John 14:15-21
15 ”If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. 17 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.
18 ”I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. 19 In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 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.”
”If you love me, you will keep my commandments”
The Risen Christ is continuing to prepare His apostles and disciples for the next event in God’s plan of salvation.
On their way up to Jerusalem, He was preparing them for the great event of His Passion and Resurrection. Now He appears to them to confirm their faith so that they become eye witnesses of His resurrection, which is the foundation of our Christian faith.
Simultaneously, He prepares us for the imminent Ascension. He will disappear in His human body, but “He will not leave us orphaned” v. 18.
Every thing He is doing during His earthly ministry is coming out of His love and leading to the His Father’s glory. Jesus’ love for humans is natural, total and everlasting. It deserves to be reciprocated, and for those who do so, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” v. 15.
Jesus promises to ask the Father to send them the Holy “Spirit of Truth, whom the world can not receive,” v. 17.
Without this Spirit, we become orphans, missing God’s presence, love and wisdom in our life.
This Sunday, we are invited to reflect upon our faithfulness to love without pretending that love can be divided into different natures in order to justify our unfaithfulness to true love.
How true are we in our daily life, combining our own behavior with Jesus’ love?
Could we really say that our acts show forth His love that we believe in?
May we consider this invitation to be a wake up call, reminding us to do a general health test of our spiritual life.
“If we love Him, we will keep His commandments.” Then we will receive the Holy Spirit and be beloved by the Father to enjoy the presence of Christ the Lord within us.
Let us prepare ourselves for the Coming of this Holy Spirit!