Reflection
According to its placement within the Gospel of John, the words from Jesus in today’s Gospel take place after He has entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday but before the Last Supper. These might have been Jesus’ last words in public before his suffering, crucifixion and resurrection.
Jesus provides a clear and direct summary of all that He preached throughout His public ministry. Jesus and the Father are one, consubstantial, as we profess in our Creed. Jesus’ ministry and preaching were meant to reveal the Father to the world through his humanity, not set up a conflict forcing people, especially the Jews, to choose between Jesus and the Father. Faith in Jesus is also faith in the Father. Jesus’ words, rooted in obedience to the Father, are the ultimate authority and the path to eternal life.
Jesus proclaims that He “came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness.” What is important for us to remember and believe is that when it comes to our faith, Jesus is the only source of light, not one source among many. Jesus is the only spiritual light that removes the darkness of sin and death from our lives.
Jesus continues to emphasize that His words, which are really what the Father has commanded Him to speak, will be the standard by which we will be judged and given entrance to eternal life in heaven where we will be with the Father and the Son.
Jesus’ words are not just meant to be believed and accepted intellectually. Jesus’ public ministry put the words of the Father into action. He sent his disciples to distant lands to both preach and perform marvelous acts of faith in His name. Through our Baptism, we are also called to live according to His words and, through our daily living, make disciples of all people. As we prepare to witness the power of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday, let us not forget that through our Confirmation we are also “sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit” for the purpose of living according to the divine Will of the Father and the Son.
Today’s Question for Prayer and Reflection
How does your life reflect your faith and obedience to the Holy Trinity?