5th Sunday of Easter Year C - 15/5/2022 - Gospel: Jn 13: 31-33a, 34-35
The Glorification of God
Everyone has a secret. We know something about our friends, and the rest is unknown. We know that Judas was unaware of what Jesus told the others about what would happen to Him. After Judas had gone, Jesus plainly explained to the apostles: a/ that His time on earth was going to be completed, and that He came from God and would return to God. We now know Jesus completed His earthly journey on the cross. b/ Jesus knew who was about to betray Him and that upset Him greatly (John 13,21). c/ Peter would publicly deny knowing Jesus, and that the other apostles would run away when He was arrested. Jesus expressed no displeasure or the frustration of the disloyalty the apostles; instead He expressed His boundless love for the Father and His perfect love for the apostles (Jn 13,1). To the Father, Jesus gave Him glory, and to the apostles Jesus gave them His love, which was manifested through the Last Supper, now known as the Eucharist. The apostles heard and saw what were happening to Jesus, but they failed to understand how Jesus' horrible death on the cross would first give glory to the Father and then glorify Himself.
He once told Philip when he asked to see the Father, Jesus replied:
'To have seen me is to have seen the Father' (Jn 14:9);
and again elsewhere Jesus said:
'The Father and I are one' (Jn 10:30).
Jesus is the spitting image of the Father, and His Father's love is also His. The love of the Father and the love of Jesus is inseparable. He is the way leading to the Father. His love aims first to give glory to the Father, and second to gloryfy Himself. Jesus asks His disciples to adopt His way of love- giving glory to the Father and help others to give glory to God. Jesus loves His disciples dearly, but He loves the Father above all things, even more than his own life. He accepts death, a horrible death on the cross, to give glory to the Father.
For Jesus, true love requires sacrifice. They are united. He displayed His love on the Cross. He is the only One Who died and was resurrected to become the spiritual food and drink to feed His disciples. Parents give wealth to their children and that is all they could do. Jesus gives His disciples not wealth, but the eternal love and peace and He also shows them the way how to achieve these things. By adopting His way of love, 'Love one another as I have loved you'.
Love which requires no sacrifice is an ordinary love. Self- sacrificial love for God and for others is the way of God and that makes God's way outstanding. True love requires action and sacrifice. Any act of sacrifice, no matter how big or small, is a good act. Simple sacrifices can apply to our daily tasks; a special sacrifice requires a greater effort, and sometimes it costs dearly. In His case, it costs His life. Jesus had given His whole life to save us from the power of darkness. He told us to learn from Him, to love each other as He had loved us, and that doing so would make us to true disciple. (Jn 13:35). This commandment was a part of the farewell address Jesus gave to His disciples. For us, a farewell is an act of separation, of going away; for Jesus, a farewell is an act of love, and of unification. It is simply a short separation, before the permanent union is taking place. The union is the work of the Holy Spirit that Jesus would send to unite those who gather in His Name. The call to 'follow' becomes the adoption of His love.
He once told Philip when he asked to see the Father, Jesus replied:
'To have seen me is to have seen the Father' (Jn 14:9);
and again elsewhere Jesus said:
'The Father and I are one' (Jn 10:30).
Jesus is the spitting image of the Father, and His Father's love is also His. The love of the Father and the love of Jesus is inseparable. He is the way leading to the Father. His love aims first to give glory to the Father, and second to gloryfy Himself. Jesus asks His disciples to adopt His way of love- giving glory to the Father and help others to give glory to God. Jesus loves His disciples dearly, but He loves the Father above all things, even more than his own life. He accepts death, a horrible death on the cross, to give glory to the Father.
For Jesus, true love requires sacrifice. They are united. He displayed His love on the Cross. He is the only One Who died and was resurrected to become the spiritual food and drink to feed His disciples. Parents give wealth to their children and that is all they could do. Jesus gives His disciples not wealth, but the eternal love and peace and He also shows them the way how to achieve these things. By adopting His way of love, 'Love one another as I have loved you'.
Love which requires no sacrifice is an ordinary love. Self- sacrificial love for God and for others is the way of God and that makes God's way outstanding. True love requires action and sacrifice. Any act of sacrifice, no matter how big or small, is a good act. Simple sacrifices can apply to our daily tasks; a special sacrifice requires a greater effort, and sometimes it costs dearly. In His case, it costs His life. Jesus had given His whole life to save us from the power of darkness. He told us to learn from Him, to love each other as He had loved us, and that doing so would make us to true disciple. (Jn 13:35). This commandment was a part of the farewell address Jesus gave to His disciples. For us, a farewell is an act of separation, of going away; for Jesus, a farewell is an act of love, and of unification. It is simply a short separation, before the permanent union is taking place. The union is the work of the Holy Spirit that Jesus would send to unite those who gather in His Name. The call to 'follow' becomes the adoption of His love.
Written by Fr Vũđình Tường
St Francis Xavier Catholic Parish
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane Australia
St Francis Xavier Catholic Parish
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane Australia
