Fresh Dew Media

 5^th SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR C: REFLECTION BY FR. JULIAN EKEH

THEME: VAINGLORY MUST GIVE WAY FOR TRUE GLORY

(John 13:31-33a.34-35)

Today's gospel reading began with: ''when Judas had gone out [from the upper room].'' From the upper room, Judas went down. From the glory of God, Judas went out. It was then in his absentia that the time of true glory came. Oh, what a tragedy! Oh, what a bad thing! Oh, what a sad news! May the glory of God never manifest in your absence. May you never be like Judas nor like Uzziah, who died before the manifestation of the glory of God in Isaiah 6:1.

Be that as it may, for the glory of God to shine forth, certain elements have to be sent out. Those elements are the Judas elements, elements of betrayal, of mischief, and of course of vainglory.

On the other hand, for you to savour the joy of the glory of the children of God, the virtues of Christ must abide namely, of the new commandment:  Love.

Judas didn't get this LCM. He was already away and was never aware of it.

Let us try to know the difference between vainglory and true glory.

 

VAINGLORY

Vainglory is a distorted glory. It is translated in Greek as kenodoxia. It is also known as "empty glory. "It is an erroneous desire for greatness. It is seeking the praise of men. It is understood as confusion about how to attain the desire for glory. Over and above all, vainglory is a vice, a capital sin. By that, it implies that it is the root of some other sins like disobedience, hypocrisy, discord, and even killing. In Judas, we saw some of these. While the other disciples remained with the Lord at the table in obedience, he stepped out. He wasn't transparent but had something to hide, a hidden agenda which he went to the extent of covering with a kiss.

Instead of following the leader who will take him to true glory, he led those who attacked the king of glory.

 

WHAT MOTIVATES VAINGLORY?

Vainglory is fuelled by the desire to be renowned because of something not really worthy. So in every pursuit in life, let the question: 'Does it worth it?' be the driving force.

Vainglory is lubricated also by the wish to be greater than others. Judas may have wished to be the richest among the apostles.

Vainglory is also motivated by pharisaism; being more interested in the approval of men than that of God, caring more about what people think about you instead of what God is saying about you. Seeing oneself from the spectacle of materialism than spirituality.

 

TRUE GLORY

Glory comes from the Greek 'doxa'. It could be a physical, visible phenomenon. It can be used in relation to brightness. It is likened to truth and goodness. It is also understood as praise rendered to God in acknowledgement of his greatness. It is an attribute of God that He allows His privileged friends to be blessed with. When we live a praiseworthy life before God, we partake of his glorious manifestations.

Glory is a divine reward for goodness. It is a present and future thing. Thus, people should not dwell on past glory but keep making sincere effort before the Lord so as to grow from glory to glory.

 

IS THERE ANYTHING WRONG IN SEEKING GLORY?

Glory is synonymous with greatness. It is no evil to seek to be great. It only becomes evil when we seek our greatness outside God. God is the source of all greatness. He is the author of every glory. It is only in Him and through him that we can be glorified. Our glory indeed comes from Him.

 

LIVING A LIFE OF GLORY

Living a life of glory is doing everything for the glory of God. If what I am doing at any point in time doesn't glorify God, then it is vain. If my desire to be rich is for oppression, then it is vain. If in order to succeed, I must sacrifice my love for God, then I am in the prison of vanity. If I preach in order to pride myself, then I have lost the target. If I give so as to make people bow and worship me, then I am empty. If I do good for people to praise me, then I am in the ocean of vainglory.

Glory is about the things that last. Glory is motivated and lubricated by love, love of Christ above all things. To see the glory of the Lord, we must work in the light of Christ. To live a glorified life, we must aspire after spiritual things. To be glorified by Christ now and at the end of our life, we must sieve vainglory from true glory by asking ourselves in each one of our endeavours: After this, what next?

May God bless His word in our hearts.

 

LET US PRAY

Oh God bless us. Grant us a share of Your Glory here and hereafter. May we love You more than everything. May Your glory shine on us and our families, in the Church and in the society that we may not just dwell on past glory but continue to experience the newness of Your Glory inspired by the new commandment of love through Christ our Lord. Amen

Happy Sunday (5th Sunday of Easter, Yr C)

Rev Fr Julian O Ekeh