FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER YEAR C – 14th / 15th May, 2022

The small section of John 13 that we read this week lies at the heart of the Johannine Gospel message ‘Love as I have loved’. To be a Christian is to live and to love, with Jesus as the measure of what life and love look like. The Gospel mentions Judas and if we are to understand what Jesus means by love we need to remember that up until this stage in the Gospel Judas has been present. He is one of Jesus’ own who gather for his final meal. Judas has had his feet washed by Jesus and received from Jesus’ hand the morsel of bread. Jesus willingly gives of himself even to one who will betray him. This is Jesus’ definition of love – a giving of self even when that will not be reciprocated, even when that love will be rejected and betrayed.