Yes, it's still Easter. That wonderful time of year that we celebrate new life. New life in flesh and new life in spirit. We celebrate the resurrection of Jesus as we look forward to that awesome day that we will be resurrected as well.
This past week I spent some time in North Carolina and had time to see, hear and smell, new life on walks by creeks, waterfalls and nature. The earth is coming to life in this place.
I also had time to reflect on how, when I read God's Word, when I participate in God's presence in the Sacraments; I open my heart in prayer to ask God that I may hear and see what God has to speak to me and show me each day. How does God want me, to do his will, and hear his voice, and see his spirit, in me and through me. My ever living hope is that those God gives to me each day will see straight through me and witness God active in this place and time, and not see a tiny bit of me in so doing that. So, as I go through these reflections; the question still remains. What did you hear or see God speaking you?
So, here is my reflection on the passage listed above. Click the scripture link above and read and note what you hear God speaking to showing you.
I'm taking a different approach this time since the scripture is short. I will reflect what I heard and saw this week from within the Word. These are my notes or thoughts along the way throughout my week of study on the passage. Please accept them as my humble offering to you.
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
Love Jesus and keep God's commandments. Maybe a better way to say this for myself is to keep watch over Jesus command to love God and each other. There is a sense of the Law here but it seems to me to be more a combination of Law and Gospel. To seek to keep Jesus commandments is to remain in Jesus love. The Law of this, points me to how I fail miserably to love God and to love Neighbor.
The Gospel of this is, Jesus shows us his love in that he gave himself to us to bring us out of sin and death to new life in him.
Sure, I sin. This world is full of sin, and for people to deny this in the world and in themselves is a delusion. It's a delusion that we can be born free from sin and just by taking responsibility for our actions, pay the price for the wrongs we commit. We can't do that, nor has anyone ever been able to correct themselves enough to make this world all better. Only God can take that BIG task on. And to think that we can take care of our own actions is a fantasy. We need God to "right the ship," so to speak.
The Father through the Spirit became flesh in Jesus and entered our sinfulness to free us from our sin by becoming our sin, dying in our sin and rising to new life for us to rise in new life in him.
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
In this "Helper" name comes the word Paraclete. The Paraclete is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our Counselor. One called to the side of, is a definition that I came across. Like a legal Counsel but so much more. The Holy Spirit or Paraclete, is someone to help us in relation to the world we live in. Someone to be with us in all aspects of our lives. We have the Holy Spirit with us forever.
The Holy Spirit not only comforts us, but also rallies us to our feet to face life again, unafraid. The Holy Spirit is strong when we are weak and pulls us up and back to new life.
Jesus is a fleshly witness to God. Jesus came into this world as both a man and also God. Jesus came to a specific place at a specific time. People witnessed to the life of Jesus, wrote down what they saw and followed Jesus as disciples. That still happens to this day, but we don't see Jesus as he was seen at that time and at that place. There was the body of Jesus--- external God.
17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
Jesus left his disciples in flesh, yet graciously gave us the Holy Spirit (Paraclete), and we have now God's presence within us. We know the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is within us and with us. And the knowledge given here from Jesus is that the Holy Spirit will stick with us in our life's journey. Life is not promised to be easy. We will suffer all kinds of things in this life we live. We will mourn, be depressed, give in to temptation, become addicted, turn and run from God at times, attempt to save our selves, depend on false gods to bring us out of pain and suffering... on an on... yet... the Holy Spirit is by our side. Jesus sticks with us to save us. God really loves us. He loves us to death... his own in Jesus and our own in this world in which we live. But there is hope and a promise to those who stick with God as God sticks with us.
The Holy Spirit works into the external world through his disciples.
18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
Jesus promises us that he will not leave us orphans or comfortless, Jesus will come to us. God's heart is directed towards us. Each one of us. Why? God loves us. Yes! It's true. Jesus loves me this I know... For the Bible tells me so.
God comes to us today, tomorrow, and forever. God comes to us in Body and Spirit. God comes to us in Word and Sacrament. As we look to God's Word and listen, read and see it; God will speak. And as we participate in and witness Baptism and Holy Communion; we can see God's presence in the water, the bread and the wine and hear the Word spoken and a promise of everlasting life in the presence of God.
19 Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.
Jesus makes us a part of the resurrection. Sure, we're going to die. Our loved ones will die. We will witness death and destruction in this world...
BUT
We will never be alone.
20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.
We are part of the Resurrected Jesus. Jesus promises to be with us and return for us and take us from paradise to a New World to live with and under him in his Kingdom. It's a great promise of no more tears, pain, death or evil.
21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
As disciples in the here and now... we respond to the love of Jesus. The love of Jesus will be our own live with a new presence of Jesus.
May the Holy Spirit within Jesus' followers, expand God beyond a certain place and time to all the world throughout all time. And may all the world see right through his disciples to witness Jesus, the Gate, the Door, the Truth and the Life and see none of us.
Lord, I give thanks that you were put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit. Lead each of your disciples out to a spacious place to live with you in the closeness of your love that we may love you and each other... today... tomorrow... and forever. --- Amen
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