Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you
Jn 14:15-31
If you love me, you will keep my commandments. - (15)
Only if Jesus is really the Son of God are these not the words of a manipulative control freak! Because he is, we know that what underlies these words are a deep love and a knowledge that God only commands what is best for us and for all of his beloved children.
And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him; you know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you desolate; I will come to you. - (16-18)
We are never alone, and in particular, we are always in the presence of eternal God, not just in his general omnipresence, but also because we are specifically indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Many of us do not ask the Spirit to manifest his (her/its; I'll use the one with which I'm most comfortable and won't mind if you do the same) presence and power in our lives. We have this idea that because we have the Spirit we are free to go about our lives in the normal ways of the world, when the God's great desire for us is that we allow the Holy Spirit to move in us in ways that transform us. He wants to pour gifts through us that make all the difference in our faith walk and in the lives of our brothers and sisters. Okay, more on the Spirit as we approach Pentecost. But for now, even as we see our Savior walk to his death for us, we are not left desolate.
In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. - (20)
The time I'm most aware of this truth is during Mass. I love that Fr. Dave invoked the Communion of Saints tonight at the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper. At every Eucharist, we are united with God as we consume him, and are likewise united with everyone who ever has taken or ever will take part in this heavenly feast and sacrifice.
Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, "Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?"
Jesus answered him, "If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me does not keep my words; and the word which you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me. These things I have spoken to you, while I am still with you.- (22-25)
Humility facilitates the movement of God in our lives. When we insist that we know best and ignore what God has revealed, or attempt to bend it to our own preconceptions of how life should be, we hinder the movement of God through our lives. It isn't that God is incapable of working in us by some limit of his omnipotence, but that he loves us too much to violate our free will. But when we humbly submit to his plan for us, he does more than we could ever dream of.
But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. - (26)
Again, I'm sure there will be later opportunity to consider the roles of the Holy Spirit, but I often find that he reminds me of a key scripture passage or prompts a deeper understanding of some aspect of our faith walk just when I need it most.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. - (27)
The world offers us the absence of conflict and sells it to us as peace. It insists that we compromise our integrity and stifle the gospel, and markets it as peace. It presents us with a tenuous ceasefire and trumpets it as peace. It uses fear to motivate us to sell ourselves short, to settle for less than we are in Christ, and when we do it rewards us for having accepted peace. But in the face of fear or of conflict, Jesus offers us the assurance that we are his for all eternity, that our foe is also beloved, and we have the confident assurance to be who he dreams for us to be in him. That is peaceful, right down to the core of our being.
If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I go to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. - (28b)
When we love another, we want what is best for our beloved. I think of the friends to whom I have bid farewell and as they have moved on, and of the family members who are walking in God's love for all eternity. I rejoice for their sake, and in our unity in the Holy Spirit (see above), even as I so wish that I could see them smile and hug them close once again.
I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me - (30)
And he has no power over us, either, for we have our eternal victory in Jesus Christ.
I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. - (31b)
We talk all the time about how Jesus gave his life because he love us, but we don't much consider how Jesus himself kept the two greatest commandments in proper order in his own life. Yes, he loved us, as himself. But he loved the Father with all his heart, all his mind, all his soul and all his strength. The expression of his love for us on the cross is even more an expression of his love for the Father. Likewise, the saints' and martyrs' greatest sacrificial acts toward those around them have likewise always been inspired by the Spirit and rooted in the love of God.
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