John 14:21-26 NRSVue
21They 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.” 22Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” 23Jesus 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. 24Whoever 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. 26But 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.
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Some thoughts on this scripture
Reflection
The Holy Spirit, the ally and spirit of Jesus, remains with me through my
life, keeping the words of Jesus in my mind, helping me to deepen my
understanding of them, as I apply them to the constantly changing situations
which I face.
Reflection
Loving God and doing what God wants are essentially linked. ‘Love is proved
in deeds not words' was the ending Saint Ignatius gave to people after a
thirty-day retreat. We love the Lord by keeping God's word, by doing what
that word indicates to us. In doing the will of God we grow at the same time
in our relationship with God and our knowledge of God. In times of prayer we
can recall our working for God in the past and consider our working with God
in the future.
Reflection
The image of 'home' is strong in the gospel - Jesus would visit the house of
Zacchaeus, visit the home of Peter, and makes home in each of us. He knocks
at the door and waits to be invited into our space and our lives. He is not a
crowding visitor but one who accepts what he sees and enjoys our welcome.
Prayer is our time of welcoming Jesus into our day and our lives.
Reflection
Easter days recreate the waiting of the early apostles, their anticipation of
the coming of God's Spirit. I think of the blessings I already enjoy and
consider what enrichment God may have in mind for me this Pentecost.
Reflection
The Holy Spirit is already active in my life when I am reminded of God’s
word to me, when I am encouraged to act as Jesus did. I recognise that
God’s Spirit already moves in me as I pray that I might yield to it more.