5th Sunday of Easter Cycle C May 2, 2010
Acts 14:21-27 Revelation 21:1-5a John 13:31-33a, 34-
35
The words of today’s 1st reading, as spoken by Paul and Barnabas; “It is
necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of
God.” Especially if you’re a Red Sox fan. If these words don’t light a fire
under our comfort, then I’m not certain any words ever
will.
And then the words of today’s 2nd reading from the mouth of John in the
Book of Revelation; “Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race.” In
other words, God pitches His tent in the midst of our lives. He sits on our
hearts. In our hearts! God is within is what the writer of Revelation is
saying. “God’s dwelling is with the human race.” This dwelling is not
simply some outside dwelling or experience like Jesus walking with the
two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Where there’s a back and forth
conversation about the recent events in Jerusalem. Where sweat is
pouring off their heads as they make the long walk on a warm spring day.
No, their hearts were burning within as God pitched His tent and made His
dwelling with the human race. Their hearts were on fire because God
entered them internally through the Scriptures.
But do these first two readings match up? They seem to make strange
bedfellows. They don’t seem to gel. Listen again; “It is necessary to
undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.,” and “God’s
dwelling is with the human race.” Hardships and God’s presence. At the
same time. What’s wrong with this picture? If God’s dwelling is with the
human race, then all should be perfect. All should be sunshine, even on a
cloudy day. Life should be nice and easy, without hassle. Certainly no one
should ever have to die and experience John’s vision; a new heaven and a
new earth. Should they? At least not from a strictly human way of seeing
life.
And maybe that’s the issue with these two readings that don’t seem to
match on the surface. Maybe Scripture is leading us to live life with a divine
set of eyes, along with our human eyes. And if we advance our spirituality
along with our eyesight to incorporate a new heaven and a new earth, then
the readings do fit. And they fit perfectly.
Where do we find our divine eyesight to go along with our human eyes?
Hardship, along with God’s presence among us and within us fits perfectly
thanks to the teaching of this Gospel. And here’s how the Gospel makes
possible a new set of eyes.
First, Judas leaves. He goes off to do what he is going to do, quickly. And
after Judas takes the road that will lead him to 30 pieces of silver –- and we
know Jesus is worth so much more than that – Jesus pitches his tent as
he prepares for the hardships about to happen. He doesn’t run and hide.
He doesn’t blame God. He doesn’t ask “Why me?” He knows what’s
coming, and he pitches his tent for the duration. He perseveres.
How does Jesus pitch his tent? In what manner does his tent remain
pegged into the hearts of human beings? After preparing the Apostles for
the day of his ascension, Jesus plants the eternal seed of presence. The
seed that says, “I am with you always.” And that seed is of course, “I give
you a new commandment; love one another, as I have loved you.” And
what healthy, true, genuine, divine love does is that it cements our
hardships with God’s presence in the human
race.
I see this all the time, especially in hospitals. The other night I was doing
my usual Tuesday night/Wednesday morning coverage of the UMass
hospitals, and I received a call for an anointing. So when I arrived at the
emergency room at UMass Lakeside, the patient was a 98-year old man
who had had a stroke and was on his way to Paradise. Present were his
wife of 70+ years, along with their daughter. This situation, which every
priest is familiar with, is right out of these readings. Hardship (in this case
the suffering and impending death); God’s dwelling with the human race in
the power of the Sacrament of Anointing; the love this family has for one
another. It’s all there working at the same time. It’s a perfect fit. Or at least in
this life, it’s as perfect as it can
get.
The resurrection of Jesus from the grave is the justifying principle and the
one event that unites hardship along with God pitching His tent among us.
The resurrection is the only event that makes any level of sense, and
provides any degree of determination to go on, regarding the many
hardships we endure. The resurrection says we are made worthy to suffer,
because we are made worthy to overcome it. To a degree in this life, I pray.
In total victory in the life to come.
Being a person who chooses to love day in and day out doesn’t remove
the hardships of life, as St. Paul and Barnabas tell us, and as the Apostles
themselves will experience in their own crucifixions. We should never
expect such a complete removal from our lives. But loving one another,
and being open to one’s love toward us, does ensure God’s presence in
the midst of hardship, and also in the midst of joy. The other option is to
leave, as Judas did. And that’s an option that leads to doom. Which is no
option at all for us disciples of Christ.