As I’m sure you all know, Pope Leo celebrated his inauguration Mass just a few hours ago. In his homily, he called all people to live in unity and love. Allow me to quote a few lines from his brief but powerful homily:
I come to you as a brother, who desires to be the servant of your faith and your joy, walking with you on the path of God’s love, for he wants us all to be united in one family.
Love and unity: these are the two dimensions of the mission entrusted to Peter by Jesus.
Brothers and sisters, I would like that our first great desire be for a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world. In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalizes the poorest.
We are called to offer God’s love to everyone, in order to achieve that unity which does not cancel out differences but values the personal history of each person and the social and religious culture of every people.
Brothers and sisters, this is the hour for love! The heart of the Gospel is the love of God that makes us brothers and sisters.
In today’s Gospel passage from John, we hear Jesus give us a new commandment, one that will take commitment, perseverance and self-giving on our part even when it might not seem practical or even sensible. We are told today that we are to love as he loves. “Love one another,” he begins, but then he adds, “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.” And, he says this just after he has taken on the role of the lowliest servant to wash the feet of his disciples – including Judas, who would soon betray him and Peter, who would soon deny knowing him – and just after he has offered some food to Judas, symbolic of the Eucharist, before Judas goes out to hand Jesus over to his enemies. And, Jesus teaches this new commandment just as he is about to demonstrate his love most clearly by dying on the cross for us, when he begs: “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.”
Jesus sets a new command for his disciples. But he also gives them – and us – the means to fulfill it: through his example, as he mentions in today’s Gospel, and in the sending of the Holy Spirit. We will hear about that next Sunday and will celebrate it in just a few weeks on Pentecost Sunday. The very credibility of the Christian message depends on our witness and how we live out that commandment of love.
In today’s first reading, we recall how the early Christians – and, in particular, Paul and Barnabas – strengthened by the Holy Spirit, were able to follow Christ’s example as they proclaimed the Gospel – the Good News – throughout the world. It’s important to know the back story to today’s first reading. The passage that we hear today begins with St. Paul and St. Barnabas in Derbe, the last stop of their first missionary journey. As we hear in today’s reading, “after they made a considerable number of disciples” there in the town of Derbe, “they returned to Lystra and Iconium and to Antioch;” other towns where they had proclaimed the Gospel. What we don’t hear, however, is that St. Paul had just been stoned and left for dead in the town of Lystra. According to God’s plan, he didn’t die and was able to continue his missionary work in the next town, Derbe. But, after establishing a Christian community there, he returned to Lystra – where he had been stoned for proclaiming the Gospel. As we hear in today’s reading, rather than excoriating those who had tried to kill him, he “strengthened the spirits of the disciples,” encouraging them by telling them that “it is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” He had come to understand and accept the kind of love that Jesus was teaching by his word and example, and became a model for the early Christian community – and us!
As challenging as our Lord’s command is, it has a very big reward – eternal life in the glory of God’s presence. We hear a little about that in today’s second reading from the Book of Revelation and we will hear more about it next week, as well. We all have goals in life, and we’re willing work toward them and even make sacrifices in order to achieve them. There is no goal that is as important – or long-lasting – as the goal of getting to heaven. There, as we hear in today’s second reading, “there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain,” but a new Jerusalem where God makes “all things new.” The kind of love that God calls us to live leads us to the everlasting love that God has in store for us in this heavenly Jerusalem.
Today, as we celebrate the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV and, with him, ponder our Lord’s command to love, we might ask ourselves whether this kind of love is at the heart of our lives. And keeping in mind that we can do all things with God’s help, let us commit to love of God and love of neighbor, to serving others lovingly, speaking lovingly and forgiving abundantly. For a Christ-like love is the hallmark of the true Christian. “This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” we hear Jesus declare. And, this is the way to heaven!