John 14:21-26
The one who obeys me is the one who loves me; and because
he loves me, my Father will love him; and I will too, and I will reveal myself
to him.”
Judas (not Judas Iscariot, but his other disciple with
that name) said to him, “Sir, why are you going to reveal yourself only to us
disciples and not to the world at large?”
Jesus replied, “Because I will only reveal myself to
those who love me and obey me. The Father will love them too, and we will come
to them and live with them. Anyone who doesn’t obey me doesn’t love me. And
remember, I am not making up this answer to your question! It is the answer
given by the Father who sent me.
“I am telling you these things now while I am still with
you. But when the Father sends the Comforter instead of me*—and by the
Comforter I mean the Holy Spirit—he will teach you much, as well as remind you
of everything I myself have told you."
Fo
od for the thought!
As he begins to end his ministry, Jesus begins to
introduce the Holy Spirit; as he begins to go, Jesus begins to speak of the
Holy Spirit to succeed him; as one goes, the other comes. “I am telling you
these things now while I am still with you. But when the Father sends the
Comforter instead of me —and by the Comforter I mean the Holy Spirit— he will
teach you much, as well as remind you of everything I myself have told
you.
Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit will begin from where
he will leave off; Jesus has spoken, the Holy Spirit will remind us; one
speaks, the other reminds us. Thanks to the Holy Spirit that we don't forget
Jesus' teaching. The Holy Spirit reminds us also of all the things Jesus said.
When we become discouraged, the Holy Spirit in our soul reminds us of some
words of Jesus, of some phrase of the Bible, which encourages us to go on. Do
you remember being in some difficulty or going through hard times, some words
of Jesus that bring you comfort? Well, it was the Holy Spirit at work.
The Holy Spirit encourages us to keep on running, to keep
on going, to keep on living for Jesus. He inspires us to press forward for the
glory of the Lord. Indeed, we are neither alone nor lonely because the Holy
Spirit is busy within us!
The Holy Spirit will teach us much!
When all is said and done, a Christian like you and me,
must be a learner, so that the Holy Spirit lead him deeper and deeper into the
Words of Jesus. The Christian who feels that he has nothing more to learn is
the Christian who has not even begun to learn. The Christian with a shut mind
is a contradiction. This is why, before you read the Bible, before you listen
to a sermon, you do well to pray for the Holy Spirit for yourself, that your
mind open up to the Holy Spirit.
Did you realize that as we listen to or read a sermon, we
all hear equally the same voice of the person speaking to us, and yet, we each
have a different perception of the
meaning; we understand different things according to what the Holy Spirit wants
each one of us to know. That is why, we come out of Mass with different
inspirations, despite having listened to the same preacher, the same Bible
reading. In other words, as we listen to the outside voice of the preacher or
as we read the Bible or a sermon like this one, we at the same time do listen
as well to the inside voice in us of the Holy Spirit.
Do you remember those two disciples who were going to
Emmaus? They said to one another, «Were not our hearts burning within us as he
spoke to us on the road and explained the scriptures to us» (Lk 24,32). These
disciples heard the voice of Jesus, but inside them the Holy Spirit was busy
working in their hearts.
Nearly all of us have this sort of experience in life. We
are tempted to do something wrong and are on the very brink of doing it, when
all of a sudden back into our mind comes a saying of Jesus, a verse of a Psalm, a picture of Jesus himself,
the words of someone we love and admire, a teaching we received when very
young, etc. In the moment of danger these things flash unbidden into our minds.
That is the work of the Holy Spirit.
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