John 14:24-26: He who does not love Me does not
keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s
who sent Me. These things I have spoken to you while abiding with
you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the
Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring
to your remembrance all that I said to you.
John
14:15-17 “If you
love Me, you will keep My commandments. I will ask the Father, and He will give you
another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the
Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see
Him or know Him, but you
know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.
I love the first Bible
passage sited here today. Jesus reminds us that to love Him is to follow what
He taught us. I am amazed at how many people insist that as long as they are
“good” people God will love them. Good is a relative term, of course, and in
this age of relativism, it can mean anything from not killing people to loving
animals. It is also carte blanche to do and believe whatever one wants, as long
as we are “good.” I always want to answer this commentary with a few simple
questions. “How do you show your love for God? I am so happy you are
sure He loves you, but does He know you love Him? Do you worry about showing
Him your love?” We have societies today that tend to be a bit narcissistic, and
this kind of thinking goes along with that tendency. God will love me no matter
what. I am free to live as I please as long as I throw Him a crumb and go to
Mass every once in a while (He doesn’t care if I don’t do it every week. After
all, I am a good person). I think He does care, and the first line of this
passage proves it. If you don’t keep God’s word, you don’t really love Him. It
is like knowing what your spouse has asked of you in the relationship and just
not caring if you do it or not. Is that love? No way. That would be a selfish
concept of love, one where you get what you want and your spouse gets whatever
you feel like giving him.
You need to get to know
God in order to love Him and serve Him in this world. Jesus tells us how this
can happen. He will send us a Helper, the Holy Spirit, to teach us all things.
Remember, the words of
Jesus are for us today just as they were for His apostles. He is saying this to
us. If you really want to know God the Father, and if you really want to
understand what I, God the Son, have taught you, then you need God the Holy
Spirit. He will teach you how to understand and live in God’s presence every
moment of your life. That is called the “Spirit-filled life.”
The second passage is
the same as the first. Jesus tells us to follow the commandments. He tells us
that we can only receive the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, if we are living
in the truth. The world tells us that many things are ok even if they go
against God. No so, my friends, not so. Either you live in God’s word, or live
in society’s word today. They do not go together.
If you want to know God,
so you can love Him and serve Him and be happy with Him in the next world, you
will have to pray to the Holy Spirit. He is the gift Jesus promised us before
He returned to the Father. He is known by such titles as Wonderer, Counselor,
Comforter, Spirit of life, Advocate and Teacher. He will lead you to the truth,
and the truth will set you free. But you have to want to know the truth, which
means you have to admit that the worldly tenants you may be following are
wrong, and you will have to give them up. You may have to stop reading certain
types of books, or stop watching certain types of shows, or playing certain
types of video games. You may have to start to go to Mass every Sunday, read
your Bible, join a Faith Community and find out what it is you need to know in
order to truly know God. I have three
lawyers in my immediate family. They will all tell you that ignorance of the
law is no excuse. It will not hold up in court. Well, it will not hold up in
heaven either!!
Begin today, and do this
every day for the rest of your life. Pray every morning to the Holy Spirit. Ask
Him to come into your heart and fill you with wisdom and knowledge of truth.
Ask Him to show you where you have sinned and what you need to confess. Ask Him
to reveal to you God’s plan for your life. Ask Him to give you the courage and
strength to face the battles of the day and fight them in God’s way.
Then, ask Him to teach
you through the Word, the people you meet, and the whispers you hear in your
heart to truly come to the beauty of a loving, truthful relationship with God.
Amen, alleluia!
Counselor is a legal term for one who defends
someone against an adversary and who guides that person during the ordeal of
trial
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