30-Apr-18

Gospel JN 14:21-26
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Whoever has my commandments and observes them
is the one who loves me.
Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and reveal myself to him."
Judas, not the Iscariot, said to him,
"Master, then what happened that you will reveal yourself to us
and not to the world?"
Jesus answered and said to him,
"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.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words;
yet the word you hear is not mine
but that of the Father who sent me.
"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."
Reflection:
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Whoever has my commandments and observes them
is the one who loves me.
Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and reveal myself to him....
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...."
The key to being in union with God is love. When we love God and love one another, God is among us.
"Whoever does not love me does not keep my words...."
Jesus is speaking of the Pharisees, scribes and others who had rejected His message to love one another. They were not "obedient;" they held fast to their own traditions of un-forgiveness: an eye for an eye and stoning those who broke their man-made laws.
Do we, who love Jesus, always "observe and keep" His word?
Sadly, we do not.
But, as we are told in the gospel of Peter,
"Above all hold unfailing your love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins." (1 Peter 4:8)
We fail and we sin but we continue to "love one another,"
Just as we do not expect our children to be perfectly obedient, God loves us in our weaknesses and failings as much as He loves us in our goodness and obedience.
It is our hope and confidence in God's love, made known by the Holy Spirit, that encourages us to continue to try to be better people.
"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."
Because we are weak and imperfect, God sends His Holy Spirit to remind us not to become discouraged, to keep on trying.
The Holy Spirit moves in our life through simple but profound ways.
The Holy Spirit hovers over and around us as we sense God's presence in the beauty of nature, the perfect scripture passage at just the right moment and the hand of a friend upon our shoulder when our spirit is faltering.
As the youngster on the playing field feels a sense of well being as they look into the stands and see the encouraging smile of their mom or dad, we too are comforted by the Holy Sprit with the simple but sincere words of a friend, "I will be praying for you."
Through the Holy Spirit, God continually calls to us: "Come back to me with all your heart. Don't let fear keep us apart."
".....and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Romans 5:5