Fifth Sunday of Easter Year C

 Fifth Sunday of Easter May 18, 2025

Acts 14:21b-27; Revelation 21:1-5a; John 13:31-33a, 34-35

(image courtesy: Google)

One day, as usually, an orphan, a little girl, stood at the street corner begging for food, money or whatever she could get. Now, this girl was wearing very tattered clothes, was dirty and quite dishevelled. A well-to-do you man passed that corner without giving the girl a second look. But, when he returned to his expensive home, he's a happy and comfortable family, and his well-laden dinner table, his thoughts returned to the young orphan. He became very angry with God for allowing such conditions to exist. He reproached God, saying, how you can let this happen Why don’t you do something to help this girl Then he heard God in the depths of his being responding by saying I did. I created you.

The setting of today’s Gospel is the Last Supper. Judas has just left to betray Jesus, and Jesus knows His crucifixion is imminent. One might expect Jesus to speak words of warning or sorrow. Instead, He speaks of glory and love.

“Now is the Son of Man glorified,” He says. It’s startling. Glory, in our world, is usually associated with triumph, success, and applause. But for Jesus, glory comes through suffering, self-giving, and ultimate love. The Cross, rather than being a symbol of defeat, becomes the greatest revelation of divine love.

Jesus then gives His disciples a new commandment: “Love one another. As I have loved you.”

This is not just one command among many. It is central. It is the essence of Christianity. It is the proof of our discipleship. “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

What’s New About This Commandment?

At first glance, it might seem that Jesus isn’t saying anything new. The Old Testament already commands love of neighbour (Leviticus 19:18). But Jesus does something radical—He redefines the standard. No longer is it just “love your neighbour as yourself.” Now it is “as I have loved you.”

How has Jesus loved us?

He loved with humility—washing His disciples’ feet.

He loved with compassion—welcoming outcasts, healing the broken.

He loved with patience—bearing with the weaknesses and failures of His followers.

He loved with forgiveness—even from the Cross: “Father, forgive them.”

He loved to the end—offering His very life for us.

This is a higher, deeper love. It is sacrificial, unconditional, and transformative.

So what does this love look like in our daily lives?

Love in the Family

Sometimes it’s hardest to love the people closest to us. Old wounds, personality clashes, daily stress—it all builds up. But Jesus calls us to persevere in love. This means apologizing first. It means listening more than speaking. It means forgiving, again and again, even when it’s hard.

Love in the Church

As members of the Body of Christ, we are not called to uniformity, but unity in love. There will be differences in opinions, liturgical preferences, and personalities. But love must be the bond that holds us together. A parish that radiates Christ-like love becomes a beacon in the community.

Love in a Divided World

We live in an age of polarization—social, political, and cultural. As Christians, we are called not to add to the noise, but to be agents of healing. Loving like Jesus means seeing the image of God even in those we disagree with. It means advocating for justice without hatred. It means crossing boundaries with compassion.

Challenges to Love

Loving like Jesus isn’t easy. It requires:

Dying to self—putting others' needs before our own.

Letting go of pride—being willing to serve unnoticed.

Forgiving deeply—even when we’ve been hurt.

But the beauty is this: we are not left to do it alone. Christ gives us His Spirit, the Advocate, who fills us with the grace and strength to love beyond our natural abilities.

The Fruit of Love

When we live by this command, something remarkable happens:

Healing takes place in broken relationships.

Peace enters troubled hearts.

Hope blossoms where despair once reigned.

And above all, the world takes notice.

The early Church didn’t grow because of flashy programs or powerful sermons. It grew because people saw how Christians loved—sharing everything, caring for the poor, welcoming strangers, and even praying for their persecutors. Tertullian, an early Christian writer, quoted pagans as saying, “See how they love one another!”

Imagine if that could be said of us. Imagine if our families, parishes, and communities became known as places where love is practiced daily—not just spoken about, but lived boldly.

As we journey through this Easter season, celebrating the risen Christ, let us remember that resurrection is not just an event in history—it is a call to new life. That new life is rooted in love. We are all created to love and we are invited today to put it into action. 

Let us be people who love:

not only in words, but in deeds;

not only when it’s easy, but especially when it’s hard;

not only those who love us, but also those who don’t.

Because in the end, love is the only thing that lasts.

“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

May these words shape our hearts, our homes, and our world.

Happy Sunday