Word to the Wise
Monday, May 20, 2019 - 5th Week of Easter - Mon
[Acts 14:5-18 and John 14:21-26]"Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him......I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name - he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you." [John]
The Last Supper discourses in the Gospel According to John remind me at times of the kind of discussion one might have with a close friend whom one hasn't seen in a long time. The themes may get tangled up because one or the other parties remembers an event connected with the topic, etc. etc.. The overall purpose of the conversation is simply to be with one another as friends who are united in love. The overall purpose of the Final Discourses is to prepare the disciples to understand who Jesus is and how to interpret what is about to happen to him. But this is not just for those who were present then. It is for us as well.
In today's passage, two themes appear that we will encounter again and again in these discourses. The first is that Jesus and the Father are united as one and they can be present in a disciple who believes in Jesus and keeps his word. The second theme is that the disciples will be enabled to understand all that Jesus teaches him through the presence of the Holy Spirit which Jesus will give to them after the resurrection. We have to be careful at this point not to inject our complete faith about the Holy Trinity into the gospel text. This faith will develop from the text and reflection of the Church later on. For now, the realization that God is with us and within us and continues to teach us and remind us of all that is true can be our guide for the rest of the Final Discourses. AMEN