Sixth Sunday of Easter in the year C
Posté par diaconos le 19 mai 2022
From the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to John
At that time Jesus said to his disciples, « If anyone loves me, he will keep my word; my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me does not keep my words. But the word which you hear is not from me, but from the Father, who sent me. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and make you remember all that I have said to you. I leave you peace, I give you my peace; I do not give it to you in the way of the world. Do not let your hearts be troubled or frightened. You have heard what I have said to you: I am going away and I am coming back to you. If you loved me, you would rejoice, for I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have told you these things now, before they happen, so that when they happen you will believe. (Jn, 14, 23-29)
To keep the Word of Jesus is to abide in it
Jesus proclaimed one of those profound truths that contain treasures of consolation and hope. To keep his word is to abide in it, to make it the element of your inner life, to practice it in all your conduct. Jesus answered him : « If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him; and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not from me, but from the Father who sent me. (Jn 14, 23-24) Whoever lives by this word has eternal life: he will never see death. For Jesus, the death of the body is not death but sleep. Jesus said to them, : « Go away, for the girl is not dead, but asleep. And they laughed at him » (Med 9, 4), the passage to the fullness of life. True, complete death is that of the soul, its separation from God, and such a death is impossible for the one who possesses eternal life in God.
The Jews, taking the word « death » in a purely material sense, consolidated their insulting opinion that Jesus was mad, that he spoke under the influence of a demon. The greatest men of God: « Abraham, the prophets were dead; and you claim to have the power to exempt from death! Who do you claim to be? Jesus replied to those who accused him of exalting himself to the point of claiming to deliver from death : « If I, I alone, glorify myself, that glory is vain; but I draw it all from my unity with my Father. It is he of whom you say, ‘He is our God who glorifies me. If he were truly your God, you would have believed in me; but your opposition has contradicted your words. »
In spite of the revelation of God in his Word, they were in this deep ignorance, because of their moral blindness. But Jesus knew this and kept his word, for he was with him in complete unity of will and love. It was from this character that the Jews had to recognise the divine truth of his words. Indignant at their resistance to this truth, Jesus reminded them of the spirit of falsehood which was the cause of it and which he had already pointed out to them : « It is written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. (Jn 8, :17) Jesus, after having justified himself from the reproach of glorifying himself, addressed the question put by the Jews : « Are you greater than Abraham ? » Jesus answered : « Yes, I am, » since he was the object of that patriarch’s hope and joy. The event after which Abraham sighed, and which Jesus called my day, could only be the appearance of the Saviour on earth to accomplish the redemption of the world : « He said to the disciples: The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see him. » (Lk 17, 22)
But when did Abraham leap in hope to see this day of Christ? And when did he see it and rejoice? For it was these two successive joys that Jesus attributed to Abraham. The Fathers of the Church and the Reformers generally related this fact to Abraham’s life on earth and explained it by his faith in God’s promises, or by a prophetic vision : « In faith they all died, not having obtained the things promised; but they saw them and greeted them from afar, recognising that they were strangers and sojourners on the earth. (Heb 11, 13) From the fact that Abraham saw the day of Christ, it seemed to follow that Christ must have seen Abraham, that is, must have existed two thousand years before his time. How absurd for Jews !
lthough Jesus was only thirty or so years old, the Jews said, : « You are not yet fifty years old, » in order to be sure that they were older than He was in their estimation. They meant to say : « , « You are not yet an old man. From the age of twenty-five years and upwards, every Levite shall enter the service of the Tent of Meeting to perform an office. From the age of fifty years he shall go out of office, and shall serve no more (Num 8, 24-25) Becoming belongs to everything that is created; absolute, eternal being belongs to God alone, and it is in this sense that Jesus Christ spoke here. They understood. Faced with this answer, the only thing left for the Jews to do was to worship, … or to stone him. Jesus hid himself in the crowd around him, where his disciples
But when did Abraham leap in hope to see this day of Christ? And when did he see it and rejoice ? For it was these two successive joys that Jesus attributed to Abraham. The Fathers of the Church and the Reformers generally related this fact to Abraham’s life on earth and explained it by his faith in God’s promises, or by a prophetic vision : « In faith they all died, not having obtained the things promised; but they saw them and greeted them from afar, recognising that they were strangers and sojourners on the earth. (Heb 11, 13) From the fact that Abraham saw the day of Christ, it seemed to follow that Christ must have seen Abraham, that is, must have existed two thousand years before his time. How absurd for Jews !
Although Jesus was only thirty or so years old, the Jews said : « You are not yet fifty years old » in order to be sure that they were older than He was in their estimation. They meant to say : « You are not yet an old man. From the age of twenty-five years and upwards, every Levite shall enter the service of the Tent of Meeting to perform an office. From the age of fifty years he shall go out of office, and shall serve no more (Num 8, 24-25) Becoming belongs to everything that is created; absolute, eternal being belongs to God alone, and it is in this sense that Jesus Christ spoke here. They understood. Faced with this answer, the only thing left for the Jews to do was to worship, … or to stone him. Jesus hid himself in the crowd around him, where his disciples.
Deacon Michel Houyoux
Links to other Christian websites
◊ Clare on Line : click here to read the post → SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER – YEAR C
◊ St John Vianney Catholic Church click here to read the post → Sixth Sunday of Easter- Yeae C
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