Jesus’ farewell to his disciples at the Last Supper continues in today’s gospel. Jesus says,” If anyone loves me they will obey me…” (John 14:23) Obeying Jesus can also be translated to “keep my word.” Jesus wants us to keep his word, obey his teachings, remember what he has told us, and most importantly to live it! This means we must be rooted in God’s word …in the Bible. We should be reading the Bible at home as well as hearing it spoken on Sundays at mass. In doing this we will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to live in obedience and in love to Christ. Amen? Amen! If you need a Bible, the just ask me after mass and I will make sure you receive one.
Phil Jenkins observes that many Christians in the Northern hemisphere really do not trust or believe the words in the Bible. As a result there are few miracles and many churches are dying. On the other hand, Christians in the Southern hemisphere, (Central America, South America, Africa, & Asia) do trust and believe in Jesus’ word in the Bible. In these places miracles are happening all the time and the churches are growing very rapidly. Here at Amazing Grace we trust and believe in Jesus’ word in the bible. Amen? Amen!
Jesus wants us to show our love for him by remaining in his word and obeying him, and like the churches in the Southern hemisphere we will continue to be blessed. Amen? Amen!
Jesus continues by saying,” Then my Father will love them, and we will come to them and live in them.” (John 14:23) By loving and obeying Christ, God himself will come and live in us! Wow! Almighty God wants to live in us and with us. Do we see how special we are to God?
A young woman named Sally was going away to college. Her mother worked two jobs so her daughter could go to college. Sally was nervous and afraid about leaving home for the first time to go and live in a far away place. She was also afraid of not having her mother’s guidance. Before Sally left, her mother said,” You are going to see and do things you never heard of…and you won’t know which way to turn sometimes. Do you remember when you use to tug on my apron strings when you wanted something and I would respond to you? Do you remember when you were driving to close to the white line and that I would shout at you? Well, I am going to be with you in your heart but it will be up to you to remember what I taught you. I can’t kiss your hurts when you fall down and scratch your knee anymore when the storms of life come. But I’ll always be as close as a peanut in your pocket when you need me and you are afraid. I’ll always stand with you. And if you are hurting…you can feel me close to your heart. And when you make a mistake and do wrong, I’ll whisper the truth to you so you won’t do it anymore.” They both cried and then hugged one another. Her mother gave Sally a handkerchief and then Sally left. When Sally arrived at school, she pulled out the handkerchief and discovered a knot tied in one of the corners. She untied the knot and inside the knot she found a peanut.
God is like Sally’s mother. God is like the peanut in Sally’s pocket. Jesus is always with us loving and caring for us and telling us the truth when we do wrong. Amen? Amen!
Jesus then says “But the Holy Spirit will come and help you, because the Father will send the Spirit to take my place.” (John 14:26) The Holy Spirit lives in us and guides us. He strengthens us in our trials and helps us to remember the promises we have in Jesus Christ.
During World War Two the P-38 Lightening fighter airplane was one of the most effective planes for the United States. The United States gave some to our allies the British but their pilots were not as effective as the American pilots. The reason is that the Americans did not give the British the Top secret supercharger for the British airplanes. The British planes were not as effective because they did not have this supercharger for their planes’ engines. In the same way, we are not living life to the fullest without our supercharger… the Holy Spirit. Amen? Amen! We need to continually pray and ask Jesus to pour out his Holy Spirit upon us to guide us and protect us and to draw us ever closer to God. Amen? Amen!
Finally, in John 14:27, Jesus says,” I give you peace, the kind of peace that only I can give.” Jesus promises us and gives us peace if we simply trust Him.
A woman was on a jet plane flying to Cleveland. She looked out her window and only saw dark clouds and an approaching storm. She looked across the aisle of the plane and looked out the window on the other side. There she saw the most beautiful sunset she had ever seen in her life. The woman thought to herself, it doesn’t matter what window I sit next to or look through… the plane is going to arrive at the same destination. In the same way, in life, our final destination is not influenced by what we see or hear along the way. For us as Christians, our jet plane is Jesus Christ and our destination is heaven. What is happening outside the windows of Christ does not change the arrival at our final destination. Brothers and sisters learn this, embrace it with your whole hearts… and completely trust Jesus with your life… and you will experience the peace that passes all human understanding. Amen? Amen!
Oremus: Come Holy Spirit…come into our lives this day…right now…guide our lives and keep us forever in Christ Jesus…empower us to remember Jesus words and to obey them…in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit …Amen!
