Sunday Gospel Comment
Alberic Jacovone OSB
YEAR A SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER - 1.5.05 Acts 8,5-8.14-17; 1 Pet 3,15-18; Jn 14,15-21 A life to the full in a Tri-une God ‘You
in Me & I in You’.
Today’s Gospel contains the centre & climax of Jesus’ farewell speech
which he delivered, as he sat at table with his disciples at the last Supper. It
spells out the depth of ‘communion’ he longs to establish. We call this
communion ‘life in Christ or in the Trinity’: a life with the Father, in the
Son, through the Spirit’. Scholars tell us that Jesus’ farewell speech in
John’s Gospel, is written against the farewell speech that Moses gave the
Israelites in the Book of Deuteronomy Ch 31: as they march into Holy Land, Moses
-now close to his death- gives them his ‘climax’ words: ‘Be strong - stand
firm - have no fear of them - no terror... - for Yahweh himself will lead you -
he will be with you - he will not fail nor desert you. Fear no one & do not
be disheartened by anything (31, 6-8)’... Today’s ‘climax’ words of
Jesus are even stronger: ‘do not be afraid - I am with you - the Holy Spirit
will also be with you forever - He is in you, he is with you. Now at last, you
will understand that I am in the Father, & you in me & I in you... take
courage: I have overcome the world’ (14, 1-18,33). In this ‘climax’
message, the role of the Holy spirit is crucial: he is ‘Advocate -
Paraclete’, words which mean ‘called to the side of’, as when an ambulance
is called to the side of someone caught in a serious accident. In his farewell,
the central point that Jesus makes is: ‘trust in God & in me & be sure
that the Holy Spirit will remind you of all that I taught you; he will reveal to
you what was foretold in the scriptures, & guide you in your future mission.
In reality, Jesus offered them an amazing life - a life to the full! Filled with
it , He sent them to be ‘life-givers, counsellors, advocates, comforters to
all, so that all may have life to the full A
life poured for others. It
would be a pity to find such a depth of meaning in today’s Gospel & refer
it only to Jesus & his Apostles in their dealings way back 2000 years ago:
it has a strong meaning also for each of us. With the track record of many
outstanding saints -men & women- from our Christian past, right up to our
last Pope J.P.II, we can -& indeed are urged to- live to the full our
‘life in Christ & in the Trinity’. Fortunate are we if we share a
conviction, whereby each of us, is commissioned to be life-giving & a
person-for-others. The Church has a special word for it: ‘Ministry’. We are
called to be ‘ministers’, people who ‘ad-minister’ with care &
compassion God’s blessings to any ‘little ones’. (think of a loving mother
who pours our the soup, dishing it out from the big bowl into small bowls for
the children, who are sitting eagerly around the table!).
Hidden in the logic of ‘Ministry’ is the action of ‘pouring’ our
life-blood so other people may have life in abundance. In these past ANZAC days,
we have honoured ‘the fallen’, as people who poured
their life so we may have life & freedom to the full. This
key-insight comes from our Number One Minister, Jesus himself, who literally
poured out his blood so we may live. Following his example, we too (& so
should everyone who call him/herself ‘a Minister’, should commit ourselves
to be ministers, life-givers who serve, & sacrifice time & talent, so
that people under our ‘ad-ministration’ (especially ‘little ones &
oppressed) may have life to the full. In the Church, we are to ‘minister’ to
one another, willingly & caringly dishing out Jesus’ life-blood & our
own to people in need. The ‘good news’ (the word Gospel means ‘God’s
spell’) is that we, having been filled with a ‘life to the full’, are now
commissioned to go out as life-giving persons, to pour ourselves out, &
serve & sacrifice & suffer, so that everyone may have life to the full. ______________________________________ |
