Fifth Sunday of Easter, Cycle C

Prayer 

Loving Father,

Open our eyes to see your Son who rose from the dead and opened for us the bright promise of immortality. May we bear witness to his life, death, and resurrection in this Easter Season and throughout our lives. Grant this Christ our Lord. Amen.

Commentary

1st Reading: Acts 14:21-27

Last week, we read how Paul and Barnabas began to proclaim the Gospel to the Gentile nations. Though they were expelled, they continued to proclaim the Good News in other regions.

Our First Reading this week continues with their journey and then, returning to Antioch, reporting “how they had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.”

The Acts of the Apostles was written by the same author of the Gospel of Luke. This author had a special connection to the Gentile body of the early Christian community. Luke was most definitely a Greek-speaking member of Church. Whether or not he was a former Jew living within the Greek-speaking communities is unknown. That he received the Gospel with joy is clear.

The Gospel of Christ spread like wildfire among the Gentiles and has been passed to every nation and generation. We are grateful to the early Church Fathers — most of whom were Gentile in origin — for spreading the faith.

Question:

Who was the first to pass on his/her faith to you?

2nd Reading: Revelation 21:1-5

“Behold, I make all things new.” These words have reverberated throughout the years and continue to shake up our world today.

The newness that the Lord speaks of is a “holy city, a new Jerusalem … from heaven.” The Heavenly Jerusalem has nothing to do with an earthly parcel or real

estate in the former Promised Land. It has nothing to do with a temple made of brick and stone. Rather, the New Jerusalem has a temple made of living stones (members of the Church) with Christ Jesus as the capstone.

While we pray for peace in the Holy Land and our earthly world, “the former heaven and earth” is passing (has passed) away. While many in our world today struggle to see even the faintest shadows of “a new heaven and earth,” faithful Christians see the earth on which we live as a “shadow of the past.” The old has given way to the new.

Question:

Do you struggle to let go of the passing things of this world in favor of a New Jerusalem?

Gospel: John 13:31-35

Our Gospel brings us back to the night before Jesus dies and where he is gathered with his disciples. After Judas (his betrayer) departs, Jesus speaks of himself as now being “glorified.” It isn’t only after Easter when the New Jerusalem begins. The New Jerusalem begins with the sacrifice of the Lamb of God on the cross and the departure of the old Jerusalem is symbolized after “Judas had left” their company. The old gives way to new.

Along with the New Jerusalem, Jesus gives us a new commandment. It is summed up in three simple words: “Love one another.” The commands of the old Jerusalem give way to the new.

In the old Jerusalem, people would recognize that God was with them and they were especially chosen when they witnessed the way in

which the Israelites stood by the Law. In the same way, Jesus reminds his disciples of the new covenant: “This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Question:

How is love for others an important part of your faith in Christ?

This Week’s Task 

Take time this week to focus on love. Read the following Scripture passages and meditate on this most beautiful virtue:

Matt 22:37-40

1 Corinthians 13:1-8

Romans 13:8-10

Galatians 5:22-23

1 John 2:3-11

Group Prayer

All pray together the Act of Love:

O my God, I love you above all things, with my whole heart and soul, because you are all good and worthy of all my love. I love my neighbor as myself for the love of you. I forgive all who have injured me and I ask pardon of all whom I have injured.

The prayer continues with Psalm 145.

Psalm 

Response: I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.

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.

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.

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.

I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.

Conclude with an Our Father

Used with permission. All rights reserved. Christ in Our Neighborhood is a Scripture program designed by Bishop John P. Dolan of the Diocese of Phoenix.