We Are Not Alone

The first and second readings for this Fifth Sunday of Easter seem to contradict each other. In the Acts of the Apostles, Paul and Barnabas remind the other disciples that they would have to “undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” But in the second reading from Revelation, John says that there will be “no more death or mourning, wailing or pain.”

These two sides of the Kingdom show how real our faith is. Life is often contradictory. A pregnant woman in labor goes from pain to joy seconds after her child is born. She doesn’t forget the pain, but she knows it is necessary for the joy of new birth. Only the artist knows how much effort and pain they have put into creating a painting, a sculpture. Married couples know that their love is measured as much by the sacrifices they make as by the joy they receive.

This also explains that if everything comes easily to us, if we never have to work for anything, we may not be capable of the sacrifices that true love entails. Some may have had such an easy life that they don’t know how to make the effort it takes to love God or people. And some who worked hard to acquire resources or things don’t understand the deeper joy that comes from sharing with others.

That’s why Jesus in the Gospel speaks of his coming death on the cross as the way God will glorify him. Even God doesn’t do things the easy way. Jesus didn’t send a double to take his place on the cross. It was God who was born into poverty. It was God who suffered, from the Agony in the Garden to the Crucifixion.

That’s why, when Jesus tells us to love one another as he has loved us, he knows what it costs. And he also knew that his death on the cross would be the beginning of a path of love that would eventually lead him to “no more death or mourning, wailing or pain.” We haven’t reached that point yet, but we know we are not alone in our suffering because God himself will always be with us.

May the Lord always grant you his peace!

Fr. Lalo Jara, OFM Pastor,
Mission San Luis Rey Parish