1st Reading – Acts 14:21-27
After Paul and Barnabas had proclaimed the good news
to that city
and made a considerable number of disciples,
they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.
They strengthened the spirits of the disciples
and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying,
“It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships
to enter the kingdom of God.”
They appointed elders for them in each church and,
with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord
in whom they had put their faith.
Then they traveled through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia.
After proclaiming the word at Perga they went down to Attalia.
From there they sailed to Antioch,
where they had been commended to the grace of God
for the work they had now accomplished.
And when they arrived, they called the church together
and reported what God had done with them
and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
Today’s first reading reflects the ongoing impact of the Resurrection and highlights the growth and mission of the early Church, themes central to the Easter season.
After Paul and Barnabas had proclaimed the good news to that city and made a considerable number of disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.
Paul and Barnabas are near the end of their first missionary journey, having just preached the Gospel in Derbe.
Rather than taking a safer, more direct route home, they courageously retrace their steps through cities where they had previously faced intense persecution:
- Paul and Barnabas were persecuted and driven out of Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13:50-51).
- In Iconium, a violent attempt was made to stone them (Acts 14:5).
- In Lystra, Paul was stoned, dragged out of the city, and left for dead (Acts 14:19).
They strengthened the spirits of the disciples and exhorted them to persevere in the faith,
Their purpose is to encourage and fortify the fledgling Christian communities amid adversity.
They return to these places not out of recklessness, but out of love. They model Christ-like love: laying down their lives for the sake of both Jews and Gentiles.
saying, “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.”
Their statement is not just a comment on their personal experience; it reflects a theological truth. Suffering is part of discipleship. As Jesus entered glory through the Cross, his followers must also expect tribulation on the path to the Kingdom (Romans 8:17).
The Greek word thlipsis (“hardships”) often signifies end-times tribulation or suffering in anticipation of God’s full reign. These are not random struggles, but part of the birth pangs of the new creation (cf. Matthew 24:8, Romans 8:22).
They appointed presbyters for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord in whom they had put their faith.
Church leadership is formalized as the apostles appoint presbyters (elders), a structure likely modeled after the Jerusalem Church (cf. Acts 11:30) and not unlike that found in the synagogues.
The verb cheirotoneō (“appoint”) may imply a laying on of hands — an act of commissioning rooted in apostolic authority and sustained by prayer and fasting.
This moment marks the Church’s organic growth: These faith communities are now mature enough for local leadership and ecclesial order.
Then they traveled through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia. After proclaiming the word at Perga they went down to Attalia. From there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now accomplished.
Paul and Barnabas’ mission concludes where it began: Antioch in Syria, the sending Church.
A map of the ancient world shows the ambitious scope of their daring apostolic adventure. Their journey, which began around 45 AD, lasted for four years.
And when they arrived, they called the church together and reported what God had done with them
Their report credits not themselves, but God. The mission’s fruit is His work through them.
and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
“Door of faith” is a Pauline phrase (cf. 1 Corinthians 16:9; 2 Corinthians 2:12), signifying God’s initiative in offering salvation to the Gentiles. The apostles are heralds of this grace, not its source.
It was through Paul that the door of faith, an opportunity to believe in salvation through Jesus Christ, was opened for the Gentiles.
2nd Reading – Revelation 21:1-5a
Then I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth.
The former heaven and the former earth had passed away,
and the sea was no more.
I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race.
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 every tear from their eyes,
and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain,
for the old order has passed away.”
The One who sat on the throne said,
“Behold, I make all things new.”
Once again our second reading this week is one of John’s privileged visions of heaven.
Today’s reading has a chiastic structure, a literary device in which ideas are presented and then repeated in reverse order, like a mirror (A-B-C-D-D’-C’-B′-A′), drawing attention to the central elements (D) as the most important point:
a1) a new heaven and a new earth
b1) former heaven and earth are gone
c1) the sea is no more
d1) the city descends as a bride
d2) God dwells with the people
c2) death is no more
b2) former things are gone
a2) God makes everything new
This particular chiastic structure moves from macro (cosmic) to micro (relational) and back to macro again. It places God’s presence with his people as the center of hope — not just a restored world but restored relationship.
Then I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth.
This vision echoes Isaiah’s prophecy (Isaiah 65:17; 66:22), which foretells a renewed creation following Israel’s exile.
While some interpret this as a transformation, the word for “new” heaven and “new” earth is kainós, not neos. This suggests a qualitatively new reality — a re-creation or new order of existence, not simply a refreshed version of the old.
The former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
The Greek word for “passed away” (parerchomai) often implies complete disappearance or departure, not just change.
The absence of the sea, a symbol of chaos and evil in ancient Near Eastern thought, signals the final eradication of all that opposed God’s order. Unlike earlier renewals, which coexisted with evil, this new creation is free of it. The later statement, “no more death” (v. 4), confirms this complete renewal.
I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
The new Jerusalem fulfills and surpasses the earthly Jerusalem’s role as the sacred center where God dwelt among his people (cf. Isaiah 65:17-20). In Revelation, Jerusalem likely symbolizes the redeemed: God’s people in perfected communion with him.
The city’s descent from heaven affirms its divine origin (James 1:17); it is not built by human hands but by God (Hebrews 11:10).
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
This bridal imagery emphasizes the purity of the city and the covenantal love between God and his people (Isaiah 61:10; 62:5).
I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will always be with them as their God.
The intimacy between God and his people is underscored by a version of the technical covenant formula: I will be their God and they will be my people.
This covenant formula is found throughout Scripture (Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 34:30; 36:28).
God’s dwelling among humanity signifies not just proximity, but permanent, unmediated communion.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, for the old order has passed away.”
The old order has passed away, along with death and tears. In fulfillment of the prophetic promise (Isaiah 25:8; 66:18f), God will comfort the people who mourn, wiping away their tears. His comfort is personal, intimate, and total.
Suffering is not a defeat but part of the path to victory.
The one who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.”
This is the only moment in the Book of Revelation where God directly speaks. The present tense of the verb is prophetic of God’s new creative action.
As Paul writes, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). This is the culmination of salvation history — the dawn of the messianic age in its fullness.
Gospel – John 13:31-33a, 34-35
When Judas had left them, Jesus said,
“Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
If God is glorified in him,
God will also glorify him in himself,
and God will glorify him at once.
My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.
I give you a new commandment: love one another.
As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.
This is how all will know that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another.”
Today’s gospel reading takes us back to Holy Thursday, after Jesus washed the disciples’ feet and announced Judas’ betrayal.
Why, five weeks after Easter, go back to the terrible hours before the crucifixion? Because now that we understand the horror of the cross in light of its effect — the destruction of sin and death — we can reflect back on the meaning of Jesus’ glorification through the cross and resurrection.
When Judas had left them,
Exposed by Jesus, Judas departs into the night — both literally and spiritually.
The revelation that Jesus knows our hearts need not cause us to run and hide, but to move deeper into the safety of his company. If only Judas had cried out at the very moment: Kyrie, eleison! Christe, eleison! Instead, tragically, he distanced himself from Jesus.
His departure sets in motion the machinery of Jesus’ arrest, trial, and execution.
Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
What appears to be imminent defeat is in fact the hour of Jesus’ glorification.
While it looks like only suffering and death are on the horizon, this is in fact the moment of glorification because Jesus is choosing to lay down his life as a free gift of love. Jesus is in complete control.
If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him at once.
The mutual glorification between Father and Son unfolds in the Passion: the Son glorifies the Father through perfect obedience, and the Father glorifies the Son by making his sacrifice redemptive.
The Cross is not a break in glory but its unveiling: Christ is lifted up in humiliation, yet exalted in love.
My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.
Jesus addresses his apostles with deep tenderness. He knows his crucifixion is near.
This gentle farewell signals both the end of his earthly ministry and the beginning of the Church’s mission.
I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.
Though love of neighbor was already commanded in the Law (Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:34), Jesus calls this commandment new (as with our reading from Revelation, kainós) because he sets a new standard: as I have loved you.
The love of Christ is total, self-giving, and sacrificial: agapē.
This is the love that will culminate on the cross.
This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Their ability to love others as Jesus has loved them will be the universal sign by which they are recognized as disciples of Jesus Christ.
Not by miracles or mighty deeds, but agapē: Christ’s own love active within us. When we love as Christ loved, we make him visible in the world.
Connections and Themes
Everything is new. This week’s readings emphasize God’s transformative power at work in both individual hearts and the entire cosmos. In the second reading, John proclaims a breathtaking vision of a new heaven and a new earth, where God dwells intimately with his people and makes all things new. This newness is not symbolic — it is a profound re-creation in which suffering, death, and separation are no more. In the first reading, the early Church is growing and being renewed through the Spirit-led ministry of Paul and Barnabas. In the gospel reading, Jesus gives a new commandment, signaling a new covenant marked by sacrificial love.
Love as the mark of discipleship. The commandment to love is the central theme of the gospel reading and serves as the defining mark of Jesus’ discipleship. In his farewell discourse at the Last Supper, Jesus offers a “new commandment” to love one another as he has loved them; i.e., with self-sacrificial love. The call to love in this way becomes the fundamental identity of the Christian community. This love is not limited to affection or kindness; it is a powerful witness to the world that Jesus is alive in his followers.
In the first reading, we see this love being lived out by Paul and Barnabas as they return to the communities they had evangelized, strengthening the believers in their faith despite the danger to their lives. Their ministry of encouragement and leadership embodies the love Christ commanded.
In the second reading, God’s love is displayed in his desire to dwell with his people and wipe away their tears, offering a vision of the ultimate fulfillment of this love: God’s perfect presence in a renewed creation.
Sunday Readings 