What we have proclaimed for the past five weeks, during this Easter season, is that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is not some once-and-for-all event, but rather a fundamental reversal of everything that came before. However, like the Apostles who did not understand what it meant “to rise from the dead after three days,” we have not yet grasped fully what it means for us.
Sunday’s Gospel gave us a plan to understand it better. It was at the Last Supper that Jesus began to tell us how to best bring about “the new creation.” He spoke of His glory, a glory to be revealed on the Cross. Paradoxically, the Cross is the essence of life. It is with great tenderness that Jesus spoke to us once more from the Table – revealing how we shall discover that new heaven and new earth: by loving as He loved, not as the world loves (always expecting something in return). We cannot ever say that we love God while any of God’s creation is excluded from our love.
Easter reminds us that love is the one, supreme condition for each of us who might want to be a disciple of Jesus. Love is the essential mission of the Church. It is the one thing that Jesus looks for in us, and He can find it because He has given it to us. Having received this love, we do have it to give. What matters is that we recognize and trust that God’s love for us made manifest in Jesus Christ is real … and that we have a chance every day to share it with others.
