5th Sunday of Easter(Cycle C, Year I)
Community Word: Followers of the Risen Christ faithfully live His word.
Theme: We are faithful to Christ’s word when we love one another as He has loved us.
Promise: “He will wipe every tear from their eyes…I make all things new.”(Rev 21:4-5)
Reflection:
In this Sunday’s gospel, Jesus gives us a commandment: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another,” (Jn 13:34-35).We are to love in the manner that Jesus loves us, in the way He demonstrated it by His words and actions. Scriptures tells us how He shared His life with us, as a humble and lowly person, leaving the glory and majesty of Heaven; how He served man by teaching the values of God’s kingdom, performing miracles and healing their diseases, reaching out to the poor in spirit, and even washing the feet of His disciples. Jesus showed us the highest and most amazing form of love by forgiving His enemies and dying on the cross for our sins. And, finally, by His resurrection, He restored our relationship with God to the fullest.
Our response to Christ’s invitation to love one another is expressed in our theme for the 5th Sunday of Easter – We are faithful to Christ’s word when we love one another as He has loved us. As His followers, we should be guided by Jesus’s example of loving. Like Jesus, we should be ready to leave the comfort of our own world and embrace the world of the people we meet in our everyday life. We ought to sacrifice our personal convenience, self-centered ambitions and desires for the sake of serving others, in making their lives better. Our love should not be mere words, but a genuine concern for the welfare of others by caring and sharing our time, talent and treasure for them.
It may take a while to learn to love like Christ, knowing that to imitate Him is often difficult to do. But as we persevere, we begin to realize that to love like Jesus is not impossible, and eventually our life becomes a manifestation of Jesus who lives in our very hearts, as our love is being perfected in His love by the grace of God. Our connection to the True Vine grows stronger and we become fruitful with the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Jesus says: “I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing,” (Jn 15:5).
Therefore, to love like Jesus, we must allow the Holy Spirit to change our heart. By obeying the Spirit through God’s word we can share the same unconditional, sacrificial and forgiving love towards our fellow men. We become identified and united by the same love that Christ’s teaches us. For example, unity in a group or community reveals Christ’s presence as everyone is drawn to follow Him. When members of a community are one, people see Christian love stemming from the heart of everyone and is expressed through authentic concern and concrete action. There is love for the weak and lost, care for the elderly and youth, concern for those who are suffering and forgiveness to those who are at fault. And when others see such kind of care and love, they will say, ‘They are followers of Jesus Christ!’
The Risen Lord exhorts us to follow His commandment of love (cf. Jn 13: 34-35). He expects that our life will be transformed into the kind of love that He has taught us and exemplified. And as we go through trials, obstacles, sacrifices and difficulties because we love like Jesus does, He will always console us with this hopeful promise: “He will wipe every tear from their eyes… I make all things new,” (Rev 21:4-5).
Prayer:
God our Father, we thank You for teaching us to love through the example of Jesus. May our words and actions always reflect His love toward our family, friends, and community members and even to people who hurt or hate us, from this day until we join You in glory. In the name of Jesus, my Lover and Great Teacher. Amen.
Reflection Guide Questions:
1. What are your struggles in loving others like Jesus does? How can you overcome them?
2. What are actions you can take to demonstrate your genuine concern for the last, the least and the lost?
This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
May 19, 2019 (Sun) -Acts 14:21-27/Ps 145:8-13/Rv 21:1-5/Jn 13:31-33, 34-35
May 20, 2019 (Mon)-Acts 14:5-18/Ps 115:1-4, 15, 16/Jn 14:21-26
May 21, 2019 (Tue)-Acts 14:19-28/Ps 145:10-12, 21/Jn 145:27-31
May 22, 2019 (Wed)-Acts 15:1-6/Ps 122:1-5/Jn 15:1-8
May 23, 2019 (Thu)-Acts 15:7-21/Ps 96:1, 2, 3, 10/Jn 15:9-11
May 24, 2019 (Fri)-Acts 15:22-31/Ps 57: 8-10,12/Jn 15:12-17
May 25, 2019 (Sat) – Acts 16:1-10/Ps 100:1-3,5/Jn 15:18-21
“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ. Read your Bible daily!”
