Gospel

John 21:20-25

Peter turned and saw the disciple following whom Jesus loved,

the one who had also reclined upon his chest during the supper

and had said, "Master, who is the one who will betray you?"

When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, "Lord, what about him?"

Jesus said to him, "What if I want him to remain until I come?

What concern is it of yours?  

You follow me."

So the word spread among the brothers that that disciple would not die.

But Jesus had not told him that he would not die,

just "What if I want him to remain until I come?

What concern is it of yours?"

It is this disciple who testifies to these things

and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true.

There are also many other things that Jesus did,

but if these were to be described individually,

I do not think the whole world would contain the books

that would be written.

Reflection

We've been listening to Jesus describe the work of his followers. What are they to do? The clear thing is they need to follow the example of Jesus. Everything else, in a way, is secondary. When Peter then questions Jesus about the ministry of John, he makes it clear that's not your business. He has his role and you will have your role.

Don't compare yourself to each other, but simply two words are what they need to do. He says, follow me.

Closing Prayer

Father, the richness of our relationship with you. Opening our hearts to listen to your word, what we should do of what we need to do. Help us to rivet ourselves to you and not to what other people think or what seems more practical. Let us always listen to your will, and as we follow it, we will truly be your disciple. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Gospel

John 21:15-19

After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples and eaten breakfast with them, 

he said to Simon Peter,

“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”

Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”

He then said to Simon Peter a second time,

“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” 

He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”

He said to him the third time,

“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time,

“Do you love me?” and he said to him,

“Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.

Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger,

you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; 

but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands,

and someone else will dress you

and lead you where you do not want to go.”

He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God.

And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”

Reflection

It seems clear that Jesus is asking Peter three times because shortly before this moment, he had denied Jesus three times. But that's not the essence of what this scripture wants us to see. It's simply this, all of us are called to be disciples. All of us are called to be like the apostles. And he says three things to Peter; feed my lambs,

tend my sheep, feed my sheep. Why, why different? Feed my lambs. Lambs are babies, so it's like feed those who need careful care and don't expect much. And then as they get older, tend them. Be with them. Watch them. Encourage them. And then the final is feed them. And feeding is such an interesting image because it's related so much to the Eucharist and to our taking God in the presence of Jesus and the Holy Spirit into our hearts. We are truly cared for.

Closing Prayer

Father, help us to realize that we all share in the same ministry that Jesus is so powerfully revealing to us. We have the father within us. Our personality, our way of being, our presence can resonate His love. Give us the hope and the joy that that realization brings. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Gospel

John 17:20-26

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying:

"I pray not only for these,

but also for those who will believe in me through their word,

so that they may all be one,

as you, Father, are in me and I in you,

that they also may be in us,

that the world may believe that you sent me.

And I have given them the glory you gave me,

so that they may be one, as we are one,

I in them and you in me,

that they may be brought to perfection as one,

that the world may know that you sent me,

and that you loved them even as you loved me.

Father, they are your gift to me.

I wish that where I am they also may be with me,

that they may see my glory that you gave me,

because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

Righteous Father, the world also does not know you,

but I know you, and they know that you sent me.

I made known to them your name and I will make it known,

that the love with which you loved me

may be in them and I in them.”

Reflection

This passage is Jesus praying to his father for you and for me. For everyone. Everyone who is called to be a disciple. One who fathoms the richness, the beauty, the awesomeness of who this God is who wants to dwell within us. And we are invited to dwell in him. And what we see in this unity is not just about our relationship with God.

It's our relationship with everything. With the world, with ourselves, with each other. Everything is one. That is the message that Jesus so deeply longs to reveal to all of us. There is no separation. There is no emptiness. It's all connected. It is all beautiful.

Closing Prayer

Father, we sometimes feel that we're alone in our longings and our needs. We wonder how we're going to find a solution to a problem. Help us to remember that through this connecting link of spirit, we can call upon all kinds of people and all kinds of things to inform us, to teach us, to hold us, to help us. Help us to feel this beautiful union. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Gospel

John 17:11b-19

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying:

“Holy Father, keep them in your name

that you have given me,

so that they may be one just as we are one.

When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me,

and I guarded them, and none of them was lost

except the son of destruction,

in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

But now I am coming to you.

I speak this in the world

so that they may share my joy completely.

I gave them your word, and the world hated them,

because they do not belong to the world

any more than I belong to the world.

I do not ask that you take them out of the world

but that you keep them from the Evil One.

They do not belong to the world

any more than I belong to the world.

Consecrate them in the truth.

Your word is truth.

As you sent me into the world,

so I sent them into the world.

And I consecrate myself for them,

so that they also may be consecrated in truth.”

Reflection

There are two phrases in this passage that I would like to talk about. What does it mean to be in your name? And what does it mean to be in the truth? God reveals himself as He is. His identity is made clear in Jesus. When we hear in your name, we're talking about in the very person of God, who he really is.

Not misconceptions about him, but truth. And there we see the word truth is used in terms of the message that God has come into the world to reveal to us. And when something is consecrated, it is something that is dedicated to the work of bringing about wholeness, holiness. In all three we have something to ponder about who God truly is.

Closing Prayer

Father, the work that you've given us to do is to understand fully the simple truth of who you are, who Jesus is, and what we're here for. Nothing is more important for us to ponder these questions, but not to come up with the answers ourselves, but to listen to our heart. And that's where we'll find the answer. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Gospel 

John 17:1-11a

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said,

“Father, the hour has come.

Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you,

just as you gave him authority over all people,

so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him.

Now this is eternal life,

that they should know you, the only true God,

and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.

I glorified you on earth

by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do.

Now glorify me, Father, with you,

with the glory that I had with you before the world began.

“I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world.

They belonged to you, and you gave them to me,

and they have kept your word.

Now they know that everything you gave me is from you,

because the words you gave to me I have given to them,

and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you,

and they have believed that you sent me.

I pray for them.

I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me,

because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours

and everything of yours is mine,

and I have been glorified in them.

And now I will no longer be in the world,

but they are in the world, while I am coming to you.”

Reflection

There are few places in Scripture that make it clearer that God is in Jesus, and Jesus is in God. They are one, yet they are two. It's a great mystery of the Trinity. But the most important thing for you and for me to understand when we look at Jesus is we are seeing God the Father, a vision of God the Father that was not present in the Old Testament.

And when we see the disciples following Jesus and understanding him and growing in their conviction of everything that he taught. We see them receiving glory. Glory is when we accomplish what we are here to do. It's when we do it with truth, with the presence of the Holy Spirit, and with integrity.

Closing Prayer

Father, we fail so often to understand the fact that we are not here to accomplish the things you tell us we should become. They are not within our realm to be able to accomplish, but they are only given, only shared. And our only task is to believe in them. Help us when we do not believe. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Gospel

John 16:29-33

The disciples said to Jesus,

"Now you are talking plainly, and not in any figure of speech.

Now we realize that you know everything

and that you do not need to have anyone question you.

Because of this we believe that you came from God."

Jesus answered them, "Do you believe now?

Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived

when each of you will be scattered to his own home

and you will leave me alone.

But I am not alone, because the Father is with me.

I have told you this so that you might have peace in me.

In the world you will have trouble,

but take courage, I have conquered the world.”

Reflection

Jesus knows his disciples. He loves them, and he recognizes that they need something that he and only he can give them, as he returns to the father and then sends the Holy Spirit. And one of the gifts that he wants them to have is faith. They think they have it now in this story, and what it is, is nothing more than a decision.

I believe that you are who you say you are. But when the test comes, there's something quite different. The response is not, I believe, but I'm afraid. I don't know what's going to happen. So I want us to think that faith is not simply a knowledge that something is true or not, but it's really a gift, a transformation, a gift of the Holy Spirit poured into us.

And we can accept anything because we believe the words that Jesus really said. I have conquered the world. You will never be destroyed.

Closing Prayer

Father, your teaching is always calling us to become who you long for us to be, and we have to be careful. And help us not to figure it out as something that we have to do or have to have, but something that we have got to be given. We have to receive. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Gospel

Luke 1:39-56

Mary set out

and traveled to the hill country in haste

to a town of Judah,

where she entered the house of Zechariah

and greeted Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,

the infant leaped in her womb,

and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,

cried out in a loud voice and said,

“Most blessed are you among women,

and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

And how does this happen to me,

that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached 

my ears,

the infant in my womb leaped for joy.

Blessed are you who believed

that what was spoken to you by the Lord

would be fulfilled.”

And Mary said:

 “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;

            my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

            for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:

            the Almighty has done great things for me,

            and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him

            in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,

            he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,

            and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,

            and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel

            for he has remembered his promise of mercy,

            the promise he made to our fathers,

            to Abraham and his children for ever.”

Mary remained with her about three months

and then returned to her home.

Reflection

We have in this story two women uniquely touched with something that seems so appropriate as we are at the moment in history when the New Kingdom is being established. It's about a new birth, about a system that was for years and years struggling to do what it was supposed to do and never did it. It's about the mysterious overshadowing of the Holy Spirit manifesting itself inside of us with new birth and new life.

It's a beautiful reminder of a time that we now live in, the time of this spirit. The spirit of truth, and it brings us to new life.

Closing Prayer

Father, you continually awaken in us new insights, new thoughts, new understanding of what it is to be a follower of yours. To proclaim your spirit of truth to the world. Bless us with confidence that you are guiding us, that you will use our humble struggles to accomplish great things. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Gospel

John 16:20-23

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn,

while the world rejoices;

you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.

When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived;

but when she has given birth to a child,

she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy

that a child has been born into the world.

So you also are now in anguish.

But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice,

and no one will take your joy away from you.

On that day you will not question me about anything.

Amen, amen, I say to you,

whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.”

Reflection

Jesus is again talking about the time when he will not be available to the disciples, as they have be grown accustomed to him being there, and there will be times of darkness. And I love the image of the woman giving birth to a child and being in deep pain, and yet once the pain is over and the child is born, we forget the pain.

We have to understand that the darkness that comes and goes in our spiritual journey is essential. And when there is darkness, there is always somehow hidden within it a new birth, a new understanding, a new awareness, a transformation.

Closing Prayer

Father, the beauty of this image of new birth is a perfect way for us to imagine what we ask you for. We need you to be there for us when we are on this journey of transformation. It is not an easy journey. It doesn't add one new idea to another new idea, to another new idea. No, it is something to do with dying and rising. Losing and finding. From darkness to light. Give us strength to accomplish this. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Gospel

John 16:16-20

Jesus said to his disciples:

“A little while and you will no longer see me,

and again a little while later and you will see me.”

So some of his disciples said to one another,

“What does this mean that he is saying to us,

‘A little while and you will not see me,

and again a little while and you will see me,’

and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?”

So they said, “What is this ‘little while’ of which he speaks?

We do not know what he means.”

Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them,

“Are you discussing with one another what I said,

‘A little while and you will not see me,

and again a little while and you will see me’?

Amen, amen, I say to you,

you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices;

you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.”

Reflection

The little while that is spoken in this gospel is the time that Jesus was not with his disciples. It was before he returned to the father and sent the advocate. What I think is important about this period of time is that this is a way in which we grow in our understanding of mystery. We get an insight, we think we understand it, and then we lose that insight and there's nothing but darkness, fear. 

And then we come back with greater understanding. The little while is that time when we're not certain, when we're not sure, but we keep trusting. And that's what's necessary in order to grow in our understanding of these mysteries.

Closing Prayer

Father, help us during the times that are dark, when we don't have a sense of purpose or meaning, we're confused, we're afraid, we're back in some kind of shame and anger. Those are the times when we need to be in touch with what we're feeling because that is the way in which we grow. We leave what we've known, and we enter into a deeper understanding of what is unknown. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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