Sunday Gospel Reflection, May 14, 2023: You are in me and I in you....

You are in me and I in you…

How connected do you feel to Jesus?

    In his Last Supper Discourses in John’s Gospel, Jesus reminds his disciples that he will send the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, so that he might be present to them always. It is important for Jesus to reassure his disciples that when he dies, it is not over – if he is with them in their hearts, he will be there even as he suffers death, even if they haven’t yet seen the fruit of resurrection. Jesus wants them to be confident of this indwelling: You are in me and I in you, he says. That connection will be sustained beyond death. Connectedness is what Christianity is supposed to be about, after all – we are connected to Jesus but also to one another, throughout our life journeys. Christ is the source of that connectedness, because we are in him and he is in us, so we must love him and keep his commandments. We have to keep expanding our ability to embrace his love without limits, love that is connecting, completely connecting. 

    When we do, it is our responsibility to make Christ seen, known. Thanks to the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, we are an extension of God’s love. In the Acts of the Apostles, Philip leaves Jerusalem during the persecutions, but goes on to proclaim the Christ to the people of Samaria. Since their hearts are open to allow Christ in, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in them thanks to the laying on of hands by Peter and John. It is no surprise that there was great joy in that city! God’s tremendous deeds always bring rejoicing, as in Psalm 66, in which all the earth cries out to God with joy! As 1 Peter explains, when we sanctify Christ as Lord in our hearts, we are opening our hearts to transformation, expanding our hearts in order to take in this enormous presence as the central focus of holiness in our lives, that we might reveal him to all. 

   For every time we act out of love for others, every time we are kind or merciful, we connect to the Lord and Jesus Christ is revealed, as is the reason for our hope (his love for us). We believe in love that is greater than our understanding; whoever loves me will keep my commandments, Jesus says. Our ability to connect with him, to draw on his dwelling in us, allows us to share in that love that is precisely the manifestation of his presence in us, through which we then participate in the love of Christ for our world. There is no better way to be connected! 

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com