The Fifth Sunday of Easter First Reading: Acts 14:21-27 Responsorial: Psalm 145:8-9, 10-11, 12-13 Second Reading: Revelation 21:1-5a Gospel: John 13:31-33a, 34-35
Feed the birds
by Msgr. Richard Henning
Several years ago, I watched the film Mary Poppins with my nephews. It was the first time I had seen the film since my own childhood, and I found myself deeply moved by the song “Feed the Birds.” I am not sure that I appreciated it when I heard it as a child, but as an adult I realized that the song was about more than birds. It speaks of a beggar woman who sits by St. Paul’s Cathedral selling crumbs for feeding the birds. But the words which speak of “bare nests” and “hungry young ones” really speak of her own poverty and all those who find themselves helpless, vulnerable, and suffering. She asks for a little kindness, just “tuppence” a bag. Charity, which costs so little to the rich, can make all the difference to the poor.
In the passage from John’s Gospel, we hear a beloved and well known saying of the Lord Jesus: “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.” This commandment is not new in asking for the love of others; Jesus’ own Jewish tradition also counseled the same. But there is newness to be found in the words “as I have loved you.” As the Word Made Flesh, Jesus himself is the concrete expression of God’s love in the world. His is not the love of a distant Creator and Lord of the Universe, but the love of a Father, a Son, a friend. In Jesus, we learn once and for all that the most fundamental force in the universe is not gravity, but love. We learn that the very meaning of existence is caught up in this mystery of God’s Self gift.
When Jesus’ disciples are taught to love, they have Jesus’ very real example to shape and strengthen them. These beautiful words follow up on Jesus’ actions. Just before Jesus’ passion, he prepared his disciples for the events to come and for their future role as his presence in the world. As chapter thirteen opened, we were told that Jesus loved them and loved them “to the end.” He loves them to the fullest extent and even to death. And he demonstrated his love with the washing of their feet; a humble, concrete, and shocking lesson in what it means to love “as I have loved you.”
It is Jesus’ own example that has shaped the Christian conviction that love and charity form part of the same reality. If we love the Lord, then we must love one another, and do so concretely. While Christians have not always practiced what we preach, we have known amazing men and women who have lived this call in their devotion to the suffering and the poor.
And we would do well to remember that Jesus’ example is not limited to the material. His washing of their feet does not “pay the rent” any more than his death on the cross. The charity he asks comes from the depths and responds to every human need.
In the passage from Acts, we hear about the ministry of Paul and Barnabas. They had little themselves; they could not offer money. But they understood that men and women also hunger for the truth of the gospel. And this wealth they distributed tirelessly and without limit. They shared faith and consolation with everyone everywhere, even with the spiritually impoverished Gentiles. They gave of their sweat and their blood to offer the riches of God’s mercy.
John of Patmos likewise offered a precious gift to the vulnerable. In a time of suffering and despair, he fed hope to God’s hungry little ones. Drawing upon a variety of the prophets, John reminded them of God’s powerful love for them, a love that would wipe away their tears and overcome their pain and sorrow. As they endured the “old” story of inhumanity and cruelty, John offered them something truly “new:” and encounter with their saving Lord.
Our world is more complex than that of Mary Poppins, but how much does it really take to “feed the birds?” Whether it be in material assistance or spiritual treasures, a little bit can go a long way. Around our world, the children of God suffer poverty, injustice, brutal imprisonment, and every cruelty imaginable. Even in wealthy societies the poverty of emptiness and despair cries out for feeding. We all need bread and we all need grace. If you and I have received these gifts, how can we fail to share them? How can we fail to share what we have freely received, to love as he loved us?
