Word to the Wise
Thursday, May 26, 2011 - 5th Week of Easter - Thurs
[Acts 15:7-21 and John 15:9-11,914]As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love.
Sometimes our viewing of the collage of the "Farewell Discourse" can send us back to the text or to our memory because a particular word seems familiar, even if it is not the same word but a synonym. Those of us who have studied languages know the experience of trying to translate a word in English or from another language that simply doesn't have a direct equivalent! We find ourselves saying, "It's like 'this' but not quite...." In today's portion of the collage, the word "remain" has that effect. I was reminded of the incident in the first chapter of this gospel when Andrew and another "disciple" of John the Baptist "follow" Jesus to see where he is "staying." And they "stay" with him that day. The result is that Andrew goes and finds his brother, Peter! [John 1:35-42] The same Greek verb is used for "remain" as for "stay."
It is the richness of this word that gives food for thought when we think about our relationship with the Lord. In modern parlance we speak of someone being "there for us." I can recall college students speaking positively of their parents by saying, "They were always THERE for me." Another expression of the same idea can be found in speaking of our friends, "He or she has stayed with me all my life." The old hymn, "Abide With Me.." conveys the same meaning and feeling. The continual and steady presence of a loved one can be a powerful gift. This gift is what Jesus is trying to explain to his disciples because they are going to experience many trials. [At the time of the final composition of the gospel, those trials were already very much in evidence.] So many English words: fidelity, perseverance, abiding, loyalty, friendship, and above all, LOVE are captured in the one word, REMAIN in our text today. The thought goes deeper when we realize that we are being offered the same love which Jesus experiences with his Father.
When something like this is available to all humanity, one wonders how we can be so violent and destructive? The task of making this love known depends on OUR remaining in that love. AMEN