28 APRIL 2013 - 5TH SUNDAY OF EASTER
First Reading: Acts 14:21-27
Second Reading: Revelation
21:1-5
Gospel: John
13:31-35
I looked
at today’s Gospel as having three parts.
The first part tells us about the Speaker. The second part is like the bridge in a song
that leads to the final verse. The third
part is a commissioning.
So, what
does the phrase the “Son of Man”, which we would rightly take to mean “a human
being”, tell us about Jesus? The first
meaning of the phrase “Son of Man” is as a reference to the prophecy of Daniel
7:13-14, “As I watched in the night
visions, I saw one like a son of man coming
with the clouds of heaven. And he came
to the Ancient One and was presented before
him. To him was given dominion and glory
and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that
shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.” The description of “Son of Man” here is as a
Messianic title. Jesus is the One who
was given dominion and glory and a kingdom.
The second
meaning of the phrase “Son of Man” is that Jesus was truly a human being. God
called the prophet Ezekiel “son of man” 93 times. God was simply calling Ezekiel a human being.
A son of a man is a man.
So, Jesus
was in His essence God ─and─ Jesus was also in His essence a human being. Essence means the intrinsic or
indispensable properties that characterize or identify something, without which
it would not be what it is. In
summary then, the phrase “Son of Man” means that Jesus is truly the Messiah and
that He is truly a human being. So that
is the first part if today’s gospel.
The
second part gives us the setting in which Jesus is speaking as a bridge to the
next part. Judas has just left the
Passover Supper to alert the authorities of where to find Jesus, that is, just
before the “Agony in the Garden”. Jesus knows the disciples lack understanding
of a lot of what he has taught them, and addresses them saying, “Little children, I am with you only a little
longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where
I am going, you cannot come.’” Jesus knows he is going to be arrested,
beaten and crucified. He knows his
disciples will be disheartened so he gives them, the third part of today’s
Gospel; Jesus commissions the disciples, and by extension us, to love one
another. Jesus knows us ever so well and
qualifies this love by stating, “Just as I have loved you, you also should love
one another.” Jesus is telling the disciples that he is willing to suffer pain
and death for speaking truth to those holding religious and secular power because
of his love for them─ and us.
Part of
my ministry as a preacher it is to share insights as to how we can put the Word
of God into action. For example, when
Sarah told me that today, April 28th, is the National
Day of Mourning for Workers Killed, Injured or Disabled on the Job Each Year,
it didn’t make an impression on me. Then
I heard about the garment workers that were killed in Bangladesh and
saw it as an opportunity to share with you how we can put love into action.
In
November 2012 a factory fire killed 112 garment workers yet clothing brands and
retailers continued to reject a union-sponsored proposal to improve safety
throughout the garment industry in Bangladesh.[1]
Last
Tuesday, Bangladesh, due to
deep cracks appearing in the walls, police ordered the evacuation of a building
in the Savar section of Dhaka,
Bangladesh. But officials at the garment factories
operating inside ignored the order and kept more than 2,000 people working[2].
On Wednesday the building collapsed, killing more than 300 people[3].
These factory workers manufactured clothing for major
clothing lines around the world, including the Canadian fashion brand and
retail chain, Joe Fresh, a subsidiary of Loblaws Inc. We buy Bangladesh mass produced t-shirts for $10 at Loblaws and Superstore
checkouts. For the $10 we pay for these
impulse purchases, the workers in Bangladesh garment factories work
12 hour days, 6 days a week, and make only 18 cents an hour.
I present the situation in Bangladesh as an example of just
one area where we can act on our love for one another. To be a follower of Jesus is to love enough
to take the time to ensure that we do not contribute to the maltreatment of our
neighbour, whether they are in Bangladesh
or next door. We can take the time
become knowledgeable justice-minded consumers.
The Workers Rights Consortium (http://www.workersrights.org/)
investigates garment factories and works to fight sweatshops and protect the
rights of garment workers. The organization reports of the conditions of
factories worldwide are available online. Consumers can search for reports by
country or the brand of clothing manufactured there.
We can love
enough to seek out companies that sell only fair trade or sweatshop-free
clothing and consult ethical consumer guides.
Love requires that we tell the companies and places where we shop,
whether it’s Joe Fresh, Loblaws, Superstore or elsewhere, that we actually care
about these issues and that we demand that the goods that we’re buying are made
under safe conditions.
We would
do this to show that we love as Jesus loved.
We can claim faith to have faith but Jesus tells us that love is the measure
by which we will be known as His; as Jesus says: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love
for one another.”
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