Of the World

Gospel: John 17: 11-19

Jesus prays that his followers remain in the world but not be of the world.  What does this mean?  To be of the world is to be in the realm of self-interest which leads to the destruction and exploitation of others.  It is about the striving for material gain which is always at the expense of others, as other people are seen as rivals, competition, or at best as transactional agents for our advantage.  It is the brutish world of Hobbesian state of nature, or what Augustine called the city of man  

By contrast the kingdom of God is about the common good and the welfare of all people.  It is about following Jesus in his work of being the mercy and love of God on earth through healing, liberating, and nourishing others wherever we go.  Other people are seen as image and likeness of God, other Christs, temples of the Holy Spirit.  This way of life is what John Paul II called the civilization of love, or what Augustine called the city of God.

Many claim to come in the name of Jesus, but they preach not the city of God but that of the world.  When self-interest, power, and influence over others are the messages of the sermon, that pulpit is that of the world and the evil one.  But where the towel and basin and the fish and loaves are the images of import, here we find the true Gospel, here we find the way to the kingdom of God, here we find the fulfillment of Jesus' prayer for his followers.

To Know God

Gospel: John 17: 1-11

To know God.  This is eternal life.  But what does this mean? Is it merely an intellectual proposition like many others to which we assent?  In the case of God this is not possible, for a finite being cannot possibly know an infinite being in that way.  Besides, intellectual knowledge does not conform to our experience in the spiritual life where every aspect of our being is engaged and the emotions are an important component of religion that is not present in mere intellectual knowledge.

The fundamental purpose of religion is the constant effort to be conscious of God's presence in our lives at all times, all places, and all circumstances of life.  To know this presence in one's life is not to define it or to understand it in intellectual terms.  It is merely to be aware of it and to experience it in one's life.  We come to realize that this presence of God encompasses every aspect of our being, and we see that this presence is enough.  We do not need  God to do anything.  We just have to be aware that God is present.

In the Christian tradition we come to this awareness through the person of Jesus, the presence of God on earth, the one who came among us in the flesh to make us aware of this presence of God.  Jesus manifested the love and mercy of God in his presence on earth, and he invited us to be that presence of love and mercy in the world as well.  He invites us to demonstrate to the world the presence of God so that others may experience its peace, healing, and liberation. 

Do You Believe?

Gospel: John 16: 29-33

Jesus asks his disciples a blunt question: do you really believe? They all claim to believe, but in a few short hours they will scatter to the four winds and abandon Jesus to die alone.  They make the claim of the belief in the glow and aura of good feelings and comfortable times.  But when the difficulties arise and when faced with the powers of the world threatening, the belief they claim to have disappears as quickly as they do from the scene.  

This question is asked of us as well.  Do we really believe? Many claim to believe, but most really do not.  We have all sorts of prerequisites set upon God before we believe.  We need the right liturgy, the right community, a comfortable lifestyle, and certain political and legal frameworks.  We place all sorts of conditions upon our faith life that have nothing to do with God at all.  They are all mere projection upon God of our egos and biases.  This we claim to be faith.

But Jesus shows us what authentic belief is.  He tells the disciples they will leave him alone, but he reminds them that he is not really alone - that God is present to him always.  Even in the midst of his arrest, imprisonment, torture, and execution, Jesus has the calm assurance of God being present to him at all times.  This is authentic faith, a faith that needs nothing but God alone.  When we can be content with God alone, then we can say that we truly believe.