Renewed for God!

Sunday, May 18, 2025

Fifth Sunday of Easter

Acts 14:21-27; Rev 21:1-5a; Jn 13:31-33a, 34-35

The fifth Sunday of Easter invites us to renew ourselves for God. 

The theme of newness and renewal runs through the readings of the day. 

The first reading recounts Paul and Barnabas’s return to cities where they proclaimed the Good News and made converts. The purpose of their return journey is to strengthen those churches in faith and appoint elders, entrusting them with the responsibility of safeguarding the faith they have received. In my view, the first reading reflects the very spirit of the missionary Church and the fact that the Church exists for mission. As the reading emphasizes the formation of new faith communities, it also highlights the expansion of the Gospel beyond the Jewish communities into Gentile regions. In establishing new church communities, the apostles demonstrate that in the constant tension between familiarity and novelty, the latter must win. It was thanks to the outreach to the Gentiles that the Church today remains multiethnic and multilingual. We must also note that when the new initiative was most needed for the Church’s future, God’s blessing was vividly seen in the increasing number of believers and the thriving of the new faith communities. It was God’s plan that the ‘unlikely’ people become the mainstay of the Church. The disciples’ openness to recognize God’s plan and embrace the new converts is rewarded by God. 

The second reading describes John’s apostolic vision wherein the theme of renewal is made clear. Here, the passing away of the former heaven and the former earth and the appearance of a new heaven and a new earth should be understood from the Divine Intention, which is not about abolishing the old and discarding it altogether but signifies that the old is being renewed and acquiring a new meaning. At the heart of the God-intended renewal is the declaration, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ The concept of newness and renewal can also be understood through God’s initiative to become closer to His people. Thus, the union of heaven and earth signifies that when God makes His dwelling among His people, death, mourning, and pain will be eradicated. The assurance that ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes’ means that God’s people will experience the fullness of divine love and justice, which His presence will bring about and achieve. Thus, in the message of newness and renewal, we understand the grand design of God, which is not death and destruction but renewal and recreation. We are called to live in hope that anticipates God’s intervention, which we will experience as radical renewal and recreation. 

The Gospel is about the new commandment given by Jesus. What is new about the new commandment? There are at least two significant insights. 

1. We must be reminded of the context in which Jesus gives the new commandment. It comes after Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. Not being just preachy, Jesus invites his disciples to imitate him. In other words, Jesus calls his followers to become servants in love and servants for love. 

2. Secondly, Jesus sets his love as the benchmark for others to follow. Thus, ‘as I have loved you’ is very powerful because Jesus becomes what he wishes others to practice. In other words, for love, we must become love because for Jesus, love defines itself in action. 

Here, we need to understand that the new commandment is not the obliteration of the commandments on love in the Hebrew Scriptures. Instead, it reflects a profound continuity with the old while radically deepening the same, especially through the example of Christ’s self-giving love on the cross. 

Likewise, living out the new commandment becomes the basis for glorifying God. We become God’s people only by putting into practice the new commandment. We glorify God by renewing our faith and life constantly based on the new commandment. 

The readings of the day challenge us with striking insights. 

1. To Be Community-Builders: In the first reading, Paul and Barnabas embody the central tenet of New Evangelization, which is re-evangelization of the already evangelized. While evangelization is an integral part of their ministry, community building too becomes an inalienable concern. They teach the community to embrace newness by receiving the newly converted Gentiles. Thus, the early Church becomes the countercultural community too. 

2. Redefinition of Heaven: The second reading calls for a redefinition of heaven. Heaven is where God lives. Heaven is where people find God in and through the exemplary lives of believers. Heaven is where we become godly by upholding each other and drying each other’s tears from an abundance of love. It is where Divine Justice becomes the governing principle of our lives. It is where we sense God in our midst animating our lives. 

3. Love – The Christian Identity: Following Jesus’ example, we understand love as the primary expression of discipleship, and we announce our identity as Christians only by mirroring the love of Christ. When love becomes the core of our Christian vocation, others will perceive God’s work through the testimony of believers. We must embody love, which is the nature of God and was the very expression of Christ. 

Let us pray that we may constantly renew ourselves in the light of Divine Love and live out the same in community. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar