What does it mean in this Sunday's Gospel when Jesus asks the disciples to keep his word? As we learn at the
beginning of the Gospel of John, Jesus himself is God’s Word, and so to keep
my word suggests that we must be bound by that Word that is between us, embracing that bond that is Jesus himself. And what else is that Word but the very love
of God that Jesus came to reveal? Jesus the
Word is the embodiment of God’s love for us, perfect, profound, and complete. As we open ourselves to that Word, as we
embrace it, binding ourselves to it, we find ourselves fully alive and on the
way to salvation. And, following upon
last week’s Gospel, we also find that we are able to love one another as Jesus has loved
us. We find, that is, that thanks to
the love we embrace, we exist as a community of inclusion.
This week’s reading from Acts strengthens the message of
inclusion that Christians are called to embrace. Who can be saved? The letter the apostles send to Jerusalem
stresses that salvation comes from Jesus Christ, not from circumcision; it is
the transformation of baptism – for man and woman alike – that allows everyone
and anyone to enjoy the salvation that Jesus came to share, to participate in
God’s love. John’s vision in Revelation
equates the Word that is Jesus with the Light or Lamp God sends in the form of
the Lamb: to enter into the holy city is
to stand in the light that is Jesus, to bask in the love of God – a light available
to all nations, to all who are open to keeping the word. And when everyone can join, then all the nations can praise God (Psalm 67) – not just an elite, self-selected community,
but all – an inclusive community of
believers, worshiping God together, keeping
his word, loving with a love that trumps all pain and sin and death, the
Love that is the gift of Jesus the Word.
This reflection is based on Fr. Pat's Scripture class.
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