It’s a topological paradox!
When, in this Sunday’s Gospel from John, Jesus says to his
disciples, Remain in my love, he’s
asking them to come and live in him,
just as he lives in the Father’s love; Jesus,
in turn, promises to remain in us. To remain in Jesus is to experience his
love as one with him, with no separation; the joy of Jesus – he speaks so that my joy may be in you, he says –
is the union that love brings, the connection that binds us to one
another, and to Jesus.
It is this love that the First Letter of John calls us to as
well: let us love one another. To
do so is to mark the action of the Holy Spirit in our lives, for the Spirit is
manifested by our love, our care, our concern for one another, and the love in
our lives is a manifestation of God. It
truly is a topological paradox: we are in God and God dwells in us,
simultaneously! Recognizing our
brokenness, God sent his only Son into
the world to heal it; Jesus then sends the Spirit so that we might continue
to participate in that great love by letting God act in this world through
us. To know we are loved infinitely,
without limits, changes us, dramatically alters our openness to God’s activity
in us… and in everyone we touch when we share that love.
And it is precisely this love dwelling in Peter that brings him to the house of the Gentile Cornelius in our reading from Acts: while Peter was still speaking these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the word. The Spirit affirms the belief already present, filling them with God’s love, with God’s presence, so that that love might dwell in them and they in it. It is the fulfillment of the salvation that the Lord has made known, the covenant of kindness and faithfulness promised so long ago in Psalm 98. That covenant knows no limits, no boundaries – which is precisely why the topological paradox is possible, manifest in us as we open to God dwelling in us, and promise, in turn, to dwell in God.
And it is precisely this love dwelling in Peter that brings him to the house of the Gentile Cornelius in our reading from Acts: while Peter was still speaking these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the word. The Spirit affirms the belief already present, filling them with God’s love, with God’s presence, so that that love might dwell in them and they in it. It is the fulfillment of the salvation that the Lord has made known, the covenant of kindness and faithfulness promised so long ago in Psalm 98. That covenant knows no limits, no boundaries – which is precisely why the topological paradox is possible, manifest in us as we open to God dwelling in us, and promise, in turn, to dwell in God.
This post is based on Fr. Pat's Scripture class.
Image source: Wordle
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