Homily Fifth Sunday of Easter Year C Give glory to God
Homily:
Fifth Sunday of Easter Year C
Reading
1: Paul and Barnabas were signaled out by the Holy Spirit to go to the Gentile
world to preach the good news of salvation in Jesus, the Risen Lord. Our
reading is about the end of that first journey and their return to Antioch,
Syria, where it began.
It
says in the first part that they went to Antioch, Greece to bid farewell to the
house church established there. What they said to the believers can be said to
us today. Paul and Barnabas exhorted them to persevere in their faith in Jesus
Christ. “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom
of God.”
As
the twelve apostles appointed deacons to take care of the needs of the people,
so Paul and Barnabas appoint elders (priests) to continue the pasturing of the
community as the disciples leave.
Then
they returned to Antioch, Syria and related to the community that sent them how
the Gentiles responded to the proclamation of the truth. And the Church gave
glory to God.
Why
were Paul and Barnabas so effective? They followed the lead of the Holy Spirit.
They proclaimed the truth in the power of the Holy Spirit. They acted in love
and not for selfish gain.
Reading
2: We are given in the Book of Revelation what we will experience if we
persevere in faith, if we endure the suffering because of the name of Jesus, if
we follow the lead of the Holy Spirit, if we love others as Jesus has loved us.
What is that? To be with God forever in glory.
What
does this look like? We will be in the new heaven and new earth; we will be the
bride of Christ, adorned for her husband; we will be fully in the presence of
God as his redeemed and glorified people. There God will wipe away every tear.
There will be no more sadness, death or mourning, no more pain, because the old
has passed and the new is eternal. This is the promise God has made and God has
fulfilled in the lives of those who are with him now.
There
is great joy and anticipation for our coming into the eternal kingdom where the
glorified ones are glorifying God with songs, and shouts, with worship and
praise. Are you excited?
Gospel:
We are at the Last Supper. Jesus has washed the feet of the disciples, given
them an example of service they needed to imitate. Then he gave Judas a last
chance to desist from his intention to betray Jesus. But Judas was determine no
matter what.
And
now Jesus focuses on the eleven. In John’s Gospel the Last Super was an
opportunity for Jesus to leave them his Last Will and Testament. He already
showed them the example service. He will speak of the coming and role of the
Holy Spirit; he will speak of the need for them to be one with him and with
each other, as he is one with the Father; he will tell them that his departure,
namely his death, will bring them sadness, but his resurrection will bring them
joy. For he goes to prepare a place for them.
Our
present Gospel selection speaks of two other subjects that Jesus left with
them. First, that his death on the cross will give God glory and the Father
will in turn raise Jesus up, revealing Jesus’ glory as Lord and Savior. The
apostles had already heard Jesus talk about glorifying God and they heard the
Father’s voice saying he will glorify Jesus soon.
The
way Jesus will glorify God is the same way we are called to glorify him. Jesus
chose to do the will of God, obediently even to the death of the cross. When we
seek to do the will of God in all circumstances we are glorifying God. In so
doing we are acknowledging that he is God and we are his creatures.
The
second way Jesus glorified the Father was that he did the will of God out of
love, not obligation or fear. He had an agape love for the Father. He gave his
total self to the Father in all he did in his humanity. He tells the disciples
and us, “As I have loved you, you must love one another. By this all will know
that you are my disciples, your love for one another.” Paul and Barnabas lived
this out in their missionary outreach. The saints in heaven are with God
because they gave glory to God on earth by doing his will in love in spite of
their hardships. This is our call, to glorify
God by doing his will, loving one another as he has loved us.
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