FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER – YEAR C
WHOEVER IS IN CHRIST IS A NEW CREATURE
Some say the Church's days are numbered because it is old and unable to renew itself. It repeats outdated formulas instead of addressing new questions. It stubbornly upholds obsolete rites and incomprehensible dogmas while modern individuals seek a new balance, a renewedsense of life, and a less distant God.
The desire for spirituality is growing, and adherence to new faiths such as reiki, channeling, crystal therapy, and dianetics is spreading. This do-it-yourself religion, whichdisdains dogmas and churches, is gaining popularity. It often blends Oriental techniques with esoteric interpretations of Christ, equating meditation on the word of God in a monastery with the emotions experienced in the depths of a forest during conversations with one's angelguide.
An expression of this search for the new is the New Age, which envisions a utopian era of peace, harmony, and progress. Confusing fidelity to Tradition (with a capital T) with a retreat into what is old and outdated, along with resistance to the impulses of the Spirit who ‘renews the face of the earth,’ represents one of the critical misunderstandings into which the Church can fall. Nevertheless, the accusations of a lack of modernity- often unfair and unmotivated- should prompt her to reflect.
The Church is the repository of the announcement of ‘new heavens and a new earth,’ the proposal of the ‘new man,’ the ‘new commandment,’ and a ‘new song.’ To her, anyone dreaming of a new world should instinctively turn.
"I will sing to the Lord a new song, for He renews my youth each day."
First Reading: Acts 14:21-27
A confident religious individualism that preaches only the salvation of one’s soul hasdisappeared in many places but still survives in some. Indeed, the baptized are not indifferentto the souls of others; they pray for everyone to go to heaven. However, this belief remainsrooted in the idea that all friendships will be severed at the reckoning, and each person will have to face God alone. This conception leads to the frustration of a merit-based religion: each individual brings their good works, and it should be clear that, in the end, there can be notransactions.
If this is the case, we must ask ourselves what the purpose of the community is if, at the decisive moment, each person must fend for themselves. The disciples of Jesus form a single body, and the individual members cannot survive without one another. They are a people, a family in which each member is, in some way, responsible for the actions of the others.
The reading deepens this theme of community life. Paul and Barnabas are about to conclude their first missionary journey. They have traveled through many regions andproclaimed the Good News in numerous cities. Before returning to the community of Antioch from which they were sent and to which they must give an account of their work, they decide to revisit the young communities they have founded. They want to strengthen these communities in faith and assist them in organizing themselves, so they established a group of elders.
One cannot conceive of an egoistic Christian life that does not relate to others andfocuses solely on oneself and one’s spiritual progress. A person can be good and pious in their religious practice but may not truly embody Christianity. This is why, from the beginning, the apostles needed to establish ‘centers of fraternity’ everywhere, led by ‘elders.’
Missionary work does not conclude when individuals embrace the faith and are baptized. Believers must form a ‘community’ where each person feels like a living, active, co-responsible member.
Second Reading: Revelation 21:1-5a
In the Bible, the word ‘new’ is often used—347 times in the Old Testament and 44 times in the New Testament—and this adjective signifies a radical change from what existed before. God's new work is unexpected, unimaginable, and surprising. For example, when He promises a ‘new law’ (Jer 31:31-34), He is not referring to a new set of prescriptions or an ‘updating’ of the Decalogue but rather to the gift of a radically different law- one that bringsinner dynamism leading to doing good, with the law set in the heart rather than written on stone.
In the Old Testament, many new realities are announced that the Lord will bring about: a new covenant, a new spirit, a new heart, and a new creation: "For behold, I now create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind again. Be glad forever and rejoice in what I create; for I create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to delight" (Isaiah 65:17-18).
The initial creation was good. God made everything ‘perfect’ (Gen 1:31), but man, in his freedom, introduced sin, misused creatures for evil, and led them to corruption. The consequences of his senseless choices are apparent: wars, violence, oppression, injustice... Is God's project, therefore, irretrievably failed? Has the Lord of the universe lost control of His creation?
No, responds the seer of the Apocalypse. God controls the world's destiny; no event surprises Him; He makes all things new (v. 5). He is not destroying the first creation butpreparing ‘a new heaven and a new earth.’ Only the sea—the symbol of everything opposedto life (Rev 13:1)—will vanish forever and evaporate to the last drop (v. 1).
The vision continues: "I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from heaven, from God, ready as a bride adorned for her husband" (v. 2). On no day of her life does the woman appear as charming as on her wedding day. She is young; her face shows no blemish or wrinkle; everyone admires her. The reality of the world before us is precisely the opposite, and the forecasts are gloomy; nothing indicates such a surprising transformation. It is like observing a caterpillar: one is not inclined to believe it will become a butterfly.
The conclusion of the history of the world is dreamlike: God will dwell with peopleforever, "and wipe away every tear from their eyes; there will be no more death, nor mourning, nor crying, nor pain, for the former things have passed away" (vv. 3-4). This message of joy and hope that John addresses to the Christians of his communities encouragesthem to resist being defeated by evil's apparent and unstoppable triumph. Ultimately, they will discover—says the seer—that God has always been in control.
Gospel: Jn 13:31-33a.34-35
For us, heirs of Greek thought, glorification is the attainment of people’s approval and praise; it equates to fame, achieved by those who attain a prestigious position. Everyone desires it, yearns for it, and struggles for it, so they distance themselves from God. The Jews who "take glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from God" (Jn 5:44), who "preferred the favorable opinion of people over God’s approval" (Jn 12:43), cannot believe in Jesus, in whom the ‘glory’ that attracts people’s eyes and attention is not manifested. In him, from his first appearance in the world, the glory of God is made visible: "The Word became flesh and pitched his tent among us, and we saw his glory" (Jn 1:14).
God is glorified when He unfolds His power and performs deeds of salvation by showingHis love for people. In the Old Testament, His glory was manifested when He freed His people from slavery. "The Israelites will see His glory," the prophet promises, "for He is about to come and save them" (Is 35:2, 4).
In the first verses of today's Gospel (vv. 31-32), the verb ‘glorify’ appears five times:“The Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in him”; “if God is glorified in him, in turn,he will glorify him and will glorify him at once.” This creates redundancy and verbosity that can be somewhat tedious; it presents a solemnity that feels excessive and out of place in the context in which Jesus pronounces these words. We are in the cenacle, only a few hours away from his capture and condemnation to death.
Those who do not know in advance how events unfolded may be led to believe that God is about to astound everyone with a miracle, demonstrating his strength by humiliating his enemies. However, this is not the case. Jesus is glorified because Judas has gone out to conspire with the high priests to arrest the Master (v. 31). An unprecedented, scandalous, and incomprehensible event occurs in Jesus, who moves toward his passion and death, who hands himself over to the executioners and is nailed to the cross, the ‘glory’ of God is revealed.
A few days earlier, Jesus made it clear what his glory consists of: "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified... If the grain of wheat that falls into the earth does not die, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" (Jn 12:23-24). The glory that awaits him is when, by giving his life, he will reveal to the world how great God's love for people is. This is the only glory that he also promises to his disciples.
The passage continues with the presentation of the new commandment, introduced by a surprising expression: ‘Children...’ (v. 33). The disciples are not children but brothers of Jesus. Why does he refer to them in this way? To understand the meaning of his words, one must consider the moment they are pronounced. During the Last Supper, Jesus realizes he hasonly a few hours left to live and must dictate his will. Just as children regard their father's words on his deathbed as sacred, Jesus wants his disciples to imprint what he is about to sayin their minds and hearts.
Here is his testament: "I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you!" (v. 34). To highlight its significance, he will repeat it twice more before walking toward Gethsemane: "This is my commandment: love one another as I have loved you" (Jn 15:12); "This I command you: love one another" (Jn 15:17).
He speaks as one who wishes to leave something as an inheritance: ‘I give you’—he states (v. 34). If we could have chosen one gift among the many he possessed, we all—I believe—would have asked for the power to perform miracles. Instead, he offered us a new commandment. For us, a commandment represents an imposition, a heavy commitment to fulfill, a burden to carry. Some believe that happiness is achieved by clever individuals, by those who enjoy life by transgressing the ‘ten words’ of God. For this reason, many are convinced that those who successfully keep the Ten Commandments deserve paradise, while those who are unfaithful must face severe punishment.
This widespread perspective urgently needs correction because it is highly harmful. It stems from a distorted image of God. A commonplace example: if a doctor insists that his patient quit smoking, he does so not to restrict his freedom or deprive him of pleasure, nor to put him to the test, but because he genuinely desires what is best for him. Secretly, hoping to go unnoticed, the patient may continue to smoke and eventually find himself with damaged lungs. The doctor does not punish him for this (his actions have not harmed the doctor, but he has harmed himself); he will always strive to help him recover. And God—let it be noted in passing—is a good doctor; he heals all diseases (Ps 103:3).
By giving us his commandment, Jesus has revealed himself as an invaluable friend: he has demonstrated, not through words but through the gift of his life, how to embrace one's existence in this world entirely.
It is a new commandment. In what sense? Is it not already written in the Old Testament: "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Lev 19:18)? Let us examine where the novelty lies.Compared to what is taught in the Old Testament, the second part is undoubtedly new: "As I have loved you, so you must also love one another" (v. 34). The measure of love proposed to us by Jesus is not the one we use towards ourselves, but the one he has for us.
We do not necessarily love ourselves; we struggle with our limits, faults, and miseries. If we make a mistake, leave a wrong impression, or do something we should be ashamed of, we sometimes go so far as to punish ourselves. Thus, the commandment is new because it is not spontaneous for a person to love those who do not deserve it or cannot reciprocate; it is not customary to do good even to one's enemies.
Jesus reveals a new love: he loved those who needed his passion to be happy. He loved the poor, the sick, the marginalized, the wicked, the corrupt, and even his executioners because only through loving them could he bring them out of their condition of narrowness, misery, and sin.
It is the gratuitous and unmotivated love that God demonstrated in the Old Testamentwhen He chose His people: "The Lord—Moses tells the Israelites—has bound Himself to you and has chosen you, not because you are the most numerous among all the peoples (on the contrary, you are the least) … but because of His love for you" (Dt 7:7-8). This is why John states, "I am not writing to you a new commandment, but reminding you of an old one ... if you love your brother you remain in the light" (1 Jn 2:7-10).
However, the most significant novelty of this commandment lies elsewhere. It is a fact that no one before Jesus ever attempted to build a society based on love like his. Thus, the Christian community is positioned as an alternative, a fresh proposal to all the old societies founded on competition, meritocracy, money, and power. This love must ‘glorify’ Christ's disciples. Through the words of Jeremiah, God announced: "Behold, the days will come when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel" (Jer 31:31). The old covenant was established based on the Ten Commandments. The new covenant is tied to the observance of a new commandment: love for one's brother, as exemplified by Jesus.
Jesus concludes his ‘testament’ by stating: "By this, all will know that you are my disciples if you have a love for one another" (v. 35). We understand that it is not the fruit that gives life to the tree, but rather it signifies that the tree is alive. Similarly, not the good works define our communities as Christian, but these works provide evidence that the Spirit of the Risen Lord animates our communities.
Christians are not different from others; they do not wear badges or live outside the world. What characterizes them is the logic of gratuitous love- the love of Jesus and the Father.
