Homily

As we draw closer to the celebration of Pentecost, the liturgy brings us back to the Last Supper with a passage taken from one of Jesus’ great discourses. Verses 23-29 of chapter 14 comprise Jesus’ first conversation in John’s Gospel, when he comforts the faith and love of his first little community with the promise of the Holy Spirit. The first issue that Jesus addresses is that of the presence of God in the life of both the believer and of the community. Without a doubt, this is one of the cardinal themes of our life and of every religious experience. Often replaced in our contemporary society by many varied experiences, the need for a relationship with God lies at the heart of every person’s life, a need to which the Gospel is the radical response. Jesus’ assertion is perfectly clear, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them” (v. 23). There is a unique relationship between the love for Jesus, the observance of his words and the presence of God. According to First Testament tradition, the location of God’s dwelling place during the journey through the desert was the “tent,” successively it was the “temple” and then the very city of “Jerusalem.” With the advent of Jesus, Jesus identifies the temple with his person. Whoever unites with him participates in the worship. Today, therefore, the place of God’s presence (and this is what makes Christianity so extraordinary!) is the heart of whoever listens to the Gospel and puts it into practice. To encounter God—as this Sunday’s Gospel reading tells us—we need neither miracles nor visions, nor extraordinary visions, nor even new revelations. The Gospel suffices! In his first letter, John writes, “Whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection” (1 Jn 2:5). And, Jesus himself says solemnly, “Very truly, I tell you, whoever keeps my word will never see death” (Jn 8:51).
The Gospel is perfection and eternal life. Unfortunately, the majority of us believe little in this truth; and yet, these statements in the Gospel are very clear and entirely comprehensible. The Gospel does not divide people between perfect and imperfect according to their various affiliations. The only real division is the one that passes through the heart of each one of us when we observe, or do not observe, the Gospel. It is rather normal, however, to go off in search of something different. After having repeated his words, “Whoever does not love me does not keep my words,” Jesus immediately adds, “The word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me” (v. 24). This is what the Gospel is. How can we say, then, that it is not enough? One could argue that we have been listening to the Gospel for about two thousand years and little, if anything, has changed. We hope for new perspectives, perhaps connected in some way to the Gospel, but they should adapt and render the Gospel more modern. For this reason, I was struck by a comment often made by Father Mien, pastor of Novaiaderevna (near Moscow), who was killed in Zagorsk at the beginning of the 1990’s. He had recently founded a movement for religious renewal. Those who went to him heard him say, “Do not believe that the Gospel has said everything by now, because in reality today we are still at the beginning of comprehending its words!” We are still beginning to have a true understanding of the Gospel, an understanding that asks for enthusiastic union and for complete involvement.
We have no need for any other words: with urgency we must deepen and love the only Word. This is what Jesus said to his disciples back then, and repeats to us today, “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you” (vv. 25-26). Jesus had understood that his disciples were forgetful and often inept at understanding his words; and we are no different. For this reason, he added that he would send the Holy Spirit as an interior teacher for the disciples and for every believer. The Holy Spirit’s task will be to “teach” and to make the disciples “remember” the words spoken by Jesus. “To remember” the Gospel with the help of the Holy Spirit means to love it as the most precious Word and to seek out every way to put it into practice. The life of the disciple, guided not by many “spirits” of this world, but by the “Spirit of God,” will render the written word visible. With the spiritual wisdom that has made him one of the greatest spiritual teachers, Gregory the Great wrote, “Holy Scripture grows with the one who listens to and observes it.”