Acts 14.21b-27 | Revelation 21.1-5a | John 13.31-33a,34-35

It is Easter! It is resurrection! It is life! With Mother Church we begin the fifth week of Easter Season. Jesus is alive among us!

Today the evangelist John speaks to us about the glorification of the Son of Man and the new commandment of love.

The context of today's passage is the Last Supper. Jesus was only with the disciples for a short time, because the very next day He would be crucified. Jesus speaks of the Son of Man, which was a well-known Jewish title for the Messiah. Jesus was the Son of Man, the Messiah, who was glorified in order to glorify God. The verb to glorify means to reach supreme glory, to be exalted. So to say that the Son of Man and God were glorified means that Jesus and the Father were reaching glory, were being exalted.

And such glorification occurred through the obedience of the Son of Man to God, through His death on the Cross and subsequent resurrection. In other words, through the Paschal Mystery, the Son was exalting the Father at the same time that the Father was exalting the Son.

When they left at the Last Supper, Jesus left His disciples the new commandment of love. The newness was in the measure of love, that is, in loving as Jesus had loved them, an unconditional and limitless love, so that they would be recognized by all as His disciples.

There is nothing more sublime than love! It is no wonder that God is defined as love, and that Jesus is considered the incarnation of love. Where there is love, God is there! In this Easter Season, through our sincere fraternal love, witnessed in words and deeds, let us show the world that Christ is resurrected and present among us! By loving one another, we will be glorifying both the Father and the Son.

Today, the evangelist Luke tells us in the Acts of the Apostles about the missionary journeys of Paul and Barnabas, the appointment of presbyters for the communities, and the opening of the door of faith to the pagans. It was a time of persecution of Christians, both by the Jews and the Romans. But the apostles encouraged the disciples, saying that they would enter the Kingdom of God through the sufferings they endured in faith.

Let us leave our comfort zone and go forth on a mission, proclaiming Jesus Christ so that He may be known, loved and served, organizing living and dynamic communities of faith, overcoming difficulties and adversaries with unshakable trust in God.

Today, the evangelist John speaks to us in the book of Revelation about the new Jerusalem and the victory over death, pain and suffering. Transported by the Holy Spirit, John had this mystical vision about the future times, about eternity with God, about Heaven. The expression "new Jerusalem" referred to the Jews and pagans who accepted salvation in Christ and who, after biological death, lived in the presence of God. The new heaven and the new earth arise, on the one hand, by the Grace and gift of God and, on the other hand, by the effort of Christians in work and prayer. It is a collaboration between Christians and non-Christians.

Eternal salvation is the greatest hope of Christians. Supported by faith and contemplating the final victory, Christians find the strength to endure the sufferings and pains of the present time. After all, God makes all things new and these words are worthy of faith and true.

Local: Praia Grande - SP, Brasil

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