April 28, 2013

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Fifth Sunday of Easter 
Lectionary: 54

Reading 1ACTS 14:21-27

After Paul and Barnabas had proclaimed the good news
to that city
and made a considerable number of disciples,
they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.
They strengthened the spirits of the disciples
and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying,
“It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships
to enter the kingdom of God.”
They appointed elders for them in each church and,
with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord
in whom they had put their faith.
Then they traveled through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia.
After proclaiming the word at Perga they went down to Attalia.
From there they sailed to Antioch,
where they had been commended to the grace of God
for the work they had now accomplished.
And when they arrived, they called the church together
and reported what God had done with them
and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.

Sts. Paul and Barnabus went on many missionary journeys, proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles.  And they taught their disciples that it would be necessary to suffer for the Kingdom of God.  But they rejoiced at the number of Gentile converts that had entered the doors of the Church.

Responsorial PsalmPS 145:8-9, 10-11, 12-13

R. (cf. 1) I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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.
R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R. Alleluia.

God is unchanging and everlasting.  And He is good to all His creation.  Therefore, praise of God should ever be on our lips and thankfulness for all He has done.

Reading 2REV 21:1-5A

Then I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth.
The former heaven and the former earth had passed away,
and the sea was no more.
I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race.
He will dwell with them and they will be his people
and God himself will always be with them as their God.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes,
and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain,
for the old order has passed away.”

The One who sat on the throne said,
“Behold, I make all things new.”

This is surprising and humbling.  In the end, God will dwell with His people.  It is something which we can't imagine.  St. Paul says:

1 Corinthians 2:9

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.  

And St. John says:

1 John 3:2

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 

 

GospelJN 13:31-33A, 34-35

When Judas had left them, Jesus said,

“Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.

If God is glorified in him,

God will also glorify him in himself,

and God will glorify him at once.

My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.

I give you a new commandment: love one another.

As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.

This is how all will know that you are my disciples,

if you have love for one another.”

Our Faith can be summarized in one word.  Love.  It is love which glorifies God.  And love is the glory of God which God bestows upon us and with which we glorify Him if we bestow it upon Him.  God is Love.  

1 Corinthians  Chapter 13

1 If I speak in human and angelic tongues 2 but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.  2  And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.  3  If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that  may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.  4   Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, (love) is not pompous, it is not inflated,  5  it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,  6  it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.  7  It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  8  Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.  9  For we know partially and we prophesy partially,  10  but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.  11  When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things.  12  At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.  13  So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.