Father Thomas Welbers' Homily	Jump back to Homily Index
Fifth Sunday of Easter, May 9, 2004 Acts 13:21-27 Revelation 21:1-5a John 13:31-33a, 34-35	Listen to Audio

Why should we love one another? Well, common sense tells us that the “Golden Rule” is true. The only way we can get along in this world is to treat one another the way we would want to be treated ourselves.

We know the importance of the Golden Rule, and that it’s the only way that we truly can get along in this world – to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Yet, if we are honest, we also know how hard it is to keep even this minimal standard of love. There are so many ways we justify not loving our neighbor. They may have done terrible things to us, and we use that as an excuse to do terrible things to them – personally or nationally. Or we may even just fear that they could do terrible things to us, so we pre-emptively do terrible things to them, and so justify our own actions in violation of the Golden Rule.

Actually, although they Golden Rule is a basic law of good human behavior, and Jesus affirms that it sums up the entire Old Testament Law, it’s not what Jesus asks of us. He asks more of us. And if we care about him, we have to listen to what he is saying.

Notice that Jesus’ new commandment to love one another goes beyond even the most difficult human standard of love. He doesn’t tell us merely to love one another as we love ourselves. He tells us to love one another as he has loved us. He says, “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.”

It’s not hard to see how we must love. Just look at Jesus, and see what he has done out of love for us. But the big question that we often pass over is “why?” Why should we love as Jesus loves? It’s not just to be nice. It’s not even to get to heaven as kind of a self interested thing. You know: God wants it, and I’ll do it so God will reward me.

Jesus himself tells us why, and it’s important that we listen. He says: “This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

In other words, Jesus doesn’t just want us to get to heaven; he wants us to bring others with us. And we do not convert others by debates or arguments about God and religion. There is only one way we can move others to take an interest in Jesus, enough of an interest to become his disciple too, and that is how well do we love them.

© Thomas Welbers 2004

Here are some useful links, which provide material for the study of these liturgical readings, and reflections on their message:

The Text This Week, Fifth Sunday of Easter.

Daily Word of Life

The Center for Liturgy at St. Louis University

Lectionary Resource for Catholics