5TH SUNDAY OF EASTER (YEAR C)

1st Reading         Acts 14: 21b-27

Psalm                   145: 8-9, 10-11, 12-13ab (R. 1)

R:// "I will bless your name forever, my king and my God"

2nd Reading      Revelation 21:1-5a

Gospel                 John 13:31-33a, 34-35

LOVE WITHOUT MEASURE

Beloved, today is the 5th Sunday of Easter (Year C). We should remind ourselves that we are still in the month of May, the Rosary Month. Let us continue in our devotion to praying the Holy Rosary to obtain many graces from God. Let us quickly look at the readings for today. 

The Gospel passage for today is John 13: 31-33a, 34-35. This pericope forms part of the section having to do with the Last Supper and the Discourses (Jn. 13-17). Actually, on every 5th Sunday of Easter, in the Church's every liturgical year, the Gospel passage is taken from this section. Getting very close to the end of Easter season, the Gospel passage is apt as it takes us back to Jesus' last words before his death. We need not forget them too soon. Today's text is set within the context of the Last Supper. 

The text begins by drawing our attention to the man Judas. Thus, "when Judas had gone out [from the upper room]..." (v. 31). This is striking because of two things. First, Judas, a disciple of the Lord, benefited from his discipleship just like other disciples. Just in the Upper Room, Jesus showed two signs of being a harmless leader. In fact, Jesus showed that he was the exemplary and spotless leader. The first thing Jesus did was to feed Judas and the other disciples. They ate the Last Supper while sitting at the same table. It is less likely to sit at the same table with your enemy. The second thing Jesus did was to wash the feet of all his disciples as a sign of servant leadership. Jesus becomes the servant rather. In any relationship between a servant and a master, the one who can oppress should be the master, not the servant. This is Judas who has been shown the path of being less in power in order to serve. He cannot overpower anyone by Jesus' example. However, Judas left the table. 

Without having to think twice, we knew what he was going to do — to betray. Jesus showed that he holds no grudges with them by feeding them and eating with them at the same table and also washing their feet because a servant, who washes the feet of his master, cannot oppress the master he serves. This is love. Judas did the opposite by "leaving the upper room." The implication for us is sure. It is that there are those who see the examples and the writings on the wall but resolve to do the very opposite of the good example. Anyone can become a victim of this. It takes persistence and proper self-governance to follow a good example of love. Love does not harm.

The second detail we should notice is that because the setting of the Last Supper is evening and the Discourses follow suit, Judas' departure from the Upper Room will be in the evening. Evening is an image of darkness. Notice that we are reading from the Gospel according to John. At the heart of this Gospel is the theme or motif of light and darkness. This theme is very clear even at the beginning of the Gospel (Jn. 1). In John 1: 5, the Word is "the light that shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." However, this light came to his own, but his own people did not accept him (Jn. 1: 11). Invariably, people chose the darkness over the light. 

Remember that in Genesis 1:1, the condition of the earth was described as without form or shape, with DARKNESS over the abyss. What it means is that anyone who prefers darkness to light refuses to be enlightened and be recreated. The person literally rejects what is good, thus light. He or she simply prefers to be in a state before creation took place. The problem is that it is in this image of darkness that Judas stood and left the Upper Room. He becomes an excellent example of those who are offered the chance to do what is right but refuse. There are some who choose the dark and its operations over the light and its enlightenment. There are those who reject redemption. 

Beloved, the issue is not the action not to read the writings on the wall and see the example or the action to refuse and persist in the dark. The issue is what we should do in such instances. I think we should centralise Jesus' command: "Love one another even as I have loved you" (Jn. 13: 34). Notice that this command to love comes between the prediction of Judas' betrayal and Peter's denial. These are two situations of hatred and bitterness. Within this space, Jesus commands that we love. 

The command is akin to what we read in Leviticus 19:18, "love one another as yourselves." Let us dive a little deeper. The text of Leviticus 19:18 is part of what is called the HOLINESS CODE which is given to the Israelites after the COVENANT on Mount Sinai. The covenant and its ratification is read in Exodus 19-24. After this comes the command in the next book, Leviticus, to love. Similarly, after showing the New Covenant to his disciples, Jesus teaches them to love.  Because the command is part of the HOLINESS CODE, we need to see how Holy that command will make the Israelites. 

First, the word HOLY is the Hebrew QADOSH. This word means to be distinct or unique. It is by your distinctiveness or uniqueness that you are identified and emulated. What did Jesus tell his disciples? He said, "This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (Jn. 13: 35). The distinctive mark is simply LOVE, which is drawn from an intentional participation in the Covenant. Therefore, the union seen in the Covenant between man and God coupled with the fact that the terms of a Covenant are jealousy guarded and obeyed so that they are not broken, that union should be seen between man and his fellow man so that the demands of one's relationship with another is respected. As you seek to resemble the divine, endeavour to have the face of a human. 

The question is, 'How NEW is that command to love'? Jesus said, "I give you a New commandment" (Jn. 13: 34a). While the commandment is similar to the injunction in Leviticus 19:18, it is different. The difference is what gives the newness. In Leviticus 19:18, the measure is "as you love yourself". The problem will be that just as Judas, the way you love yourself can include betrayal, and, like Peter, it can include denial. Invariably, if you will love "like yourself," you may end up betraying and denying others. 

Therefore, Jesus says, "As I have loved you." The measure is no more you but Christ. He loved even though Judas was going to betray him. Regardless of whatever happens, he loved. There is no condition. That is the apt definition of "agapē", the love Jesus talks about. 

Pax et Bonum