Fifth Sunday of Easter
Sunday, May 19, 2019
Lectionary C 

John 13:31-35

Our lectionary readings for the fifth Sunday of Easter reflect on the Church reaching out beyond its boundaries.

The psalmist and John, the revelator, give us a picture of the peoples of the world coming together, manifesting the glory of God where all things are made new by the love of God. The whole cosmos is gathered around the throne of the triune God, living in the harmony of the kingdom of God.

Our gospel text and Acts passage shows us the nitty-gritty of how this is worked out in the here and now. Jesus commands us to love one another, and the world that has not yet been drawn into the kingdom is invited into the kingdom through the love we have for one another.

Whom are we called to love? Or, to put it another way, to whom are we called to show God’s love?

We find the struggle for the answer in Acts 11. The Apostle Peter relates to the Jerusalem Church how the Lord showed him the vision of the living creatures that were unclean, telling him to kill and eat. Peter protested, the Lord insisted, and then the Lord informed Peter that the Spirit was already at work in the life of Cornelius. He expected Peter to bring this man the good news of the kingdom.

Peter showed up, the Spirit showed up, and God reached out beyond boundaries to show the boundless love of Jesus to an outsider who was seeking.

To whom is God calling our Church to reach out with the transforming love of Jesus by the power of the Spirit? Are we, as the Church, willing to go, especially when those to whom we are called don’t look like us, talk like us and act like us?

Will we, as the Church, reach out beyond the boundaries of our comfort zone with the boundless love of the triune God?

– Father Charles Myers is rector of the Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist in Orlando.