How can we best live in Christ’s love?
The profound love of Jesus Christ, revealed most perfectly
at his death on the cross, touches us at the depth of who we are; it is a love
revealed in sacrifice, the giving of Jesus’ self entirely for the salvation of
humankind. God wants this love to
possess us and for us to possess the Lord in that love, creating a mutual
indwelling meant to give us peace. To reassure
the apostles and calm their fears for the future, Jesus promises in John’s
Gospel that the Father will send an Advocate,
the Holy Spirit, to guide and direct us, to help us discern in our time of
need, dwelling within us: my peace I give to you. Revelation describes this presence of the
third Person of the Trinity as an outpouring of the light of the temple that is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb: the Holy Spirit is the very love that binds
the Father and Son, and invites us into ongoing relationship with God.
Throughout all of the difficulties of the early Church, the
apostles – Paul and Barnabas among them – had to keep sight of the fact that
God’s intent is always to live among us.
The apostles’ work is inspired: It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and us,
Paul and Barnabas write to the Christians of Antioch in Acts, to help them better to understand the
teachings of the Church. The apostles
know the power of the God dwelling within them, and are fully aware of the role
the Holy Spirit plays in their ministry.
In a sense, they are fulfilling the dictum of Psalm 67: may your
way be known upon the earth; among all nations, your salvation.
Jesus offered his apostles a revelation of something they
have yet to understand, exhorting them not only to keep his word, but also
to live in the context of the profound love he is about to reveal in all its
glory. The Advocate is his gift to us, an embodiment of the love in which we
are to live, allowing it to possess us, striving to possess it, that we might
also be an outpouring of that love to all the world.
This post is based on Fr. Pat's Scripture class.
Image source: Wordle
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