The Meaning and Beauty of John 14:23-27

by: David A. Wemhoff

posted July 20, 2009

The Gospel for July 4 is a powerful one that summarizes the central nature of the Roman Catholic Faith.

John 14:23-27 is an answer by Jesus to a question posed by Judas, not the Iscariot (perhaps Thomas), asked during the Last Supper. The question was "Master, then what happened that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world" Jesus replies:

"Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words: yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me. I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name—he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you."

There are three concepts here. Love. Commandments. The Holy Spirit. These three concepts are inextricably linked.

If we love Jesus, we love the Father who sent Him. But what is love? Is love some sappy feeling like a moist eyed sentimentality; is love some desire to never cause anyone to be upset; is love just going along with everyone; is love about smiling all the time; is love about having fun all the time; is love just about sex? No.

Jesus defined love by what He said, the way He lived, and, most importantly, the way He died. He showed that love means adhering to and speaking the Truth. He often spoke harshly of the scribes and Pharisees – but what He said was true. There are accounts in the Gospels of how the leaders of the Jews wanted to lay hands on Jesus, and kill Him. But He continued bearing witness to the Truth. He showed us that it is love to speak Truth even when all around us grow angry at us and threaten to hurt us. Indeed, in Matthew 10:34, He says "Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." To love is to love in and with truth because the two are intertwined. Without truth, there is no love. Without love, there is error. And where there is error, love is lacking.

Jesus taught us how we are to love God. In the Lord’s Prayer we pray "thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." At the Last Supper Jesus said that "If you love me, you will keep my commandments."(John 14:15.) What are those commandments? In Matthew, a Pharisee asks Jesus what is the greatest commandment. In Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus answers the Pharisee by saying "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." We love the Triune God by doing His will, by accepting His will, by placing first His will. To love God is to conform our will to His, and it is to subordinate doing what we want to doing that which He wants. We love God by keeping Jesus’ commandments.

But how do we know God’s will? And what do the commandments Jesus gave us mean in practical terms? He expresses His will many ways: one way is by the natural law, the other by our conversations with Him in a properly formed conscience.

And His will is found in the teachings of the Church. The Holy Spirit is promised to the apostles, the fathers of the Church, in today’s Gospel, and that promise has held true for 2,000 years. It is the Holy Spirit who makes knowable and clearer the Will of God in so many particulars. So when Holy Mother Church speaks with her infallible authority in matters of faith and morals, we are bound to follow her. We find Her voice in the encyclicals of the Popes, the Catechism, and the ex-cathedra pronouncements of the Holy Fathers.

No matter how unpopular or un-politically correct the Faith is, we are bound to follow it. That is, if we love Him.

JMJ

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The Meaning and Beauty of John 14:23-27 by: David A. Wemhoff posted July 20, 2009 The Gospel for July 4 is a powerful one that summarizes the central nature of the Roman Catholic Faith. John 14:23-27 is an answer by Jesus to a question posed by Judas, not the Iscariot (perhaps Thomas), asked during the Last Supper. The question was "Master, then what happened that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world" Jesus replies: "Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words: yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me. I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name—he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you." There are three concepts here. Love. Commandments. The Holy Spirit. These three concepts are inextricably linked. If we love Jesus, we love the Father who sent Him. But what is love? Is love some sappy feeling like a moist eyed sentimentality; is love some desire to never cause anyone to be upset; is love just going along with everyone; is love about smiling all the time; is love about having fun all the time; is love just about sex? No. Jesus defined love by what He said, the way He lived, and, most importantly, the way He died. He showed that love means adhering to and speaking the Truth. He often spoke harshly of the scribes and Pharisees – but what He said was true. There are accounts in the Gospels of how the leaders of the Jews wanted to lay hands on Jesus, and kill Him. But He continued bearing witness to the Truth. He showed us that it is love to speak Truth even when all around us grow angry at us and threaten to hurt us. Indeed, in Matthew 10:34, He says "Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." To love is to love in and with truth because the two are intertwined. Without truth, there is no love. Without love, there is error. And where there is error, love is lacking. Jesus taught us how we are to love God. In the Lord’s Prayer we pray "thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." At the Last Supper Jesus said that "If you love me, you will keep my commandments."(John 14:15.) What are those commandments? In Matthew, a Pharisee asks Jesus what is the greatest commandment. In Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus answers the Pharisee by saying "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." We love the Triune God by doing His will, by accepting His will, by placing first His will. To love God is to conform our will to His, and it is to subordinate doing what we want to doing that which He wants. We love God by keeping Jesus’ commandments. But how do we know God’s will? And what do the commandments Jesus gave us mean in practical terms? He expresses His will many ways: one way is by the natural law, the other by our conversations with Him in a properly formed conscience. And His will is found in the teachings of the Church. The Holy Spirit is promised to the apostles, the fathers of the Church, in today’s Gospel, and that promise has held true for 2,000 years. It is the Holy Spirit who makes knowable and clearer the Will of God in so many particulars. So when Holy Mother Church speaks with her infallible authority in matters of faith and morals, we are bound to follow her. We find Her voice in the encyclicals of the Popes, the Catechism, and the ex-cathedra pronouncements of the Holy Fathers. No matter how unpopular or un-politically correct the Faith is, we are bound to follow it. That is, if we love Him.