Acts 14:21-27

The Book of Acts shows how the Easter message spread to all parts of the Mediterranean world. Today we hear a travelogue of part of one of Paul's missionary journeys. It takes place in modern-day Turkey. The mountainous terrain there made travel difficult and dangerous, and the situation was even worse because of the constant threat of robbers, flash floods and wild animals.

Revelation 21:1-5

Many people read the book of Revelation as though it gives secret information about future events, including the end of the world. But it was really intended to be a source of hope for Christians suffering persecution toward the end of the First Century. The author vividly describes visions of how God would ultimately overcome all evil and bring all creation to it destiny.

John 13:31-33a, 34-35

Bishop Untener's Homily

It's hard to believe in the kind of love of that Jesus has for us, this man who ate and drank with sinners. But it's a little easier to understand on Mother's Day weekend. Because the love Jesus has for us is very similar to a mother's love.

A mother loves us no matter what. For example, when there is a public criminal toward whom we feel very angry, we understand it when that criminal's mother still loves him. The mother doesn't agree with what her son did, but she still loves him. That helps to make more believable the love that Jesus has for us.

During his ministry, when Jesus was accused of mingling with, eating and drinking with sinners, he said, "These are the people I came for." And then he told the parable of the Lost Sheep, and the parable of the Prodigal Son. After his death, Jesus rises and his first words to the disciples who abandoned him were, "Peace be with you."

The love of Jesus for us is beautiful to behold, and Mother's Day can help us understand it, believe in it.

Now here's the thing. Jesus just said in the Gospel, "As I have loved you, so you also should love one another." That's a little more than saying, sort of in general, "Be nice to people." He said, "As I have loved you, so you also should love one another."

We are called by Jesus himself, by a new commandment, to love as he did. We are supposed to respond to evil with goodness. We are supposed to do what a mother does when a little child is angry, screaming, in a tantrum. The mother hugs the child and surrounds the child with love and absorbs the anger and the evil. That is what we are to do: Surround evil with goodness and absorb the evil - not respond to evil with evil, and add to the evil in this world.

If you got a group of people together and said that you were forming an organization, a club, and this is what the members would do: When somebody does something to us that is not good, instead of responding back with something that is not good, we're going to respond with goodness and absorb it. I think people might say, "You're out of your mind. It won't work. You can't live that way in this world."

Jesus formed a group of disciples, and he has called us to be part of that group. We have in front of us the words of Jesus: "I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another." Then he says, "This is how all will know that you are my disciples." You see, it's such an unusual, strange way to live, that it stands out. People notice the difference.

We might say to the Lord, "But that's impossible!" Then Jesus would say, "Well, mothers do it. It's not impossible." And then he'd say, "I did it. I showed you the way. And don't forget. I promised not to leave you orphans. I promised to send my Spirit upon you so that my own divine life would be in you. I will be within you, and I can make possible what seems impossible. Let me act through you. You be the hands and you be the voice and let me act through you, because with me, all things are possible. I will be with you at Eucharist so that you can join with me in giving yourself fully to the Father's will. I will feed you with my own Body and Blood to sustain you, nourish you, and enable you to be my hands and my voice."

On this mother's day weekend, it is that Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus, that these youngsters are going to receive as a special gift. It is the Body and Blood of Jesus that they will receive to feed them along the way, and form them more fully into the Body of Christ.

I call all of us, not just those being confirmed and those receiving first Eucharist, to live up to this, and open ourselves fully to the presence and power of Jesus within us. And in a special way I call these youngsters in front of me to realize that you are receiving the Spirit of Christ, the Body and Blood of Christ himself. Because of that we expect great things from you. We expect people to notice that the way you live is different - and it's the way that Jesus himself lived. Or, to put it more accurately, it's the way Jesus still lives... within you.

Originally given on May 13, 2001