Sunday Gospel Reflections
MAY 25, 2025
Cycle C
JN 14:23-29
Divine
Life
by Fr. Jack Peterson
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As the church celebrates
the sixth
Sunday of Easter, we draw ever closer to the great solemnities
of the Ascension
and Pentecost. We continue to rejoice heartily in the
Resurrection and prepare
for a renewed outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Allow me to draw
attention to three
aspects of our faith found in the Scriptures given to us today
by the church
for our nourishment: light, intimacy and a guarantee.
The Lord is our light
and our
salvation. Jesus is the light of the world. In our reading today
from the book
of Revelation, St. John continues to share his vision of heaven.
An angel shows
John the holy city Jerusalem from a high mountain and John
proclaims: “It
gleamed with the splendor of God. Its radiance was like that of
a precious
stone … The city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for
the glory of
God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb.”
On a very fundamental
level, Jesus is
the light of the world because, along with the Father, he
created all of the
lights that exist in this world. In this way, Jesus enables us
to see the
majesty of the mountains, the exquisite beauty of a spring
flower and the
precious joy on the face of a loved one. For this light, we are
enormously
grateful.
However, Jesus is the
light of the
world in a much richer and more profound sense. He is a heavenly
light that has
revealed to us the most profound truths of our existence. Jesus
has revealed to
us the face of our heavenly Father. He has revealed the true
dignity and
destiny of the human person. He has revealed the Gospel way of
life that leads
to genuine human flourishing. Jesus has revealed God’s ultimate
plan for his
children — to be drawn up in the very life and love of the Holy
Trinity for all
eternity. Jesus is, indeed, the light of the world.
Secondly, the beauty of
the incarnation
of Jesus becomes clearer as we journey through Easter. Jesus did
not simply
appear in human form or take on our human condition in a partial
or incomplete
way. From the Blessed Virgin Mary, Jesus received a body and
took on the
fullness of our human nature. He became like us in all things
but sin. Jesus
did this in order to draw near to us in our suffering,
demonstrate God’s
tremendous love, become a model for human life, and use his
flesh as a chariot
to destroy sin and death.
There is an additional
reason for the
incarnation. Jesus did not draw close to us simply to dwell
among us; he chose
to dwell in us. “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.”
When we strive to
listen to God’s word, grasp its beauty and live it
authentically, God comes to
dwell in us. This is a spectacular mystery. Jesus desires to be
so intimately
united with us that he chooses to dwell in us by faith. This
reality is made
possible through the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and
Holy Eucharist.
Thirdly, let us cast our
gaze more at
the Holy Spirit. Jesus proclaimed with great boldness that he is
the way, the
truth and the life. During his last days, as he stood before
Pontius Pilate,
Jesus stated that “For this I was born and for this I came into
the world, to
testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens
to my voice”
(Jn 18:37). It is only fitting that Jesus would provide us with
the capacity to
remember the truth, understand it, safeguard it from error and
apply it to new
circumstances that arise over time. This capacity is made
possible through the
promise of the Holy Spirit.
“The Advocate, the Holy
Spirit, whom the
Father will send you in my name, will teach you everything and
remind you of
all that I told you.” The Holy Spirit poured out upon the church
is the
guarantor of truth. We have great confidence that the Holy
Spirit will serve
the church in this most important capacity.
“The task of
giving an
authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its
written form or in
the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living,
teaching office of the
church alone. Its authority in this matter is exercised in the
name of Jesus
Christ … Yet the Magisterium is not superior to the Word of God
but is its
servant. It teaches only what has been handed on to it. At the
divine command
and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it listens devotedly,
guards it with
dedication, and expounds it faithfully” (Catechism of the
Catholic Church
85,86).
Lord Jesus, as we
assemble this week
with the church to worship you and be nourished by you, we
glorify you for
being the light of the world, for choosing to dwell in us and
for bestowing
upon the church the spirit of truth.