of selfless charity to others, is hidden under media that celebrates sex and violence and calls it love.
So what is it that we must do to refute secular values and demonstrate by our actions that we understand what the Lord meant when he said to “Love one another”? Perhaps if we redouble our efforts to be constantly aware that we are all adopted by Jesus as his Father’s children we could show our attitude of love and concern for others. Familial love is what Jesus calls us to. We help one another at need and hold each other accountable to the same standards we ourselves are held to by Christ. We give to those in need and forgive those who, out of ignorance, have done us wrong. At the very high point of our love for one another is self sacrifice for those we love. It is difficult what the Lord asks. But it is what we are called to be.
St. John the Evangelist, whose words we heard today is said to have spent the last years of his life on an island called Patmos. One of his followers recounts that each day around noon he would come down to his followers and deliver a short message. He would say simply, “love one another.” After having done this for some time, one of his disciples asked him “Master, you spent three years with the Lord and he must have taught you so much. Why is it that you only tell us in your messages to ‘Love one another’?”
St. John answered and said, “Yes, he taught us many things, but he repeated that message, to love one another frequently and I have come to believe that it is the most important message he left us.”
As we continue our Easter journey we are asked to remember this most important commandment that the Lord left us. St. John says “This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Pax
[i] ALTRE
[ii] The image today is “St Paul Healing the Cripple at Lystra” by Karel Dujardin, 1663
[iii] The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[i] ALTRE
[ii] The image today is “St Paul Healing the Cripple at Lystra” by Karel Dujardin, 1663
[iii] The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
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