John 14:15–21
Jesus said to his disciples, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you for ever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”
Commentary
This Sunday, we continue the last supper scene as recounted by St. John the Evangelist in chapter 14. Compared with the reading of last Sunday, today’s gospel may sound a little bit abstract about love and the coming of the Advocate, or the Holy Spirit.
Jesus begins his speech by asking his disciples to keep his commandments. That is the commandment of love. It seems that without loving Jesus and keeping his commandments, it would be impossible for the Father to give the disciples and us the Advocate. If we think carefully, Jesus is right about this. Because without a love and pure heart we cannot see God. And the Advocate, or the Holy Spirit, is the Holy Trinity, the God.
Being God incarnated, Jesus never gives his teaching in abstract terms. He may say things in parables but never abstract. It is no exception in today’s gospel. If we take a closer look of the second part of verse 17: “You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you”, we will discover that Jesus tells us that the Spirit of truth abides with us because we are created in the image of God, who is the Holy Trinity. Thus, deep inside of us is the dwelling place of the Holy Trinity.
If we pay attention to what happens to deep inside of us, we would know that God speaks to us through our bodily sensations, emotions and feelings. If we do something bad, our conscious will disturbed by the Holy Spirit, who invites us to repent and return to God.
His saying, “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live” reminds us that even if we can keep his commandments, it is because he loves us first. He loves us so much that he will not leave us orphaned. He lives and we also will live. In other words, we and Jesus cannot be separated from each other. If we think we can be independent without Jesus, then we are wrong. Without Jesus, we cannot love. When we cannot love, we are dead. It is because only the dead does not have feelings and have life to love.
“On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you” tells not only the story of Jesus, but also our own story, our destination and the meaning of our life. It is a beautiful of unity between mankind and God.
The last verse of today’s gospel: “They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them” describes the journey to become closer with God. Here Jesus offers us the road map of building an intimate relationship with God. Pray that with this road map we would all enjoy the intimacy with God. Amen.