Gospel for Pentecost

This Sunday's Gospel is John 14: 23-31.

Jesus says, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him."

Here Jesus teaches us how to love Him. We don't buy Him presents, or perform spectacular works that prove our love. Instead, we simply keep His word. The Greek word for "keep" has the sense of "guarding" or "watching over." In other words, we continually interact with the word of Christ and hold fast to it as our highest joy. Through the means of the word we have a relationship with God. It is through this word alone that God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit come and dwell with us.

Yesterday I was reading in Deuteronomy 13 where God warns Israel against false prophets. He says that there will be prophets whose prophecies prove true and who do amazing things. Yet, God warns, that if a prophet teaches falsely, God's people are not to follow him. The text goes on to say that God uses such false prophets to test the people. God wants us to preference His word, even if a false teacher is able to perform some great miracle or sign to substantiate his claims. In light of the gospel lesson this makes sense. It is in keeping God's word that we have a relationship with God and show our love for Him.

Once again, this is why Christ's promise in verse 26 is paramount: "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance ALL THAT I HAVE SAID TO YOU."

It is on the basis of this gift of word and Spirit that Jesus is then able to give us peace as He says in verse 27. This peace is different from the world. The world offers a real sort of peace, that really works. It's just that it's a short lived peace that cannot bear the burden of a relationship with God. The peace Jesus gives is different. It is solely a peace that comes from being reconciled to the Father. Therefore, this peace can establish and bear the weight of relationship with God.

And so it is, that nothing is as important as the gift of the Holy Spirit who creaes faith in us by the working of God's word.