Picking up where we left off in last week's Gospel, Jesus continues his Last Supper discourse, this time turning his attention to love, the law, and friendship with God. Taking the lead of the evangelist himself we explore the idea of belovedness and how receptivity to Divine love is the foundation of the spiritual life. Bringing in the topic of the law as well as the thought of Thomas Aquinas we discover that the practice of abiding in God's love has very little to do with our own efforts and everything to do with God's.

Diving deep into our Gospel we'll spend our episode looking closer at:

- What, according to St. Thomas Aquinas, we must do in order to keep God's commandments [8:49]

- The Greek etymology of the word "friend" and what it can tell us about being friends of God [18:48]

- The two Old Testament figures that were said to be friends of God [31:20]

- Greco-Roman and Jewish conceptions of friendship that likely inform our Gospel [41:52]

- Jewish inheritance law and what it has to say about friendship and servitude [45:04]

- Some priestly overtones subtly present in the latter part of Jesus' exhortation to the Twelve [51:35]

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Brown, Raymond E. The Gospel according to John (XIII-XXI): Introduction, Translation, and Notes. Vol. 29A. Anchor Yale Bible. New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2008.

Keener, Craig S. The Gospel of John: A Commentary, Vol. 1. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2012.

Martin, Francis, and William M. Wright IV. The Gospel of John. Edited by Peter S. Williamson and Mary Healy. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2015.

REFERENCES

Exodus 33:11 - "Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend."

Isaiah 41:8 - "But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend"

2 Chronicles 20:7 - "Was it not you, our God, who dispossessed the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and gave it forever to the descendants of Abraham, your friend?"

John 1:18 - "No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known."

Numbers 8:10-11 - "When you present the Levites before the LORD, the people of Israel shall lay their hands upon the Levites, 11 and Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD as a wave offering from the people of Israel, that it may be theirs to do the service of the LORD."

Numbers 27:18-19 - "And the LORD said to Moses, 'Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay your hand upon him; 19 cause him to stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall commission him in their sight.'"