5th Sunday of Easter: May 2nd, 2010

1st Reading, from the Book of the Apostles, 14: 21-27
-The Return to Antioch, in Syria-
"We must pass through many troubles to enter the Kingdom of God"

Paul and Barnabas were two of our very first missionaries, traveling from town to town, spreading the Good News of the Kingdom of God. As today's missionaries travel to dangerous places, risking their lives (e.g. the nuns in the Amazon Forest), Paul and Barnabas put their safety in God's hands. Returning to Lystra, where Paul was almost stoned to death, the disciples demonstrated their commitment to their mission and the incredibly strong faith that they had for God.

Working for the glory of our Lord is not always done from within the safety of monastery's walls. Then, just like now, being a servant of God is not always a low key job. In a world where spiritual disagreements are a normal as eating supper, we must recognize the dedication and the great love that the disciples (from the past and of today), had for the Lord.

May we exhibit the same dedication with which the first disciples served God, and may our commitment to Him grow with every passing day.

****J**E**S**U**S*****T**H**E*****G**O**O**D*****S**H**E**P**H**E**R**D*****

2nd Reading, from the Book of Revelations, 21:1-5a
-The New Heaven and the New Earth-
"Behold I make all things new"

Throughout all my years as a Government Social Worker, every so often I heard this statement "don't try to fix what is not broken." At first I was baffled... What was the meaning of this? It took me a while but then I caught up with the idea, leave things alone... the water will eventually find its level and everything will be OK.

Today's 2nd reading debunks the theory of leaving things in status quo. God himself announces that new is coming, and that new is not necessarily bad.

Humans are expected to dislike change. We avoid it by nature. Once we manage to establish a pattern, we tend to become comfortable and like things just the way they are. We like the feeling within our skins, and we much rather leave the universe alone.

And yet... On John's vision, our Eternal Father makes us crave for the new establishment. He promises that "He will wipe away all tears..." and "there will be no more ... grief or crying or pain." And with a promise like such, who would want to keep the old? I for a change, feel very interested in experiencing this new world order.

May our ears hear God's calling and may hearts feel the joy of experiencing a world that is changed by God's promise of a new world order.

***J**E**S**U**S*****T**H**E*****G**O**O**D*****S**H**E**P**H**E**R**D*****

The Gospel according to John, 13: 31-33a, 34-35
-The New Commandment-
"If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples."

Love is a very strong emotion. From the beginning of our lives we feel it for our parents or for those who care for us. With the passing of time we feel love for our siblings, and then for our friends. At a certain age teachers become a member of our love club; then boyfriends and girlfriends; then our children and extended families. As we grow up we experienece love, or at least special affection, for many others, like the neighbor who picks up our mail when we are away on vacation, or the hairdresser who goes the extra mile on that one saturday before the special party. And who can ignore the love that we experience for our pets? Love, is everywhere.

Love was not an emotion hard to understand. That is, until after Jesus came and changed the rules of the game. Jesus came with these new set of ideas, which included loving our enemies as if they were our best friends. This innovative idea took Jesus' current world by surprise. It was an alteration of how folks have been taught to love one another. Jesus not only loved Mary and the apostles, but he expressed out loud his love for the men who hurt him, for the one who betrayed him, and for everyone else without regard. His was a truly new way of love!

May we find the courage to imitate Jesus' rules of love!