The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today celebrate the Love that makes the world new in relationships we encounter on our journey.
The reading from the Acts of the Apostles tells of the return of Paul and Barnabas to Antioch in Syria.
* [14:23] They appointed presbyters: the communities are given their own religious leaders by the traveling missionaries. The structure in these churches is patterned on the model of the Jerusalem community (Acts 11:30; 15:2, 5, 22; 21:18). (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 14, n.d.)
Psalm 145 proclaims the Greatness and the Goodness of God.
* [Psalm 145] A hymn in acrostic form; every verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Acrostic poems usually do not develop ideas but consist rather of loosely connected statements. The singer invites all to praise God (Ps 145:1–3, 21). The “works of God” make God present and invite human praise (Ps 145:4–7); they climax in a confession (Ps 145:8–9). God’s mighty acts show forth divine kingship (Ps 145:10–20), a major theme in the literature of early Judaism and in Christianity. (Psalms, PSALM 145, n.d.)
The reading from the Book of Revelation is a vision of the New Heaven and the New Earth.
* [21:1–22:5] A description of God’s eternal kingdom in heaven under the symbols of a new heaven and a new earth; cf. Is 65:17–25; 66:22; Mt 19:28. (Revelation, CHAPTER 21, n.d.)
In the Gospel of John, after Jesus washes the disciples’ feet, He declares the New Commandment.
* [13:34] I give you a new commandment: this puts Jesus on a par with Yahweh. The commandment itself is not new; cf. Lv 19:18 and the note there. (John, CHAPTER 13, n.d.)
Mike Cherney shares that the Gospel has him calling to mind the nuns who would lead him in singing, “They will know we are Christians by our love”. These days this is a daunting mandate.
Dear Lord, These days I find myself lacking some direction in my thoughts. The death of an in-law on Easter Sunday did not leave me consoled with the thought of a resurrection. Instead, I find myself empathizing with those experiencing a loss. My current experience of You feels like the acrostic poem whose structure is lost in translation. Here I draw some solace from the steadfastness of Paul in the face of challenges and hardships. Hopefully my acrostic poem will end with Z being for zeal. (Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “Christ's love goes further than anything previous,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).
"He plainly indicates the novelty involved in his command here - and the extent to which the love he enjoins here surpasses the old idea of mutual love (Deuteronomy 6:5) - by adding the words 'Even as I have loved you, you also should love one another.' ... The law of Moses mandated the necessity of loving our brothers as ourselves, yet our Lord Jesus the Christ loved us far more than he loved himself. Otherwise, he would have never descended to our humiliation from his original exaltation in the form of God and on an equality with God the Father, nor would he have undergone for our sakes the exceptional bitterness of his death in the flesh, nor have submitted to beatings from the Jews, to shame, to derision, and all his other sufferings too numerous to mention. Being rich, he would never have become poor if he had not loved us far more than he loved himself. It was indeed something new for love to go as far as that! Christ commands us to love as he did, putting neither reputation, wealth or anything else before love of our brothers and sisters. If need be, we even need to be prepared to face death for our neighbor's salvation as our Savior's blessed disciples did, as well as those who followed in their footsteps. To them the salvation of others mattered more than their own lives, and they were ready to do anything or to suffer anything to save souls that were perishing." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 9) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Acts 14:21-27 comments that our call to become a “missionary disciple” is nothing more—and nothing less—than the call to share about our relationship with the Lord. We don’t have to convince anyone. We don’t have to explain all of Scripture or defend every Church teaching. In some cases, we don’t even have to say anything! The witness of our life may be all that’s necessary to spark in someone a greater desire to seek out the Lord for themselves.
The key is not what you say, but what God does with what you say. It’s not about the forcefulness of your presentation; it’s about the power of the Spirit to touch someone’s heart. And that’s not something you can control. The only thing you can do is speak from the heart and leave the results to the Lord. So don’t let the thought of evangelization slow you down. You have a unique story to share. Just share it! “Come, Holy Spirit, and work through me!” (Meditation on Acts 14:21-27, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler reflects on the great success of spreading the faith to the Gentiles and the ultimate need for a “council” in Jerusalem to address adoption of Jewish tradition. The vision of the New Heaven and the New Earth in Revelation represents the sea as a place of serpents of chaos. Friar Jude reminds us of “white martyrdom” of pinpricks that may define our Cross as we act to build relationships with others through Christ.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, emphasizes the importance of humility in our knowing, acknowledging all that we don’t know about God, Reality, and ourselves. Healthy religion is always humble about its own holiness and knowledge. It knows that it does not know. The true biblical notion of faith, which balances knowing with not knowing, is rather rare today, especially among many religious folks who think faith is being certain all the time—when the truth is the exact opposite. Anybody who really knows also knows that they don’t know at all.
We’ve got to constantly remind ourselves that we don’t know. The Buddhists call this stance “beginner’s mind.” Imagine how our politics and our churches could change if we had that kind of humility in our conversations. It just doesn’t seem possible anymore. Both politics and religion are filled with people clinging to certitudes on every side of every question. This makes civil and humane conversation largely impossible because there’s no humility. There’s no openness to mystery as being that which is always unfolding. Mystery is not that which is not understandable. Mystery is that which is endlessly understandable. (Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation, n.d.)
The Holy Spirit nudges us to relationships with others through which Love is experienced in the service we accept to build the Kingdom.
References
Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 14. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved May 15, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/14?21
Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. (n.d.). Richard Rohr. Retrieved May 15, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/humble-knowing-2022-05-15/
Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. (n.d.). OnlineMinistries. Retrieved May 15, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/051522.html
John, CHAPTER 13. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved May 15, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/13?31
Meditation on Acts 14:21-27. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved May 15, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/05/15/382045/
Psalms, PSALM 145. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved May 15, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/145?8
Revelation, CHAPTER 21. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved May 15, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/revelation/21?1
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Love One Another as I Have Loved You. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved May 15, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=may15
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