(This Homily may also be seen and heard by accessing Catholic Community TV at https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/CCTNtv and then scrolling down to 7AM 5th Sunday of Easter and clicking on the Mass.\u00a0 You can speed forward to the homily.)<\/em><\/p>\n For the last couple of weeks.\u00a0 The pattern in our readings has been the same.\u00a0 First, a reading from Acts that chronicles how the early church spread like wildfire.\u00a0 Second, there\u2019s an excerpt from the book of Revelation \u00a0that talks about what happens when we all reach heaven.\u00a0 And third, a Gospel reading from John establishes that Jesus is God; Jesus then goes on to give us some advice for when he leaves his human form at the Ascension.<\/p>\n And the reason for this pattern is to remind us each week of the Easter Season just how deep and far reaching the Resurrection event is, not just for the early Church; but for all of us who believe.\u00a0 The Church is trying to spread the joy and enthusiasm of the early Church.<\/p>\n Today, we hear of the manifold travels of Paul; and how many people were converted at each stop.\u00a0 Priests, also known as Presbyters or Elders, were ordained at each location to keep the Church going there.\u00a0 And they offered a service on Sunday- a service of the Word and of the Eucharist- just like we do.\u00a0 They did that because that\u2019s what the early disciples were told to do at the Last Supper.\u00a0 We are doing the same 2000 years later.<\/p>\n The second reading reminds us of the fullness of our heritage as believers- everlasting life with Jesus, the Lamb of God, forever and ever.\u00a0 Today, we hear that there is a New Jerusalem and that there is no more sea.\u00a0 The sea is the dwelling place of the Beast, or devil, in the book of Revelation.\u00a0 But for those who reach heaven, the Beast will be no more, and his dwelling place will be gone.\u00a0 All that will remain for us is everlasting happiness.<\/p>\n So, are you excited about all that yet?\u00a0 Because you should be, that\u2019s the whole idea of the repetition, the pattern the Church presents during these weeks of Easter.\u00a0 The Church wants us to realize that we have all been blessed. \u00a0\u00a0All of us experienced the evangelization by the Church and then Baptism and membership in it.\u00a0 We are commissioned now to go be witnesses to the end of the earth and \u201cpass it on\u201d as it was passed on to us.\u00a0 If we do that, we will experience the glory and joy of everlasting life described in the second reading.<\/p>\n In today\u2019s Gospel, Jesus first talks about his glory.\u00a0 Jesus carefully groomed his Apostles and Disciples for that moment- the moment when he would come into his glory, the moment when the plan of salvation will be clear to all.\u00a0 The Apostles didn\u2019t understand right then, but everything happened so fast after that.\u00a0 The plan unfolded and happened before their eyes as witnesses.\u00a0 And the glory of the Lord was revealed to them on Easter Sunday as the impossible happened.\u00a0 A man who had been brutally tortured and murdered had arisen; and not only that, he was different.\u00a0 He could appear and disappear at will; and he could pass through walls and doors; he was dazzling in appearance; and he would live forever with his Father.\u00a0 Jesus promised that same Resurrection of the body to all of us, and he promised that it would last forever if we followed him.<\/p>\n Now Jesus knew that he was going to leave the Apostles, since his role as God made man had been fulfilled.\u00a0 And so, he gave key advice to them; he told them:\u00a0 \u201cAs I have loved you, so you should also love one another!\u201d<\/p>\n As I have loved you. \u00a0\u00a0This is what was new in Christianity- the love of God manifested by God made man.\u00a0 The story of how Jesus loved us is what the Gospel as a whole is all about.\u00a0 For Jesus, love consisted in this: doing the will of the Father always by loving others rather than his own self. \u00a0It was first of all made known in the ordinary things of life, Jesus\u2019 friendships and fellowship with his Apostles; in the many miracles and kindnesses that he showed the rejected members of society, such as lepers and sinners; in the favors he did for strangers such as raising a child from the dead; and in the teaching he did through the parables.\u00a0 Jesus showed all of us what God\u2019s real love was all about by living a life of service for others rather than by seeking power and using it for his own end.\u00a0 Then, he was called upon to suffer and die because the radical way of life he preached was rejected by the authorities.<\/p>\n Impressive as it was, all of what Jesus did would have passed into oblivion had it not been for the Resurrection.\u00a0 That changed everything because nothing like it ever happened before.<\/p>\n All of us are given an opportunity to love \u201cas I have loved you\u201d.\u00a0 It all begins in the ordinary things of life- your family, including your children and your parents, even when they are sick or handicapped or aged; and in those people that God has placed in your life at work and play, including those who need your help in tough times.\u00a0 Love of others even means deferring our own agendas for the good of others.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the advice Jesus left us.\u00a0 For as Jesus said in the Gospel: \u201cThis is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fifth Sunday of Easter Acts 14: 21-27; Rev 21: 1-5a; John 13: 31-33a, 34-35 By Deacon Larry Brockman (This Homily may also be seen and heard by accessing Catholic Community TV at https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/CCTNtv and then scrolling down to 7AM 5th Sunday of Easter and clicking on the Mass.\u00a0 You can speed forward to the homily.) 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