The Holy Trinity was established as dogma of our Church only at the Council of Nicea in 325 AD, a couple of centuries after the time of Jesus.
This Sunday's gospel is one of the Scriptural basis of this dogma. It is part of the "farewell discourse" of Jesus during the Last Supper when Jesus assures his disciples that He will continue to be with them -- not physically, but in a more profound and spiritual way.
There are three promises made in the gospel passage:
1. The sending of the Spirit - The spirit is referred to as an "advocate" which is a legalese term referring to a "resource person" who is called at the side of an accused to help the latter in his defense. The disciples were anxious and fearful; Jesus reassures them that His presence will continue but now in the form of the Spirit.
2. The return of Jesus - This does not necessarily mean the physical return of Jesus but the return of His presence in a more profound way through an "indwelling" in his disciples: "He (referring to the Spirit) remains with you and will be in you." Further, the verse "you will see me" refers to a spiritual vision made possible by the eyes of faith.
The continuing presence of Jesus (this time through the Spirit) demands the continuing presence of a love relationship with Jesus and with one another. This kind of love is not just a feeling, but an active kind of love based on carrying out Jesus message and His commandments.
3. Jesus' unity with the Father - The evangelist John reenforces a common theme in his gospel -- that Jesus and the Father are one, and that they "act" together. Loving Jesus is loving the Father, which results to the love of the Father bestowed upon them.
Want to know more about the Holy Trinity and how to explain it to others? Click here.
Other Trivia:
- During biblical times, the word "orphans" is also used to refer to disciples whose master has died.
References:
- Nil Guillemette, SJ, Hungry No More (Makati: St. Paul's Publications, 1989), pp. 191-194.
- James McPolin, SJ, John (Pasay: Daughters of St. Paul, 1988), pp. 199-201.
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John 14:15-21
Jesus said to his disciples: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always – the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows him. But you know him, because he remains with you, and will be in you.
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you.
Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”
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| (c) Sten Porse, CC-BY 3 |
This gospel passage takes place during the Last Supper. The disciples are anxious because Jesus, just a few verse earlier was saying goodbye: "My children, I will be with you only a little while longer" (John 13:33). The disciples were probably also wondering what would happen when Jesus leaves. The evangelist John makes use of this scenario to expound on the theology of who Jesus is vis-a-vis who God is, in the following verses:
1. "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father" (14:9) - God who is incomprehensible and invisible has become understandable in the life, words and works of a physical human being -- Jesus Christ. How can God better communicate who God is but through someone in real flesh and blood, and actually talked and walked on earth?
We all talk to our dogs through "dog commands." My wife would, for example, say: "Pepper, make peepee outside." Somehow, after many repetitions, Pepper would figure that (what sounded to it as a series of gibberish sounds) means that she has to go outside to do her thing. But we all know that Pepper didn't understand the English and partly understood the gibberish. If my wife wanted to be fully understood by Pepper, she would have to, well, speak in "dog language" (which would be difficult, if not impossible).
It is the same with God. Prior to Jesus, God (or Yahweh) spoke to us INDIRECTLY -- through thunder and lightning, the prophets, and the events that happened to the Jewish people. God was speaking to us through "divine language" which we sometimes partly understood, or misunderstood. To fully communicate with us unmistakably, God became like one of us through Jesus, so that God can now speak with us through human language, and through the life of someone just like us.
So, if you want to know who (or what) God is, know Jesus.
2. "I am the way, the truth and the life" (14:6). - During the last supper, the disciples were probably asking what will happen to their cause to overthrow the Romans; and who will take Jesus' place as the messiah from the oppressive colonialists. Jesus, instead, provides the answers to the theological questions in their hearts and minds: what happens after life, what do I do in this life, what can I do to be with God.
Jesus answers by saying:
- there are "many houses", i.e. there is room for everyone, the Kingdom of God is meant to include as many as possible.
- "I am the way, the truth, and the life" - The way to the Father is not an esoteric secret; it is simply Jesus' message of love, forgiveness and prayer. This is because the life of Jesus reflects the fullness of revelation (truth) and the fullness of what living is all about (life).
- "Whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do GREATER ONES THAN THESE." Wow, isn't that something? Jesus says that we will do greater things than He did. This is possible so long as Jesus lives among us and is the guiding principle behind what we do.
Reference:
- Nil Guillemette, SJ, Hungry No More (Makati: St. Paul's Publications, 1989), pp. 185-189.
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John 14:1-12
Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going, you know the way.”
Thomas said to him, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
Philip said to him, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father.”
The following trivia would help us better understand the message of this very familiar gospel passage.
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| Photo by Jim Barton |
1. What is a sheepfold? - It is an animal pen usually circular or rectangular. It may be located near a village or far from it along a hillside. It may or may not have a gate. At the end of the day, several shepherds would keep their sheep inside the sheepfold. The following day, the shepherds will take turns in entering the pen and would make their peculiar cry, recognizable to their sheep, to collect his flock. He would touch each of his sheep with his staff as it goes out as a way of counting them.
In the gospel, Jesus compares himself as both the shepherd AND the gate. When a sheepfold does not have a gate, the shepherds will line themselves along the opening during the night, to alert themselves in case one of the sheep wanders out.
2. Calling each sheep by name - This was practiced by the shepherd and would call the main animals of his flock by certain names such as "big ear," "brown leg," "long tail," etc. It is unlikely that all of the sheep would be named.
For the shepherd, the sheep is the source of milk, cheese, meat and clothing. Beyond these benefits, the shepherd became close to the flock as they are together most of the day. The naming of the sheep suggests this relationship.
3. To whom was Jesus directing this story? - If you turn to the bible, you will note that this passage follows right after the story of the man born blind (click here), and in that story, Jesus was talking to the Pharisees. Since there is no transition, we can assume that Jesus was also talking to the Pharisees.
This passage then presents the contrast between Jesus, the good shepherd, that cares for the sheep and has a personal relationship with them; and the religious leaders at that time that used their position to take advantage of the people. Jesus emphasized love, forgiveness, and genuine prayer; the Pharisees reduced the relationship with God into simply following a set of laws, rules, and practices. The true shepherd is personal; the Pharisees saw the people as the masses.
Reference:
- Nil Guillemette, SJ, Hungry No More (Makati: St. Paul's Publications, 1989), 128-134.
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John 10:1-10
Jesus said: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber. But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.”
Although Jesus used this figure of speech, the Pharisees did not realize what he was trying to tell them.
So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.
A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”
The significance of this gospel passage is reflected in the following notes:
- The encounter is between Jesus and ordinary disciples, and not with the Eleven apostles. From the story, it appears that these disciples have given up on Jesus -- they thought he was the Messiah, but since nothing happened after his crucifixion, it now seems they should continue waiting for someone else. They were now walking AWAY, but note that after the encounter with Jesus, they travelled BACK to Jerusalem.
- The crucifixion is such a despicable way to die. Imagine your hoped-to-be leader and messiah being sent to die in the electric chair; death by crucifixion is a lot more ignoble than that. Jesus relates the crucifixion with the Old Testament themes of the Suffering Servant and the rejected prophet. Suddenly, it makes sense to them: that the messiah is not one that will liberate them militarily but a more profound redeemer of humanity.
- The storyline follows the eucharistic liturgy: Jesus explains the crucifixion in the context of Scriptures (Liturgy of the Word), and then breaks bread with them (Liturgy of the Eucharist).
- Finally, note that after the disciples finally realized who the stranger is, Jesus vanishes from them.
The gospel passage reassures the early Christian communities (and us today) that Jesus will continue to be present, but no longer in a physical way. One encounters him, in faith, most especially in the Eucharist: in the scriptures and in the breaking of the bread.
Other Trivia:
- The Emmaus story is found only in the gospel of Luke, and is consistent with themes that are important for this evangelist such as sharing a meal and extending hospitality to strangers.
- Where exactly is Emmaus? See area in map marked RED.
Sources:
- Nil Guillemette, SJ, A Kingdom for All (Makati: St. Paul's Publications), pp. 394-395
- Raymond E. Brown et al (eds), The New Jerome Biblical
Commentary (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1990), 721.
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Luke 24:13-25
That very day, the first day of the week, two of Jesus’ disciples were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred.
And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing as you walk along?”
They stopped, looking downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?”
And he replied to them, “What sort of things?” They said to him, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him. But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel. Besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place. Some women from our group, however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive. Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see.”
And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the Scriptures.
As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus gave the impression that he was going on farther. But they urged him: “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that, their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight.
Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?” So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the Eleven and those with them who were saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of bread.
