John 14:23-29
23 Jesus answered him, “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. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.
25 ”I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 26 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. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.
28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe.
"I give you my Peace!"
In this Sunday’s Gospel, St. John invites us to a private meeting with Jesus. It’s a dialog of deep understanding, love and trust.
In John 13:1, “Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and to go to the Father, having loved his own...to the end.” Filled with love, He offers them His last commands, as usually love does not show its depth until the hour of parting.
Many many times He spoke about the Father, i.e. “sent by the Father,” “doing the Father's will,” “I am in the Father and the Father is in me,“ “who saw me saw the Father,”…. For the first time here, He says "WE.” “We will come to them and make our home with them” v. 23.
The Syriac Aramaic version makes a difference between living WITH, as was the case before the Resurrection, and living WITHIN—-becoming Temples of the Holy Spirit thanks to the merits of Christ’s crucifixion and Resurrection.
The last gift Jesus would like to offer to His disciples has nothing to do with political or social authority, or with material inheritance or a military power. It is HIS Peace, the peace the world cannot give because only Christ has the “peace which transcends all understanding!" (Philippians 4:7)
This Peace will be the fruit of the Holy Spirit, who is the Advocate sent by the Father through the Son. The Holy Spirit will continue to teach God's good will, transforming His faithful into God's own Temple, where there will be no fear, but freedom and joy!
May we have a private meeting with the Lord, concentrate and reflect on this Gospel, trying to listen and to be the temple of this Holy Spirit in our world today!