ACTS 14:21-27; PSALM 145; APOCALYPSE 21:1-5; JOHN 13:31-33, 34-35.
Reading 1 Acts 14:21-27
After Paul and Barnabas had proclaimed the good news
to that city and made a considerable number of disciples,
they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.
They strengthened the spirits of the disciples
and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying,
“It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships
to enter the kingdom of God.”
They appointed elders for them in each church and,
with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord
in whom they had put their faith.
Then they traveled through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia.
After proclaiming the word at Perga they went down to Attalia.
From there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now accomplished.
And when they arrived, they called the church together
and reported what God had done with them
and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
Reading 2 Rev 21:1-5a
Then I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth.
The former heaven and the former earth had passed away,
and the sea was no more.
I also saw the holy city, a New Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race.
He will dwell with them and they will be his people
and God himself will always be with them as their God.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes,
and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain,
for the old order has passed away.”
The One who sat on the throne said,
“Behold, I make all things new.”
Alleluia Jn 13:34
- Alleluia, alleluia.
I give you a new commandment, says the Lord:
love one another as I have loved you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Jn 13:31-33a, 34-35
When Judas had left them, Jesus said,
“Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself,
and God will glorify him at once.
My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.
I give you a new commandment: love one another.
As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.
This is how all will know that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another.”
Some years back, a man came to a parish and introduced himself as a priest on transit. He requested for accommodation and offered to help the parish priest in his Sunday masses. The parish priest, a kind and friendly priest accepted him and gave him two masses to celebrate. The next day after “celebrating” the masses, he disappeared with all the collections.
That was when it dawned on the priest that he must have hosted a fraudster who must have “sacrilegiously simulated” the mass. It was then he called to make inquiry from the diocese the man claimed and lo and behold, the man gave the real name of another priest who was somewhere in his parish at that point.
For these and other reasons, it is not always enough for someone to introduce himself as a priest and then be granted license to celebrate or concelebrate. There are evidences required and ways to ascertain.
The point is this; there are so many fake people out there, so many deceivers, and so many fraudsters adopting complex means, people claiming to be who they are not.
Same way, there are so many fake believers today, people claiming to be followers of Jesus but they are neither genuine nor authentic.
How do we know genuine followers of Christ?
Jesus provides the answer: “By this love you have for one another, everyone will know that you are my disciples.”
Jesus took evidence of discipleship beyond external display of piety to the realm of character. Today, we may want to reflect on evidences of a true disciple of Jesus.
A. Love: A disciple of Jesus is one who is clothed in love, a love that is modeled according to the pattern of Christ’ love- universal (non-discriminatory), sacrificial and unconditional. Loving like Christ is the certificate of a true disciple (1 John 4:8).
These days, people practice so much of fake love, simulated love, and a love that pretends to be sacrificial but self-seeking. A parody of love that destroys those who fall for it.
A true believer is one who loves like Christ and whose heart can never accommodate hatred.
B. Good character: A disciple learns the character of his master. A disciple of Jesus must have the character of Jesus- his compassion, concern for others, his humility (Philippians 2:5).
What is the essence of not using jewelries, wearing long skirts, plaiting hair with rubber/wool, not using make-ups and yet be arrogant, proud, unsubmissive, vexatious and lacking verbal decency and prudence?
C. Perseverance in faithfulness to God…
Paul and Barnabas in the first reading encouraged the believers in Lystra and Iconium and Antioch to persevere in faith in the midst of bitter persecution. A true believer is one who will entertain no alternative to total trust in God. One who stands with God and God alone, no matter the vicissitudes, trials and temptations of life.
We may want to evaluate ourselves against these criteria and judge for ourselves if we have evidence enough to convince the world that we are followers of Jesus.
Sermon preached by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Okami on May 19, 2019.