Summary: Remember that the letter to the Hebrews tells us that Jesus Himself was made perfect through suffering. If we, too, want to share in His glory, we must also be prepared to suffer, perhaps a lot. And loving can involve suffering too, can't it?

Fifth Sunday of Easter 2025

Pope St. John Paul II looked at Our Lord Jesus as the fulfillment of what we might call “human potential.” He was and is the man that Adam was created to become. Lamentably, Adam and Eve tried the Satanic shortcut, attempting to become divine by disobeying a direct command of God. That didn’t work very well, did it?

Jesus, the New Adam, in clear contrast to their rebellion, came only to do the will of the Father, and He did that all the way to dying on the cross. Then He was raised up, first on the cross, then in His bodily Resurrection, and last, in the feast we will soon celebrate, in His Ascension to the right hand of the Father. Because He is true God and true man, we can by our sacramental incorporation with Him and our faith in Him be raised up after our own falling asleep to reign with Him in His Kingdom.

For the first couple of Sundays in Paschal season, we heard stories mostly about Peter in the Holy Land. Now the Acts of Apostles is revealing some important tales about Paul and his companions. In Acts 13 and 14 Paul and Barnabas have been on Paul’s first missionary journey through Asia Minor. Their pattern of evangelization is the same everywhere. They arrive in a town, go to the synagogue, preach the good news that Jesus has fulfilled the covenant made with David by rising from the dead, and has superseded (gone beyond) the Mosaic covenant by offering forgiveness without Temple worship. Then the Jewish leaders stir up the people against Paul and drive him out of town.

This happened in Antioch of Pisidia, then Iconium and Derbe. In today’s reading, they have just been expelled from Lystra, where Paul had healed a man who was unable to use his feet. The unwanted result? The pagans of that town mistook Paul and Barnabas for the gods Zeus and Hermes and tried to offer to them bloody sacrifices. The apostles did persuade the pagans to abandon that idea, but the Jews from previous destinations stoned Paul and dragged him out of town, leaving him for dead. So that is what led up to today’s conclusion, when they ventured to Derbe and returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia “strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” Paul had just begun his tribulations. That’s one of the reasons people give up trying to be perfect, that is, complete and one with their heavenly goal. They don’t go for the tribulation part.

We’ve lost some wonderful brothers and sisters in the parish and nation and world already this year, so it’s comforting to read in the Book of Revelations that Jesus Himself will help us in trials here on earth. But it gets better. In His Kingdom, “he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.” Alleluia. Come, Lord Jesus.

Today’s Gospel is taken from Christ’s discourse at the Last Supper. His lifting up on the cross was His first Glorification, the conclusion of His Great Passover. Remember that the letter to the Hebrews tells us that Jesus Himself was made perfect through suffering. If we, too, want to share in His glory, we must also be prepared to suffer, perhaps a lot, but certainly we will all be called to love one another to the same extent that Jesus loved us.

Loving Jesus is pretty straightforward, but to be like Him, we must love everyone in the same way He loved us. And Christ is very clear about what that means. Jesus loves us to the same extent the Father loves Him and He loves the Father. Remember that the Holy Ghost is that bond of love between Father and Son. That intra-Trinitarian love is way, way beyond anything we could imagine. But that’s the kind of self-sacrificial love that Jesus tells us to have for each other, and even for our enemies.

That’s how a world in dire need of Jesus and His Love will come to know that we are His disciples if we love one another all the way until it hurts.

We must, in St. Paul’s words, live every day for the praise of God’s glory. “Whether we live or we die, we are the Lord’s.” Blessed be His Holy Name forever.