"Jesus' Commandment to Love" - 5th Sunday of Easter Homily by Deacon Ted

A new commandment, love one another.

But wait, wasn't there something like that before?

What was the old if this is the new?

The old said, love your neighbor as yourself.

This one says love one another.

The difference here is that Jesus is saying, as I have loved you, that's how you should love.

Not being polite to your neighbor, not helping them out when they need it and they come knocking on the door in the middle of the night, but serving all the time and thinking of

your neighbor and everything you do.

And Jesus expands the neighborhood.

He doesn't say just your neighbor or the community.

He says, love as I have loved you.

Love one another.

He also said at the beginning that His time had come and it was time that God would glorify Him and that He would be glorified in God and it would be He would be glorified at

once.

What is this glorified?

In the old way, glorified or glory meant the one who was sitting on the throne.

The Caesar, the ruler, the king who was surrounded by a retinue of people, was music played when he came into the room or the hall or the Colosseum.

That was glory.

Everybody stood up and gave homage to him.

That was the old way of glory.

The new way of glory is what Jesus showed us how you get glory.

One hundred percent obedience to the Father up until the time of his last breath.

That justifies glory.

Obedience to the Father in everything you do all the time till your last breath.

even in the second reading today.

I'm sorry, the first reading from the Act of the Apostles.

It says, it is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.

This is because they're following the new way, Jesus's way.

new, old.

It's a theme that keeps resonating through these readings.

In the second reading, it says,

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 away every tear from their eyes and there shall be no more death or mourning or wailing or pain for the old order has passed away.

And the last line is, and the one who sat on the throne said, behold, I make all things new.

God, God is the one who determines what's new and what's old.

God through Jesus, who we put on this earth to be an example for us, who walked this earth.

Jesus, God among the people, He went out.

He went out to the people, to those who were hurting, those who were ill, those in need of help, those who needed more out of life.

He took God to them.

And that's the new way.

The new way is to act like Jesus and carry all that goodness with you every day to other people.

In the gathering space today, have Megan Witt at a table on the right as you're walking out with information on mental illness.

And I'd like you to consider this a new way.

The new way is mental illness in the old way was treated as something not to be talked about.

It was treated as somebody who had a problem that it was of their own doing.

It was treated as

We don't want these people around us so lock them up someplace in an asylum.

That's how it was treated in the past.

Today, following Jesus' command to love one another as He loved His disciples, we're taking a step toward bringing that love and help to people with mental illness here in our

community.

The soon-to-be-open Veronica's Veil Resource Center, which will be downstairs, will bring those services here.

to our community.

And hopefully we as a parish will help others by reaching out and explaining to them that if they're having trouble, it's okay to find help.

If they're having a problem, it's okay.

If you ever knew anyone who experienced a mental illness of any type, you would know that the thought process they employ is not normal.

It doesn't follow sequentially.

So when you pick up the phone to call for help and they tell you, well, what is your Medicare number?

What is your insurance company?

What other insurance do you have?

Have you been referred?

Is your referral for this, this, and...

Click.

That doesn't help anybody.

What helps people is having someone to talk to.

And that's what this is about.

Megan will be out there with information about what services will be offered here in this parish.

The services that you and I as parishioners of Our Lady of Visitation are bringing to those people.

And so today, let's follow the new way.

Let's be what Jesus told us to be and let everybody see who we are by what we do.