For the Sunday reflection see the video on the Home page from Cardinal Tagle.
If today's reading is not at the top scroll down to find it.
If today's reading is not at the top scroll down to find it.
Saturday in the Octave of Easter
Gospel Mk 16:9-15
When Jesus had risen, early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. She went and told his companions who were mourning and weeping. When they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.
After this he appeared in another form to two of them walking along on their way to the country. They returned and told the others; but they did not believe them either.
But later, as the Eleven were at table, he appeared to them and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they had not believed those who saw him after he had been raised. He said to them, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.”
Commentary on Mark 16:9-15
This passage, known as the ‘Longer Ending’, is a kind of summary of all that we have been reading during the past week. It comes from the very end of Mark’s gospel, verses many commentators believe are not part of the original text. Most commentators believe the original text ends with 16:8. However, this ending is so abrupt that many feel the original ending was somehow lost and this ending was put in its place.
The text consists of brief summaries of longer stories which appear in the other gospels [Luke 24 and John 20] e.g. the appearance to Mary Magdalene, the disciples going to Emmaus, and the appearance in the upper room.
The common theme is the incredulity of the disciples who could not accept that Jesus was truly risen. Right to the very end of his gospel, Mark continues to be harsh on the disciples’ lack of understanding. It is, of course, not about them he is writing but us.
The passage seems directed at many of the early Christians’ contemporaries who would not accept the message of Christ risen. But, as we can see from the First Reading today, the disciples very soon not only found faith but were more than ready to suffer and die for it.
In our times of doubt, let us remember their experience and their example and the fruits of their work. It is a work that still urgently needs to be done.
Second Sunday of Easter: Gospel Jn 20:19-31
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book.
But these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.
On the night of the resurrection 10 of the disciples were gathered together in an unnamed place behind locked doors "for fear of the Jesus". The first words of Jesus are words of peace which are repeated: "Peace be with you". Given how the disciples have betrayed, abandoned, or denied him during his passion these words of peace are also words of merciful forgiveness.
As Jesus wishes them peace he shows them the wounds of the crucifixion in his hands and his side. In John the wounds of the crucifixion are a sign that the risen one is identified with the crucified one. It is truly Jesus whom they saw crucified.
At the sight of the Lord the disciples "rejoiced". In Jewish thought both peace and joy were marks of the Kingdom when God's intervention would have brought about harmony in human life and in the world. John sees this period realized in Jesus. Jesus not only wishes them peace and joy, but in the Spirit gives them these two gifts. In this passage we see the risen Jesus allowing the disciples to share in his peace and joy because as the glorified one he can share it with him in his spirit.
In verses 21 to 23 we see Jesus breathing His Holy Spirit upon the disciples while at the same time commissioning them to continue His work in the world. As we see in the words of commissioning, the disciples do not take up their own mission but merely continue the mission of the Son. As the Father sent the son into the world so the Son sends his disciples to continue this same work. In order for them to continue his mission, he breathes His Holy Spirit upon them so that they may have the power needed to continue the work of the Son. This reception of the spirit is a fulfillment of the promise of Jesus in the Farewell Discourse to send the Spirit. (cf. 14:15-17; 14:25-26; 15:26-27; 16:7-11, 12-15).
The verse says that “he breathed on them” In Hebrew the word for spirit, breath, and wind all come from the same root word: Ruah. The breath and spirit of Jesus are one in the same. How similar this is to the creation of humanity in Genesis 2:7 in which the Lord God breaths his spirit into the dust of the earth, and the dust became a living being. Here the risen Jesus by breathing his spirit into them is recreating his disciples.
The words of Jesus in verse 23 are difficult to understand because of doctrinal controversy between Catholics and Protestants over the sacrament of Penance. As we see in John 1:29 the mission of Jesus as the lamb of God is to take away the sins of the world. In this passage Jesus shares this mission with his disciples of taking away the sins of the world. In these words we can see that a power over sin has been granted to the Church by the presence of the Holy Spirit, but this text does not specify how this power is exercised. The traditional catholic view of this passage is that Christ is granting to the apostles the power to forgive sins which is exercised in the sacrament of penance. This power is in turn handed on the bishops (and priests) as successors of the apostles. This passage alone with Matthew 16: 19 and 18: 23 is the scriptural foundation for the sacrament of Penance.
A week later which the disciples are again gathered behind locked doors. Once again Jesus appears in their midst. He instructs Thomas to probe the signs of the crucifixion if this is what he needs to come to Easter Faith. In response to this invitation from Jesus Thomas declares "My Lord and my God." This confession of Thomas about Christ is one of the most powerful statements of faith in the entire gospel. Note that it does not state that Thomas actually probed the wounds of the crucifixion as he said that he must do to come to Easter faith. Merely the sight of the wounds brought Thomas to Easter faith.
In response to the confession of belief from Thomas Jesus in verse 29 makes a contrast between those who have come to Easter faith because they have seen the Risen Lord verses those who have come to Easter faith even though they have not seen. Those who come to faith without seeing (which is us) are called blessed. The 11 Disciples, on the other hand, came to Easter Faith because they did see. Our belief is based upon their personal encounter with the Risen Lord.
Monday of The Second Week of Easter
Gospel Jn 3, 1-8
A certain Pharisee named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, came to Jesus at night. "Rabbi," he said, "we know you are a teacher come from God, for no man can perform signs and wonders such as you perform unless God is with him." Jesus gave him this answer: I solemnly assure you, no one can see the rule of God unless he is begotten from above." How can a man be born again once he is old?" retorted Nicodemus. "Can he return to his mother's womb and be born all over again?" Jesus replied: "I solemnly assure you, no one can enter into God's kingdom without being begotten of water and Spirit. Flesh begets flesh, Spirit begets spirit. Do not be surprised that I tell you you must all be begotten from above. The wind blows where it will. You hear the sound it makes but you do not know where it comes from, or where it goes.So it is with everyone begotten of the Spirit."
COMMENTARY
Today we see the encounter between Jesus and a Pharisee named Nicodemus who was a member of the Sanhedrin, the governing council of the Jews. He was, then, a very highly placed official.
Nicodemus came to Jesus by night. This, on the one hand, indicates his fear of being seen by others but, on the other, probably also has a symbolic meaning. Religious man though he was, when he came to Jesus he was in a kind of spiritual darkness. His virtue is that he comes to seek light. Jesus, of course, is the Light of the World.
Nicodemus begins by praising Jesus. No man, he says, could do the things that Jesus did if he did not come from God. Nicodemus sees in Jesus a prophet, a man of God but has yet to recognise the full identity of Jesus.
Jesus counters by saying that no one can see the rule, the kingdom, of God unless “he is born from above” (or “born again” – both readings are possible and the meaning is basically the same). Though very common in the other gospels, the term ‘Kingdom of God’ is only used here in John (vv. 3 and 5). Its equivalent in the rest of John’s gospel is ‘life’. To be truly in the Kingdom of God, to be fully integrated in the Reign or Rule of God is to be fully alive.
Nicodemus hears Jesus literally. “How can a man be born again when he is old? Is he to return to his mother’s womb and start life all over again?” His misunderstanding gives Jesus the opportunity to lead Nicodemus to a deeper understanding. To be born again is to be born of “water and the Spirit”, a clear reference to Christian baptism. Flesh only produces flesh (as in natural birth) but the Spirit gives birth to spirit and that is the second birth we all need to undergo.
You must all be begotten from above.” A statement directed to all and not just to Nicodemus.
And, once we are reborn in the Spirit, we let ourselves be led to where God wishes. “The wind blows where it will. You hear the sound it makes but you do not know where it comes from, or where it goes.” The ‘wind’, ‘breath’ of the Holy Spirit is the sole Guide for our lives. He brings about our renewal in his own way. The word for “wind” here is a word which also means “breath” and “spirit” [Greek, pneuma, pneuma].
Once we are guided by the Spirit we have put ourselves totally in God’s hands ready to be led wherever God wants us to go. This is the message which is being given to Nicodemus. He must be ready to move in a different direction from that which has guided his life up to this. This readiness will lead him to see in Jesus the Word of God.
We, too, wherever we happen to be right now must ever be ready for God, through his Spirit, to call us in a new direction and to follow his lead.
Tuesday of The Second week of Easter
Gospel:
Jn 3, 7-15 Jesus said to Nicodemus: "I solemnly assure you, do not be surprised that I tell you you must all be begotten from above. The wind blows where it will. You hear the sound it makes but you do not know where it comes from, or where it goes. So it is with everyone begotten of the Spirit." "How can such a thing happen?" asked Nicodemus. Jesus responded: "You hold the office of teacher of Israel and still you do not understand these matters? "I solemnly assure you, we are talking about what we know, we are testifying to what we have seen. You are the ones who do not accept our testimony. If you do not believe when I tell you about earthly things, how are you to believe when I tell you about those of heaven? No one has gone up to heaven except the One who came down from there -- the Son of Man [who is in heaven]. Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that all who believe may have eternal life in him."
Commentary on John 3:7-15
Our gospel for today is a continuation of our gospel from yesterday, a conversation between Jesus and the Pharisee, Nicodemus.
Nicodemus, while accepting in principle what Jesus has said about being born again in the Spirit, now wants to know how it can be brought about.
Jesus accuses Nicodemus and his fellow-leaders of a lack of spiritual insight and a refusal to accept his testimony as coming directly from God. “If you do not believe when I tell you about earthly things, how are you to believe when I tell you about those of heaven?”
Jesus does not speak simply on his own initiative. He speaks of what he shares with the Father. It is the Father’s words and teaching that he passes on to us – he is the Word of God. His is not just a speaking Word; it brings all things from nothing, calls the dead to life, hands on the Spirit, the source of unending life, and makes us all children of God. To experience all this we need to have faith in Jesus as truly the Word of God and to live our lives in love.
But the Word is not always easy to understand and it requires, above all, an openness to be received. It is this openness that Jesus is challenging Nicodemus to have. People respond to the Word in so many ways. Some believe fully, others go away disappointed in spite of the many signs. One is reminded of the parable of the sower. To which group do I belong?
And, up to now, only the Son has been “in heaven”, that is, with God. It is from there that he has come and “pitched his tent among us”. He is in a position, therefore, to speak about the “things of heaven”, that is, to speak of everything that pertains to and comes from God.
The only solution is to put all our focus on Jesus. “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that all who believe may have eternal life in him.” This is a reminder of the incident in the book of Numbers where, as a punishment for their sins, the Israelites were attacked by serpents. God told Moses to erect a bronze serpent on a pole and all who looked at the serpent were saved.
Jesus, in a much greater way, will also be “lifted up” both on the cross and into the glory of his Father through the Resurrection and Ascension. And he will be a source of life to all who commit themselves totally to him. Only then will we be washed clean by the water from the pierced side (cf. John 19:34 and Zechariah 13:1).
To what extent are we “looking at” Jesus? Is it merely a sideways glance when we think about him or at certain fixed times (e.g. Sunday Mass) or is he the centre of our attention in all that we do and say?
Let our constant prayer be: “Lord, grant that all my thoughts, intentions, actions and responses may be directed solely to your love and service this day and every day.”
Wednesday of The Second Week of Easter
Gospel:
Jn 3, 16-21 Jesus said to Nicodemus: "Yes, God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him may not die but may have eternal life. God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him avoids condemnation, but whoever does not believe is already condemned for not believing in the name of God's only Son. The judgment in question is this: the light came into the world, but men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were wicked. Everyone who practices evil hates the light; he does not come near it for fear his deeds will be exposed. But he who acts in truth comes into the light, to make clear that his deeds are done in God."
Commentary on John 3:16-21
Meditation: Do you know the love which surpasses the greatest joy and happiness which one could ever hope to find? Great love is manifested in the cost and sacrifice of the giver. True lovers hold nothing back but give the best that can be offered to their beloved, including all they possess, even their very lives. God proved his love for us by giving us the best he had to offer - his only begotten Son who freely offered up his life for our sake as the atoning sacrifice for our sin and the sin of the world.
Abraham's willing sacrifice of his only son, Isaac, prefigures the perfect offering and sacrifice of God's beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. This passage in the Gospel of John tells us of the great breadth and width of God's love. Not an excluding love for just a few or for a single nation, but a redemptive love that embraces the whole world, and a personal love for each and every individual whom God has created in his own image and likeness (Genesis 1:26,27). God is the eternal Father of Love who cannot rest until his wandering children have returned home to him. Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) said, God loves each one of us as if there were only one of us to love. God gives us the freedom to choose whom and what we will love.
Jesus shows us the paradox of love and judgment. We can love the darkness of sin and unbelief or we can love the light of God's truth, beauty, and goodness. If our love is guided by what is true, and good, and beautiful then we will choose for God and love him above all else. What we love shows what we prefer and value most. Do you love God above all else? Does he take first place in your life, in your thoughts, affections, and actions?
Lord Jesus Christ, your love is better than life itself. May your love consume and transform my heart with all of its yearnings, aspirations, fears, hurts, and concerns, that I may freely desire you above all else and love all others generously for your sake and for your glory. Make me to love what you love, desire what you desire, and give generously as you have been so generous towards me".
Thursday of The Second Week of Easter
Gospel Jn 3, 31-36 Jesus said to Nicodemus: The One who comes from above is above all; the one who is of the earth is earthly, and he speaks on an earthly plane. The One who comes from heaven [who is above all] testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. Whoever does accept this testimony certifies that God is truthful. For the One whom God has sent speaks the words of God; he does not ration his gift of the Spirit. The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him. Whoever believes in the Son has life eternal. Whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure the wrath of God."
Meditation: Do you hunger for the true and abundant life which God offers through the gift of his Holy Spirit? The Jews understood that God gave a certain portion of his Spirit to his prophets. When Elijah was about to depart for heaven, his servant Elisha asked for a double portion of the Spirit which Elijah had received from God (2 Kings 2:9). Jesus tells his disciples that they can believe the words he speaks because God the Father has anointed him by pouring out his Spirit on him in full measure, without keeping anything back. The function of the Holy Spirit is to reveal God's truth to us. Jesus declared that "when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth" (John 16:13).When we receive the Holy Spirit he opens our hearts and minds to recognize and understand God's word of truth.
Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) said, "I believe in order to understand; and I understand the better to believe." Faith opens our minds and hearts to receive God's word of truth and to obey it willingly. Do you believe God's word and receive it as if your life depended on it?
God gives us the freedom to accept or reject what he says is true. But with that freedom also comes a responsibility to recognize the consequences of the choice we make - either to believe what he has spoken to us through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, or to ignore, reject, and chose our own way apart from God. Our choices will either lead us on the path of abundant life and union with God, or the path that leads to spiritual death and separation from God. God issued a choice and a challenge to the people of the Old Covenant: "See I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil. ...I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice, and cleaving to him" (Deuteronomy 30:15-20). And God issues the same challenge to the people of the New Covenant today. Do you weigh the consequences of your choices? Do the choices you make lead you towards life or death - blessing or cursing?
If you choose to obey God's voice and to do his will, then you will know and experience that abundant life which comes from God himself. If you choose to follow your own way apart from God and his will, then you choose for death – a spiritual death which poisons and kills the heart and soul until there is nothing left but an empty person devoid of love, truth, goodness, purity, peace, and joy. Do your choices lead you towards God or away from God?
Lord Jesus Christ, let your Holy Spirit fill me and transform my heart and mind that I may choose life - the abundant life you offer to those who trust in you. Give me courage to always choose what is good, true, and just and to reject whatever is false, foolish, and contrary to your holy will."
From dailyscripture.net. author Don Schwager © 2015 Servants of the Word
iday of The Second Week of Easter
Gospel:
Jn 6, 1-15 Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee [to the shore] of Tiberias; a vast crowd kept following him because they saw the signs he was performing for the sick. Jesus then went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. The Jewish feast of Passover was near; when Jesus looked up and caught sight of a vast crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?'' (He knew well what he intended to do but he asked this to test Philip's response.) Philip replied, "Not even with two hundred days' wages could we buy loaves enough to give each of them a mouthful." One of Jesus' disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, remarked to him, "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and a couple of dried fish, but what good is that for so many?" Jesus said, "Get the people to recline." Even though the men numbered about five thousand, there was plenty of grass for them to find a place on the ground. Jesus then took the loaves of bread, gave thanks, and passed them around to those reclining there; he did the same with the dried fish, as much as they wanted. When they had had enough, he told his disciples, "Gather up the crusts that are left over so that nothing will go to waste." At this, they gathered twelve baskets full of pieces left over by those who had been fed with the five barley loaves.
When the people saw the sign he had performed they began to say, "This is undoubtedly the Prophet who is to come into the world." At that, Jesus realized that they would come and carry him off to make him king, so he fled back to the mountain alone.
MEDITATION
Can anything on this earth truly satisfy the deepest longing and hunger we experience for God? A great multitude had gathered to hear Jesus, no doubt because they were hungry for the word of life. Jesus' disciples wanted to send them away at the end of the day because they did not have the resources to feed them. They even complained how much money it would take to feed such a large crowd - at least six month's wages! Jesus, the Bread of Life, took the little they had - five loaves and two fish - and giving thanks to his heavenly Father, distributed to all until they were satisfied of their hunger.
The people of Israel had been waiting for the prophet whom Moses had promised: The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brethren - him shall you heed (Deuteronomy 18:15). The signs which Jesus did, including the miraculous feeding of the five thousand signified that God has indeed sent him as the anointed Prophet and King. Jesus' feeding of the five thousand is the only miracle that is repeated in all four gospel accounts. What is the significance of this particular miracle? The miraculous feeding of such a great multitude pointed to God's provision of manna in the wilderness for the people of Israel under Moses' leadership (Exodus 16). This daily provision of food in the barren wilderness foreshadowed the true heavenly bread which Jesus would offer his followers.
Jesus makes a claim which only God can make: He is the true bread of heaven that can satisfy the deepest hunger we experience. The sign of the multiplication of the loaves when the Lord says the blessing, breaks, and distributes through his disciples prefigures the superabundance of the unique bread of his Eucharist or Lord's Supper. When we receive from the Lord's table we unite ourselves to Jesus Christ, who makes us sharers in his body and blood. Ignatius of Antioch (35-107 A.D.) calls it the "one bread that provides the medicine of immortality, the antidote for death, and the food that makes us live for ever in Jesus Christ" (Ad Eph. 20,2). This supernatural food is healing for both body and soul and strength for our journey heavenward.
When you approach the Table of the Lord, what do you expect to receive? Healing, pardon, comfort, and rest for your soul? The Lord has much more for us, more than we can ask or imagine. The principal fruit of receiving the Eucharist is an intimate union with Christ. As bodily nourishment restores lost strength, so the Eucharist strengthens us in charity and enables us to break with disordered attachments to creatures and to be more firmly rooted in the love of Christ. Do you hunger for the "bread of life"?
The feeding of the five thousand shows the remarkable generosity of God and his great kindness towards us. When God gives, he gives abundantly. He gives more than we need for ourselves so that we may have something to share with others, especially those who lack what they need. God takes the little we have and multiplies it for the good of others. Do you trust in God's provision for you and do you share freely with others, especially those who are in need?
Lord Jesus, you satisfy the deepest longing of our heart and you feed us with the finest of wheat (Psalm 81:16). Fill me with gratitude and give me a generous heart that I may freely share with others what you have given to me."
From dailyscripture.net. author Don Schwager © 2015 Servants of the Word
Saturday of the Second Week of Easter
Gospel: Jn 6:16-21
When it was evening, the disciples of Jesus went down to the sea, embarked in a boat, and went cross the sea to Capernaum.It had already grown dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles,
they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they began to be afraid. But he said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.” They wanted to take him into the boat, but the boat immediately arrived at the shore to which they were heading.
Commentary on John 6:16-21
Meditation: Does the Lord Jesus ever seem distant to you? When John recounted the scene of the apostles being alone at sea in a storm he described the situation as "dark" (John 6:17). It was dark not only physically but spiritually as well. Although they were experienced fishermen, they were fearful for their lives. The Lord's sudden presence - and his supernatural ability to walk towards them on top of the rough waves of the sea - only made them more fearful! John says they were frightened. And Jesus had to calm them with a reassuring command: "Do not be afraid because I am here with you!"
Aren't we like the apostles when we experience moments of darkness, fear, and trials? While the Lord may at times seem absent or very distant to us, he, nonetheless, is always present and close-by. The Scriptures remind us that the Lord is "a very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1). Whatever storms may beset us, he promises to "bring us to our desired haven" and place of calm rest and safety (Psalm 107:29-30). The Lord keeps watch over us at all times, and especially in our moments of temptation and difficulty. Do you rely on the Lord for his strength and help? Jesus assures us that we have no need of fear if we put our trust in him and in his great love and care for us. When calamities or trials threaten to overwhelm you, how do you respond? With faith and hope in God's love, personal care, and presence with you?
Lord Jesus, may I never doubt your saving help and your watchful presence in my life, especially in times of trouble. Fortify my faith with courage and give me enduring hope that I may never waver in my trust in you."
From: dailyscripture.net. author Don Schwager © 2015 Servants of the Word
Monday of The Third Week of Easter
Gospel:
Jn 6, 22-29 The crowd remained on the other side of the lake. The next day they realized that there had been only one boat there and that Jesus had not left in it with his disciples; rather, they had set out by themselves. Then some boats came out from Tiberias near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. Once the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they too embarked in the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the lake, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" Jesus answered them: "I assure you, you are not looking for me because you have seen signs but because you have eaten your fill of the loaves. You should not be working for perishable food but for food that remains unto life eternal. food which the Son of Man will give you; it is on him that God the Father has set his seal." At this they said to him, "What must we do to perform the works of God?" Jesus replied: "This is the work of God: have faith in the one he sent."
Commentary on John 6:22-29
Following on the feeding of the 5,000 and the walking on the water, we begin the long discourse of Jesus as the Bread of Life. It is presented as a replacement of the manna with which God fed his people during their long trek through the desert in the Old Testament. What we read today is really an introduction. The proper discourse will begin tomorrow. The last part of the discourse is about the mixed reaction of Jesus’ disciples and Peter’s profession.
The day following the feeding the people go in search of Jesus. First, they realise he did not cross the lake with his disciples but, when they go to the site of the feeding, they find he is not there either. Eventually they find Jesus and his disciples in the vicinity of Capernaum, Jesus’ principal base in Galilee.
They ask him: “When did you come here?” In typically Johannine fashion, the question is loaded with deeper meanings, of which those asking it are quite unaware. Jesus’ origin (where he comes from) is a constant source of misunderstanding both on the part of the crowds and of the Jewish leadership.
Jesus begins by telling the crowds that they are coming in search of him not because of the ‘signs’ that he is doing but because of the bread that they had been given to eat. They have missed the point of what Jesus was doing. They have seen the things that Jesus has been doing but have missed the ‘sign’, the deeper meaning behind them. The food they are looking for is not the food that counts. The real food brings a life that never ends and that is the food that Jesus is offering. It parallels the water “springing up to eternal life” which Jesus promised the Samaritan woman (John 4:14).
The source of this ‘bread’ is the Son on whom the Father has set his seal. This ‘seal’ was given at his baptism. It is the Spirit of the Father, who is the power of God working in and through Jesus.
In answer to the question what they are to do in order to do the works of God, they are told, “This is working for God: you must believe in the one he has sent.” For ‘works’ in the Jewish sense, external fulfilment of the Law’s requirements, Jesus substitutes faith in himself as the delegate of the Father.
And he asks us not just to ‘believe’ but to ‘believe in’. It is not just a question of accepting certain statements about Jesus and who he really is. ‘Believing in’ involves a total and unconditional commitment of the whole self to Jesus, to the Gospel and the vision of life that he proposes and making it part of one’s own self. This is where the real bread is to be found.
And we may add that Jesus is not just speaking of the Eucharistic bread but the deepdown nourishment of which the Eucharist is the sign and sacrament but which also comes from the Word of God in Scripture and the whole Christian community experience.
It is important in reading this whole chapter that we do not limit the truth of Jesus as the Bread or Food of our life simply to the Eucharist, which is the sacramental sign of something much larger – all that we receive through Christ and the whole Christian way of life.
Tuesday of The Third Week of Easter
Gospel:
Jn 6, 30-35 The crowd said to Jesus: "What sign are you going to perform for us to see so that we can put faith in you? What is the 'work' you do? Our ancestors had manna to eat in the desert; according to Scripture, 'He gave them bread from the heavens to eat.'" Jesus said to them: "I solemnly assure you, it was not Moses who gave you bread from the heavens; it is my Father who gives you the real heavenly bread. God's bread comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." "Sir, give us this bread always," they besought him. Jesus explained to them: "I myself am the bread of life. No one who comes to me shall ever be hungry, no one who believes in me shall thirst again."
Commentary on John 6:30-35
We continue the discussion of Jesus as the Bread of Life.
Again the Jews ask Jesus for a sign, a sign like the manna that their forebears enjoyed in the desert. They quote Scripture at him: “He gave them bread from the heavens to eat” (Exod 16:4-5; Numbers 11:7-9; Ps 78:24)
As a gift from God the manna was said to come from the sky (“from the heavens”). Some think it was identified with a natural substance which can still be found in small quantities on the Sinai peninsula. Here it is understood as something preternatural and Jesus sees in it a forerunner of the Eucharist. Also the manna, thought to have been hidden by Jeremiah, was expected to appear again miraculously at the Passover as a sign of the last days. “A popular Jewish expectation was that when the Messiah came he would renew the sending of manna. The crowd probably reasoned that Jesus had done little compared to Moses. He had fed 5,000; Moses had fed a nation. He did it once; Moses did it for 40 years. He gave ordinary bread; Moses gave ‘bread from heaven’” (New International Version Study Bible).
Jesus replies that the manna was not the real bread from God; it was only a sign or symbol. It fed the body but not the spirit. “God’s bread is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They ask for that real bread “which gives life to the world”. Clearly they were speaking in a materialistic sense. It reminds one of the Samaritan woman at the well who asked for the water which would prevent her ever again being thirsty and spare her having to come to the well every day.
Jesus now tells them solemnly: “I AM the bread of life.” The “I AM” strongly identifies Jesus with God and this is the first of seven “I AM…” statements that appear in John’s gospel. The phrase – in Greek ego eimi (’??? ’????? – recalls the name of God revealed to Moses in the burning bush (Exod 3:14ff). Both the manna and the recent feeding of the 5,000 are action-parables of God [I AM] giving himself to his people.
And Jesus goes on to clarify the meaning of his statement: “Whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” To “come to Jesus” is to bond oneself closely to him and all he stands for. And we have seen what “believe in” entails. It implies much, much more than just “receiving Jesus in Communion”.
To eat that bread of life we have to soak ourselves in the life of Jesus, to penetrate deeply into the Word of God that comes to us in the Gospel and the rest of the Scriptures, to assimilate his Way into our own lives. The Eucharist we celebrate is the sign of that bread of life which, in fact, is available all day long to those who are in close contact with Jesus.
Those who live in that close relationship with Jesus are the ones who are truly alive – here and now. Am I one of them? How deep is my faith? my Christianity? my knowledge of and commitment to the Gospel? my understanding of the place of the Eucharist in our Christian life?
Wednesday of The Third Week of Easter
Gospel:
Jn 6, 35-40 Jesus explained to the crowd: "I myself am the bread of life. No one who comes to me shall ever be hungry, no one who believes in me shall thirst again. But as I told you -- though you have seen me, you still do not believe. All that the Father gives me shall come to me; no one who comes will I ever reject, because it is not to do my own will that I have come down from heaven, but to do the will of him who sent me. It is the will of him who sent me that I should lose nothing of what he has given me; rather, that I should raise it up on the last day. Indeed, this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks upon the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life. Him I will raise up on the last day."
Commentary on John 6:35-40
We continue yesterday’s reading by repeating its last words where Jesus tells his listeners very clearly that he is the Bread of Life. All those who partake of this Bread will never again be either hungry or thirsty. The whole life of Jesus – his actions and words and his relationships with those around him – are a rich source on which we can draw.
In a sense, of course, we will always hunger and thirst for this full life but, by approaching and imbibing him and his spirit, our hunger and thirst are ever being satisfied while we continue to hunger and thirst for more. There will never be a time when we will want to stop eating and drinking from this Source and when we do we will stop living.
Jesus reproves his listeners for their lack of faith in him. “Though you have seen me, you still do not believe.” The question is: how much of Jesus did they really see? How deep was their perception of who he truly was and is?
That may be our problem too. Without a deep trust and total commitment to Christ and all he stands for, we may find that we do not have full access to that Bread of Life which we need so much. The search for the full Christ is one that we will never complete in this life. We only hope that we never stop searching. There will never be a day on this earth when we will be able to say: “I know Christ fully.” Not even the whole Church can make that claim.
Yet Jesus intensely wants to share that Bread, that nourishment with us. “Indeed, it is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks upon the Son and believes in him, shall have eternal life.”
Let us open our hearts today so that Jesus can fill them with his life-giving love. For he says: “I will not reject anyone who comes to me.”
Jesus has a mission. “I came down from heaven [a phrase repeated six times in this chapter] not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.” And what is the will of the Father? “It is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me but that I should raise it [on] the last day.
This is a summary of what this whole chapter is about. God wants everyone to be with him “on the last day”. On our part, we have to learn how to “see the Son” and “believe in him”, so that one day we can say with St Paul: “I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). When that happens we know that we have truly been filled with the Bread that is Christ.
Thursday of the Third Week of Easter
Gospel:
Jn 6, 44-51 Jesus said to the crowds: "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the prophets: 'They shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father -- only the one who is from God has seen the Father. Let me firmly assure you, he who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate manna in the desert, but they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, for a man to eat and never die. I myself am the living bread come down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread he shall live forever; the bread I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world."
Commentary on John 6:44-51
We continue to read John’s sixth chapter about Jesus as the Bread of Life. Today’s passage largely repeats what has been said already but at the end a new element is introduced.
Jesus reminds us that it is not we who find Jesus but rather it is the Father who finds us and leads us to Jesus as the Way to God. Here Jesus quotes from the Old Testament: “They shall all be taught by God.” Words to be found in Isaiah (54:13) and reminiscent of Jeremiah: “I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts” (31:33-34).
We see a lovely instance of that in the First Reading today about the eunuch who was led to Jesus by Philip the deacon. What was important here was the readiness and openness of the eunuch to be drawn to the truth.
Jesus again repeats that he is the Bread of Life, using that formal expression ‘I AM’ which points to divine origin. Unlike the manna that the Jews’ ancestors ate in the desert, this Bread comes directly from God and whoever eats it will live forever. Jesus’ challengers were asking for a sign like manna but Jesus says that it did not give real life – those who ate it have all died. The Bread that Jesus will give will bring a never-ending life to those who eat it.
Jesus is the Living Bread because he is the very Word of God and because he offers up his Body and Blood in a sacrifice of love bringing life to the whole world.
And this Bread is his flesh, life-giving flesh. This flesh will be given for the life of the world – a looking forward to Calvary. Giving eternal life will cost the human life of the Giver.
With these words the chapter moves into its eucharistic meaning. The word ‘flesh’ (sarx, ????) introduces the link between Eucharist and Incarnation. Jesus is the Word made flesh and that Word is the food that we all need to ‘eat’. To ‘eat’ here, while involving actual eating and drinking, really points to the total assimilation into oneself and into a gathered community of the very Spirit of Jesus.
The Eucharist, as we shall see tomorrow, is the great sign of the Christian community by which we both affirm and celebrate our union with Jesus. By our eating of the bread-that-is-flesh we affirm our total adhesion to all that Jesus is and stands for.
Wednesday of The Third Week of Easter
Gospel:
Jn 6, 35-40 Jesus explained to the crowd: "I myself am the bread of life. No one who comes to me shall ever be hungry, no one who believes in me shall thirst again. But as I told you -- though you have seen me, you still do not believe. All that the Father gives me shall come to me; no one who comes will I ever reject, because it is not to do my own will that I have come down from heaven, but to do the will of him who sent me. It is the will of him who sent me that I should lose nothing of what he has given me; rather, that I should raise it up on the last day. Indeed, this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks upon the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life. Him I will raise up on the last day."
Commentary on John 6:35-40
We continue yesterday’s reading by repeating its last words where Jesus tells his listeners very clearly that he is the Bread of Life. All those who partake of this Bread will never again be either hungry or thirsty. The whole life of Jesus – his actions and words and his relationships with those around him – are a rich source on which we can draw.
In a sense, of course, we will always hunger and thirst for this full life but, by approaching and imbibing him and his spirit, our hunger and thirst are ever being satisfied while we continue to hunger and thirst for more. There will never be a time when we will want to stop eating and drinking from this Source and when we do we will stop living.
Jesus reproves his listeners for their lack of faith in him. “Though you have seen me, you still do not believe.” The question is: how much of Jesus did they really see? How deep was their perception of who he truly was and is?
That may be our problem too. Without a deep trust and total commitment to Christ and all he stands for, we may find that we do not have full access to that Bread of Life which we need so much. The search for the full Christ is one that we will never complete in this life. We only hope that we never stop searching. There will never be a day on this earth when we will be able to say: “I know Christ fully.” Not even the whole Church can make that claim.
Yet Jesus intensely wants to share that Bread, that nourishment with us. “Indeed, it is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks upon the Son and believes in him, shall have eternal life.”
Let us open our hearts today so that Jesus can fill them with his life-giving love. For he says: “I will not reject anyone who comes to me.”
Jesus has a mission. “I came down from heaven [a phrase repeated six times in this chapter] not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.” And what is the will of the Father? “It is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me but that I should raise it [on] the last day.
This is a summary of what this whole chapter is about. God wants everyone to be with him “on the last day”. On our part, we have to learn how to “see the Son” and “believe in him”, so that one day we can say with St Paul: “I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). When that happens we know that we have truly been filled with the Bread that is Christ.
Thursday of the Third Week of Easter
Gospel:
Jn 6, 44-51 Jesus said to the crowds: "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the prophets: 'They shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father -- only the one who is from God has seen the Father. Let me firmly assure you, he who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate manna in the desert, but they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, for a man to eat and never die. I myself am the living bread come down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread he shall live forever; the bread I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world."
Commentary on John 6:44-51
We continue to read John’s sixth chapter about Jesus as the Bread of Life. Today’s passage largely repeats what has been said already but at the end a new element is introduced.
Jesus reminds us that it is not we who find Jesus but rather it is the Father who finds us and leads us to Jesus as the Way to God. Here Jesus quotes from the Old Testament: “They shall all be taught by God.” Words to be found in Isaiah (54:13) and reminiscent of Jeremiah: “I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts” (31:33-34).
We see a lovely instance of that in the First Reading today about the eunuch who was led to Jesus by Philip the deacon. What was important here was the readiness and openness of the eunuch to be drawn to the truth.
Jesus again repeats that he is the Bread of Life, using that formal expression ‘I AM’ which points to divine origin. Unlike the manna that the Jews’ ancestors ate in the desert, this Bread comes directly from God and whoever eats it will live forever. Jesus’ challengers were asking for a sign like manna but Jesus says that it did not give real life – those who ate it have all died. The Bread that Jesus will give will bring a never-ending life to those who eat it.
Jesus is the Living Bread because he is the very Word of God and because he offers up his Body and Blood in a sacrifice of love bringing life to the whole world.
And this Bread is his flesh, life-giving flesh. This flesh will be given for the life of the world – a looking forward to Calvary. Giving eternal life will cost the human life of the Giver.
With these words the chapter moves into its eucharistic meaning. The word ‘flesh’ (sarx, ????) introduces the link between Eucharist and Incarnation. Jesus is the Word made flesh and that Word is the food that we all need to ‘eat’. To ‘eat’ here, while involving actual eating and drinking, really points to the total assimilation into oneself and into a gathered community of the very Spirit of Jesus.
The Eucharist, as we shall see tomorrow, is the great sign of the Christian community by which we both affirm and celebrate our union with Jesus. By our eating of the bread-that-is-flesh we affirm our total adhesion to all that Jesus is and stands for.
Friday of The Third Week of Easter
Gospel:
Jn 6, 52-59 The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" Thereupon Jesus said to them: "Let me solemnly assure you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. He who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has life eternal, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood real drink. The man who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the Father who has life sent me and I have life because of the Father, so the man who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and died nonetheless, the man who feeds on this bread shall live forever." He said this in a synagogue instruction at Capernaum.
Commentary on John 6:52-59
The discussion of Jesus as the Bread of Life continues.
Understandably enough the Jews are deeply shocked at Jesus’ invitation to eat his flesh and drink his blood. It sounds like a primitive recipe for cannibalism. If we were to put ourselves in their shoes and hear those words for the very first time I think that we too would find them very strange, to say the least.
For the Jews it was even more shocking because they had the greatest reverence for, even a fear of, blood. It was the source of life and should never be touched. To come in contact with blood was immediately to become ritually unclean. In the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37), one of the reasons why the priest and the Levite did not come to the help of the injured man lying on the road between Jericho and Jerusalem was almost certainly because he was bleeding and they were on their way to the Temple to pray or offer sacrifice. The woman with the chronic bleeding problem (Mark 5:25-34) did not dare to reveal herself to the crowd or even to Jesus because she should not have been in such close proximity with people. She could have been lynched if they knew.
To this day Jews only eat meat from which the blood has been previously drained (kosher). And here is Jesus inviting, even telling, people to drink his own blood! We have heard these words so often that they have lost their impact.
Yet Jesus makes no apologies for what he has said. On the contrary, he tells his hearers that if they do not eat his flesh and drink his blood, they will not have life. Those who do eat and drink are guaranteed life. Because Jesus’ flesh is real food and his blood is real drink. “Whoever eats me will draw life from me.”
What are we to make of all this? What do the words mean? Obviously they are not to be taken literally. Rather, to eat Jesus’ flesh and drink his blood is to assimilate totally into our very being the whole way of thinking and acting of Jesus, the very Person of Jesus. To be able to say with Paul, “I live, no, it is not I, but Christ who lives in me.” “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in him.”
Nor are the Body and Blood of Christ only to be understood in the context of ‘receiving communion’ in the Eucharist. Certainly there are Eucharistic references in what Jesus is saying but we need to understand the Eucharist as a sacrament or sign of a much wider relationship with Jesus. The Eucharist is primarily a community celebration of what we are – brothers and sisters who are the Body of Christ for each other and for the whole world. Jesus’ flesh and blood come to us through the Word that we hear during the Eucharistic Liturgy as well as during the sharing of the Bread and the Cup. But Jesus also comes to us through every loving experience that we have in community. The Eucharist is not the whole of our eating and drinking of the body and blood of Christ. It is the sacramental celebration pointing to our total experience of meeting Jesus in our lives. It is something which should be happening all through our day wherever we are, whatever we are doing.
Friday of The Third Week of Easter
Gospel:
Jn 6, 52-59 The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" Thereupon Jesus said to them: "Let me solemnly assure you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. He who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has life eternal, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood real drink. The man who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the Father who has life sent me and I have life because of the Father, so the man who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and died nonetheless, the man who feeds on this bread shall live forever." He said this in a synagogue instruction at Capernaum.
Commentary on John 6:52-59
The discussion of Jesus as the Bread of Life continues.
Understandably enough the Jews are deeply shocked at Jesus’ invitation to eat his flesh and drink his blood. It sounds like a primitive recipe for cannibalism. If we were to put ourselves in their shoes and hear those words for the very first time I think that we too would find them very strange, to say the least.
For the Jews it was even more shocking because they had the greatest reverence for, even a fear of, blood. It was the source of life and should never be touched. To come in contact with blood was immediately to become ritually unclean. In the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37), one of the reasons why the priest and the Levite did not come to the help of the injured man lying on the road between Jericho and Jerusalem was almost certainly because he was bleeding and they were on their way to the Temple to pray or offer sacrifice. The woman with the chronic bleeding problem (Mark 5:25-34) did not dare to reveal herself to the crowd or even to Jesus because she should not have been in such close proximity with people. She could have been lynched if they knew.
To this day Jews only eat meat from which the blood has been previously drained (kosher). And here is Jesus inviting, even telling, people to drink his own blood! We have heard these words so often that they have lost their impact.
Yet Jesus makes no apologies for what he has said. On the contrary, he tells his hearers that if they do not eat his flesh and drink his blood, they will not have life. Those who do eat and drink are guaranteed life. Because Jesus’ flesh is real food and his blood is real drink. “Whoever eats me will draw life from me.”
What are we to make of all this? What do the words mean? Obviously they are not to be taken literally. Rather, to eat Jesus’ flesh and drink his blood is to assimilate totally into our very being the whole way of thinking and acting of Jesus, the very Person of Jesus. To be able to say with Paul, “I live, no, it is not I, but Christ who lives in me.” “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in him.”
Nor are the Body and Blood of Christ only to be understood in the context of ‘receiving communion’ in the Eucharist. Certainly there are Eucharistic references in what Jesus is saying but we need to understand the Eucharist as a sacrament or sign of a much wider relationship with Jesus. The Eucharist is primarily a community celebration of what we are – brothers and sisters who are the Body of Christ for each other and for the whole world. Jesus’ flesh and blood come to us through the Word that we hear during the Eucharistic Liturgy as well as during the sharing of the Bread and the Cup. But Jesus also comes to us through every loving experience that we have in community. The Eucharist is not the whole of our eating and drinking of the body and blood of Christ. It is the sacramental celebration pointing to our total experience of meeting Jesus in our lives. It is something which should be happening all through our day wherever we are, whatever we are doing.
Saturday of the Third Week of Easter
Gospel: Jn 6:60-69 Many of the disciples of Jesus who were listening said, This saying is hard; who can accept it?” Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, “Does this shock you? What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the Spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him. And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father.” As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer walked with him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”
Commentary on John 6:60-69
Today we conclude the discussion of Jesus as the Bread of Life.
Not only the Jews who heard him but Jesus’ own disciples had great difficulties accepting his call to eat his flesh and drink his blood as a way to life. “This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it?” And, certainly on the basis of the words by themselves, we can sympathise with them; if we had been there, we would surely have had problems also.
Jesus is fully aware of their difficulty. “Does this shake your trust in me?” he asks them. If they have problems with this, how will they react when he rises from the dead and ascends to his Father? This is an indication that the acceptance of the resurrection was very much a matter of faith. No one literally saw Jesus rise from the dead or ascend to the Father. There was a faith conviction that it had taken place.
Jesus then points out where the problem really lies. “It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words I spoke to you are spirit and life.” The disciples are hearing Jesus’ words only in the “flesh” and not with the penetrating eyes of the Spirit. So there are some who cannot accept what he is saying. (John comments that Jesus knew who were those who would not believe and, particular, the one who would “hand him over”.)
To understand the real meaning of Jesus’ words comes from the gift, the grace of faith: “No one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” And so, “after this, many of his disciples left him and stopped going with him”. Faith is a gift. It is a gift open to all but it is a gift to which one needs to be open to receive.
Jesus then turns to the Twelve, “What about you? Do you want to go away too?” Peter then, in the name of all, makes his profound act of trust and commitment: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the message of eternal life and we believe; we know that you are the Holy One of God.” In other words, they acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah, God’s chosen Messenger who is uniquely united with him.
Believe” and “know” are in the perfect tense in the original Greek, meaning “We have come to know and have come to believe and continue to do so…” It indicates not just a momentary action but an ongoing state.
Actually, we have here John’s version of Peter’s confession which we find in a different form and context in the Synoptic gospels. Peter’s response to Jesus needs to become ours too. And, if we reflect more deeply on it, we know that Peter is right. There is really no viable alternative to the Way of Jesus, even when things happen which are difficult to understand or accept. The Way of Jesus is not just adherence to a religious sect. It is to see that the Way he proposes is the way for every human being to live. To assimilate Jesus into one’s life is not just to become a good Christian but a perfect human being on the model of Jesus, who is himself God in human flesh.
Yet, how many Christians stop believing and no longer walk Jesus’ Way? Perhaps we, too, have wavered more than once. Let us ask for the faith and strength to stay with him and experience the life that only he can give. Above all, help us to see our world with the eyes of Jesus. And to help others to do the same.
Monday of The Fourth Week of Easter
Gospel: Jn 10, 1-10 Jesus said:"Truly I assure you: Whoever does not enter the sheepfold through the gate but climbs in some other way is a thief and a marauder. The one who enters through the gate is shepherd of the sheep; the keeper opens the gate for him. The sheep hear his voice as he calls his own by name and leads them out. When he has brought out [all] those that are his, he walks in front of them, and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice. They will not follow a stranger such a one they will flee, because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."
Even though Jesus used this figure with them, they did not grasp what he was trying to tell them.
He therefore said [to them again]: "My solemn word is this: I am the sheepgate. All who came before me were thieves and marauders whom the sheep did not heed. "I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be safe. He will go in and out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy. I came that they might have life and have it to the full."
Commentary on John 10:1-10 or 10:11-18
Two kinds of sheepfolds or corrals are mentioned in today’s reading. In the common town sheepfold, the shepherd makes his special call and his sheep follow him out confidently. Out on the range, however, the shepherd sleeps across the corral opening: his body is the protecting door. So we live, pray and are saved through Jesus our Good Shepherd.” (Vatican II missal)
We now jump from chap 7 to chap 10, omitting the whole episode linked with Jesus as the Light of the World and the dramatic healing of the man born blind, texts which we reflected on during Lent in relation to Baptism.
We begin today to consider two images that Jesus gives of himself: the first is that of a gate and the second that of a shepherd.
We have to imagine a sheepfold as an area surrounded by walls or wooden fencing but open to the sky, and with only one entrance. The walls kept the sheep from wandering and protected them from wild animals at night. Only a genuine shepherd enters the sheepfold through the single gate. Thieves and brigands will try to enter by another way, such as by climbing over the walls or breaking through the fence.
All who came before me are thieves and robbers but the sheep do not listen to them.” Jesus is referring to all the “false shepherds”, including some of the Pharisees and religious leaders of his time who are quite unlike the true prophets of the past.
The real shepherd, however, enters by the gate and is recognised and admitted by the gatekeeper (the one mentioned above who sleeps across the entrance). There are many sheep in the sheepfold belonging to different shepherds so the shepherd calls his own sheep out one by one. He then walks ahead of them and they follow their shepherd because they know his voice. They never follow strangers. (This is quite different from the European or Australian custom where the sheep are driven from behind.)
We are told that his hearers failed to understand the meaning of what Jesus said. They failed to realise that the parable applied particularly to the religious leaders.
So he spoke more clearly: “I AM the gate of the sheepfold.” Here we have the second of the seven ‘I AM’ (‘ego eimi, ‘ego ‘eimi) statements made by Jesus in this gospel. Again Jesus’ points to his divine origin by using the name of God which was given to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:14).
On the contrary, Jesus, as the Gate, the Way, has come “that they may have life and have it to the full.” This is a constant theme we have heard many times already and especially in chapter 6 about Jesus as the food and nourishment giving us life.
Tuesday of The Fourth Week of Easter
Gospel: Jn 10, 22-30 It was winter, and the time came for the feast of the Dedication in Jerusalem. Jesus was walking in the temple area, in Solomon's Portico, when the Jews gathered around him and said, "How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you really are the Messiah, tell us so in plain words."
Jesus answered: "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father's name give witness in my favor, but you refuse to believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one shall snatch them out of my hand. My Father is greater than all, in what he has given me, and there is no snatching out of his hand. The Father and I are one."
Commentary on John 10:22-30
We continue the image of Jesus as the Shepherd. “It is winter” and the scene is Solomon’s portico on the east side of the Temple during the winter festival of Dedication or Hanukkah. This feast is the commemoration of the dedication of the temple by Judas Maccabeus in December 165 BC after it had been desecrated by the Syrian King Antiochus Epiphanes. It was the last great act of liberation which the Jews had experienced.
We are told that Jesus was walking in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon. This was a roofed-in structure not unlike the ‘stoa’ of the Greeks. It was commonly believed to date back to the time of Solomon (who built the original temple) but this was not the case.
Again Jesus is questioned very directly about his true identity. “If you really are the Messiah, tell us so in plain words.” The question indicates that they had understood the meaning behind many of the things he said and did. On the other hand, it was not a question that could simply be answered with a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ because of the many divergent ideas and expectations concerning the Messiah which were current at the time. And certainly none of them corresponded to the kind of Messiah that Jesus would turn out to be.
Once again Jesus says that he has already told them but they refuse to believe. Previous statements made it clear that he spoke as one with a mission from God. Perhaps he had not explicitly said he was the Messiah (except to the Samaritan Woman) but it should have been clear either from his statements or from the evidence of his whole way of life, including the signs he had given – all clearly done in his Father’s name.
The works he has done are a consistent testimony of his true origins “but you refuse to believe because you are not my sheep”.
He then lists the characteristics of true sheep or followers:
they hear my voice
I know them
they follow me.
And, as we have said elsewhere, to “hear” in the Gospel means:
to listen
to understand
to assimilate fully into one’s own thinking
to carry out what one hears.
To these disciples Jesus gives “eternal life”. The security of the sheep is in the power of the Shepherd and no one will snatch them from his hand. And that is because they have been given to him by the Father, whose power is greater than any enemy.
Finally, in a clear and unequivocal answer to their original challenge, he tells his questioners: “The Father and I are one.” The power that the Son has is the same as the Father’s. This is not an unequivocal statement of divinity but points in that direction. And Jesus’ listeners hear it in that way.
(Significantly the Greek actually says, “The Father and I are one [thing, neuter gender]” and not “one [person]“. The Father and Son, with the Holy Spirit, are one in essence or nature but distinct as Persons.)
Wednesday of The Fourth Week of Easter
Gospel: Jn 12, 44-50 Jesus proclaimed aloud: "Whoever puts faith in me believes not so much in me as in him who sent me; and whoever looks on me is seeing him who sent me.
I have come to the world as its light, to keep anyone who believes in me from remaining in the dark. If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I am not the one to condemn him, for I did not come to condemn the world but to save it. Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words already has his judge, namely, the word I have spoken -- It is that which will condemn him on the last day.
For I have not spoken on my own; no, the Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to speak. Since I know that his commandment means eternal life, whatever I say is spoken just as he instructed me."
Commentary on John 12:44-50
Today we come to the end of what is called the “Book of Signs” (chaps 1-12) of John’s gospel. Through these signs – seven of them – Jesus clearly indicates who he is and what is mission is.
Today’s passage, which brings the “Book of Signs” to an end, is a recapitulation of all that has been said in the preceding chapters. The text says that Jesus “cried out” and spoke. This gives extra emphasis to what Jesus is proclaiming. It is once again a call to believe in Jesus where ‘believing in’ means much more than mere acceptance of the truth of his words. It implies that there is also a personal commitment to Jesus and to his mission.
And to believe in Jesus is also to believe, to surrender oneself entirely, to the One who sent him – the Father. All through this gospel Jesus emphasises the inseparability of the Father and the Son.
I came into this world as light…” This phrase implies Jesus’ pre-existence as the Eternal Word as well as indicating he came with a mission – to bring light into darkness.
To put one’s faith in Jesus is to put one’s faith in God the Father, from whom he comes. And whoever really has insight into Jesus knows that he is in touch with God himself. As he has said before, Jesus is a light taking away the darkness with which we are surrounded. He also spells out more clearly than before what happens if we reject him and prefer darkness to light. “It is not I who shall condemn him” because Jesus has come to bring salvation, to bring wholeness to the world and not to condemn it.
He who rejects me and refuses my words has his judge already: the word that I have spoken will be his judge on the last day.” The sun’s role is to give light but when there are obstacles to that light we get shadows. That is not the sun’s doing. Jesus, too, is the Light of the world. But, because of certain behaviour on our part, there are shadows and even darkness.
The ‘word’ of Jesus is a challenge. It offers us a way of living and of inter-relating with God, with others and with ourselves. If we choose another way we have only ourselves to blame when our lives go downhill. But Jesus is always there to lift us up. We only need to stretch out our hand and he will take it into his own.
Jesus tells us that his Father’s commands – which he also observes – mean eternal life. Everything that Jesus did was the carrying out of his Father’s will. We are called to follow the same path. If only we could realise that to follow Jesus is not to fit ourselves into a straitjacket but is a way to total freedom.
Thursday of The Fourth Week of Easter
Gospel: Jn 13, 16-20 [After Jesus had washed the feet of the disciples he said :] "I solemnly assure you, no slave is greater than his master; no messenger outranks the one who sent him. Once you know all these things, blest will you be if you put them into practice. What I say is not said of all, for I know the kind of men I chose. My purpose here is the fulfillment of Scripture: 'He who partook of bread with me has raised his heel against me.' I tell you this now, before it takes place, so that when it takes place you may believe that I AM. I solemnly assure you, he who accepts anyone I send accepts me, and in accepting me accepts him who sent me."
Commentary on John 13:16-20
Today we begin today the second part of John’s gospel, sometimes known as the “Book of Glory” (chaps 13-20), covering Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection. Today’s passage immediately follows on the washing of his disciples’ feet by Jesus.
It is in that context that he says, “No slave is greater than his master; no messenger outranks the one who sent him.” With these words Jesus clearly urges his followers to serve each other in the same way that he, their Lord and Master, served them by the symbolic act of washing their feet. It was an act only done by the slaves in the household.
Jesus has given service to others a dignity which is totally independent of the status that society confers on people, dividing them into served and server. Jesus’ whole raison d’etre for being among us was to serve. “Blessed will you be if you put this into practice.” It is a truth which many of us – clergy, religious and laity – do not always find it easy to practise consistently.
It would not be quite right to see Jesus washing his disciples’ feet as a humbling of himself. Service in the Gospel is primarily love in action. Love (agape, ‘agaph) is the desire for the well-being of the other. That love is actualised by service, by the doing of acts for the good of the other. It is the act of brothers and sisters to and for each other. Status or position does not enter into it.
At the same time Jesus gives the first warning that there is one among them to whom these words will not apply. It is to prepare them for the prediction about his betrayal by one of the group. “The one who has shared my bread has raised his heel against me.” To share bread together was a mark of close fellowship and that is a primary meaning of the Eucharist which is a “breaking of bread” among the members of a close community. To ‘lift up the heel’ may refer a horse kicking or the shaking off of dust from one’s feet as sign of rejection.
Far from being shocked and disturbed by what is going to happen, they should be aware that everything that Jesus willingly undergoes in coming days is clear proof of his divine origin. “I tell you this now, before it takes place, so that when it takes place you may believe that I AM.”
For what is going to happen to Jesus is the ultimate act of service to his brothers and sisters. It is the greatest love that can be shown. Now they are being asked to hold on to Jesus’ identity as one with the Father even when they see him die in shame and disgrace on the cross.
In fact, their faith will be deeply shaken and will not be confirmed until after Pentecost.
Finally, anyone who accepts a disciple or messenger of Jesus, accepts both Jesus himself and the Father who sent him. There is a clear line of unity emanating from the Father going through the Son and passing through the disciple to others. There is just one mission – to bring about the Kingdom, the Reign of God in the world.
This acceptance is done by our sharing fully in Jesus’ own attitude of service, even to the giving of his life.
Friday of The Fourth Week of Easter
Gospel: Jn 14, 1-6 Jesus said to his disciples, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Have faith in God and faith in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places; otherwise, how could I have told you that I was going to prepare a place for you? I am indeed going to prepare a place for you, and then I shall come back to take you with me, that where I am you also may be. You know the way that leads where I go." "Lord," said Thomas, "we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" Jesus told him: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me."
Commentary on John 14:1-6
We begin today the long discourse, covering four chapters (14-17) of John, in which Jesus at the Last Supper says farewell and gives his final instructions to his disciples. Although it is, on the face of it, spoken in anticipation of what is going to happen, it clearly reflects some of the fears and anxieties of the post-resurrection community coping without the direct leadership of Jesus and often harassed by both Jews and Gentiles alike.
So it begins by Jesus telling his disciples “not to be troubled”. The immediate reason is the great threat that hangs over Jesus and his warnings to them of what is going to happen to him. The disciples are disturbed by the predictions of betrayal, of Jesus’ leaving them and betrayal by Peter.
But it is also directed to all those who, because of their following of Jesus, fall under threat of persecution or harassment. It is a time for faith, in the sense of a deep trust in Jesus’ desire to take care of us.
In face of this Jesus tells them to have faith in him and in his Father. Faith here means a deep trust that Jesus will take care of them and give them the strength to face any difficulties.
In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places [i.e. places in which to stay permanently]… I am indeed going to prepare a place for you… I shall come back to take you with me, that where I am you also may be.” Jesus is about to leave his disciples but he will be back soon and taken them to the place which has been specially prepared for them. He will return very soon after his resurrection, although in a very different way, and he will come at the end to take them to himself forever. And, not to worry, there is plenty of room for everyone. In the end, we will be where he is and that is the only goal of our lives that matters.
And then he says, “You know the way that leads to where I go.” They – and we – certainly ought to know the way but we are glad that Thomas, characterised in the Gospel by his blunt speaking, asked his question which drew forth a famous answer.
Lord,” said Thomas, “we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” To which Jesus replied: “I AM the Way. I AM Truth and Life.” Jesus does not only tell us where to go. He is himself the Way (Greek, hodos, ‘odos)
And Jesus is not a way but the Way. This is not to be understood in a narrow sectarian sense. The way of life that Jesus proposes is not just for a particular group of people; it is a way of life for every single person to follow. The heart of that Way is an unconditional love which sees every other person as a brother or sister and a love which gives itself unceasingly in service.
If we want to know where our lives, where any life, should be going, all we need to do is to identify ourselves totally with the attitudes, the values and the goals of life that Jesus lays down for us.
And, as the Way, he is Truth and Life. Jesus is Truth not just because the things he says are true. His whole life, everything he says and does, all his relationships, have the ring of truth and integrity.
And, of course, he is Life. When we unconditionally decide to walk his Way, we, here and now, begin to live in the fullest manner possible.
Thank you, Thomas, for asking that question. All we need now is to make the answer the centre of our living.
Saturday of the Fourth Week of Easter
Gospel: Jn 14:7-14 Jesus said to his disciples:“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 Jesus, “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. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do,so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.”
Once again we have to be thankful for a disciple’s question. Jesus has just said that those who really know him also know his Father. In fact, he says, they have already seen him. But, after all this talk about the Father, Philip, the naive one, is puzzled. “Show us this Father you are always talking about. That is all we ask.” Perhaps, like some of the other Jews, he was expecting some dramatic sign, some striking manifestation of the Father.
Philip,” Jesus replies patiently, “whoever has seen me has seen the Father… Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?… Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works I do.” Philip still lacked that faith that could see the Father clearly working in and through Jesus.
Of course, what Jesus says has to be understood properly. In a sense, when we see Jesus we do see the Father; but, in another sense, we do not see the Father, at least not fully. When Jesus speaks, the Father speaks; when Jesus forgives, the Father forgives; when Jesus heals, the Father heals; when Jesus gives life, it is the Father who gives life.
Jesus is the Word of God; he is the utterance of God; he is God expressing himself and ommunicating himself to us. In his person, Jesus is totally united with the Father. But in Jesus’ humanity, which is where we meet him, the Father only comes through in the dimmest fashion. As Paul wrote to the Christians of Corinth: “At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully as I am known” (1 Corinthians 13:12).
The love that Jesus shows is the love of the Father but, limited by his human nature, it is only the faintest image of the full reality of that love. It is important for us to understand this. That is why Jesus calls himself the Way; he is the Way not the End. The Father is the end and goal of all living.
And so Jesus goes on to make a statement that at first seems strange. “The one who has faith in me will do the works I do, and greater far than these. Why? Because I go to the Father.” How can we possible do greater, far greater things than Jesus? Yet, in a way, it is very true.
Jesus, in his time here on earth, was very limited in what he could accomplish. He lived in one very small place, probably spoke only one language, although he might have picked up a smattering of Greek; he reached relatively few people and was only intimate with a small number.
There are many Christians today who with the means of travel and communications available to them can bring the message of Jesus to far greater numbers and often more effectively. The pope in a major address or at a Christmas Mass can reach a potential audience of billions through television, radio and the newspaper. Jesus could do none of these things.
Jesus, now in his risen Body, the Church, can indeed “do far greater things” and this was made possible by his going back to the Father and passing on his work into our hands. Given the instruments at our disposal, we have a great responsibility to do that “greater work”.
But to do that work we need, of course, to rely on the help and guidance of Jesus through his Spirit. As he says in conclusion today, “Anything you ask me in my name I will do.” He has left us but is still with us.
And to pray in his name is not just to use his name like a talisman or charm. In invoking Jesus’ name we also fully identify ourselves with his Way and his will. It is not an invitation to make any kind of arbitrary request to suit our own personal whims. Primarily, it is to ask his help in spreading his Gospel. That is a prayer which he will surely answer.
Monday of The Fifth Week of Easter
Gospel: Jn 14, 21-26 Jesus said to his disciples: "He who obeys the commandments he has from me is the man who loves me; and he who loves me will be loved by my Father. I too will love him and reveal myself to him." Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said to him, "Lord, why is it that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?" Jesus answered: "Anyone who loves me will be true to my word, and my Father will love him; we will come to him and make our dwelling place with him. He who does not love me does not keep my words. Yet the word you hear is not mine; it comes from the Father who sent me. This much have I told you while I was still with you; the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, will instruct you in everything, and remind you of all that I told you."
Jesus continues his farewell message to his disciples at the Last Supper.
Those who really love him are those who carry out the teachings he has given them.
Words alone will not be enough. Where there is real love from the disciple, Jesus will return that love and reveal himself to his disciple. He will do this by coming with his Father to dwell in that person.
Now it is Jude’s turn to ask a question. Jude is called “son of James” and listed among the Twelve in Luke 6:16. He appears again in a list in Acts 1:13 (also by Luke). He is believed to be the ‘Thaddaeus’ of Matthew 10:3 and Mark 3:18.
He wants to know why Jesus only reveals himself to his disciples and not to the world. Jesus is rather elliptical in his reply but basically he is saying that anyone who responds to Jesus with love will certainly experience the love of Jesus (which is always there). The ‘world’ by definition in John’s gospel consists of those who turn their back on Jesus, his message and his love. “He who does not love me does not keep my words.”
Again, Jesus reminds his disciples that everything he passes on to them comes ultimately from the Father and not from him alone. He is the mediator, he is the Way, he is the Word of God. And later, after he has gone, this role will be taken over by the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete.
The word ‘paraclete’ (parakletes, paraklhths) has many meanings. It can mean a defense lawyer in a court of law, who stands beside the defendant and supports him in making his case. It means any person who stands by you and gives you support and comfort. (See 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 where, in one brief paragraph, the word parakletes in various forms is used 7 or 8 times in the sense of ‘comfort’ and ‘support’). The Spirit will play that role in the Church after Jesus has returned to his Father. And he continues in that role still.
His role is to help the disciples keep in mind all that Jesus has told them. He is the inner voice of God who will lead those who listen to the fullness of truth (something which no one possesses at any given time). He will help them to understand the full meaning of Christ for them and for the world. The Spirit will show them that Christ is the fulfilment of the Scriptures, will help them understand ever more deeply the meaning of Jesus’ life, his actions, his ‘signs’. All this the disciples barely understand at this stage and it is a process that continues on into our own day.
Tuesday of The Fifth Week of Easter
Gospel:
Jn 14, 27-31 Jesus said to his disciples: "'Peacé is my farewell to you, my peace is my gift to you. I do not give it to you as the world gives peace. Do not be distressed or fearful. You have heard me say, 'I go away for a while and I come back to you.' If you truly loved me you would rejoice to have me go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I tell you this now, before it takes place, so that when it takes place you may believe. I shall not go on speaking to you longer; the Prince of this world is at hand. He has no hold on me, but the world must know that I love the Father and do as the Father has commanded"
Commentary on John 14:27-31
As Jesus prepares to leave his disciples, he knows that they are fearful and upset and they will be all the more so when they see what people will soon be doing to him.
His farewell, then, includes a gift of peace. ‘Peace!’ (Shalom) is the normal Jewish greeting and farewell and Jesus uses it when he appears to his disciples after the Resurrection. Originally it meant soundness of body but it came to signify perfect happiness and the liberation which the Messiah was expected to bring. This is the very wholeness which is the aim of Jesus’ mission.
But it is not the peace as the ‘world’ understands it. Peace for Jesus is not simply the absence of violence. It is something much more positive, much deeper. Paradoxically, it can exist side by side with times of great turmoil. It is something internal, not external. It comes from an inner sense of security, of a conviction that God is with us and in us and that we are in the right place. It is something which not even the threat of death can take away.
It is something that the going away of Jesus cannot remove. Jesus tells his disciples that, if they really loved him, they should be happy that Jesus is going away to his Father. It is always a sign of love when our first priority is the wellbeing of the other person. He says the Father is greater than he, in the sense that as Father he has a kind of priority and is the ultimate source of all that is, though the Son does share all that with the Father and the Spirit. The full divine glory of the Son in Jesus is also veiled behind his humanity for the time being but after the Cross he will pass into the full glory of the Father.
It is obvious that Jesus’ place is with his Father. His disciples, if they love him, will know that and not get in his way. Of course, as Jesus points out, it is also in the disciples’ own interest that Jesus go away for only then will the Spirit come down on all of them.
The end is near. “The prince of this world is at hand.” But they are not to worry. The powers of evil are limited in what they can do and all that happens to Jesus is simply a manifestation of his great love for his Father and his desire to follow his Father’s wishes. Because, by undergoing what faces him, Jesus will be communicating to the world the tremendous love of the Father for each one of us.
Wednesday of The Fifth Week of Easter
Gospel: Jn 15, 1-8 Jesus said to his disciples: "I am the true vine and my Father is the vinegrower. He prunes away every barren branch, but the fruitful ones he trims clean to increase their yield. You are clean already, thanks to the word I have spoken to you. Live on in me, as I do in you. No more than a branch can bear fruit of itself apart from the vine, can you bear fruit apart from me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who lives in me and I in him, will produce abundantly, for apart from me you can do nothing. A man who does not live in me is like a withered, rejected branch, picked up to be thrown in the fire and burnt. If you live in me, and my words stay part of you, you may ask what you will -- it will be done for you. My Father has been glorified in your bearing much fruit and becoming my disciples."
Commentary on John 15:1-8
Perhaps there are some of us who have never seen a vine (although we may be well versed in our wines!). But what Jesus says about the vine – a plant very common in Palestine – can be said about any fruit-bearing tree that we are familiar with and the message is clear.
The vine is an image we find elsewhere in the Old Testament. Jesus uses it as a symbol of the Kingdom of God; all who belong to the Kingdom are part of the vine. The fruit of the vine can also be understood of the Eucharistic celebration. It also represents a life lived according to the vision of Jesus, a life filled with unconditional love.
Jesus is explaining to us what our relationship with him can be like and indeed should be like. He compares himself to a tree, basically to the trunk of the tree. The cultivator of the tree, the one who gives it life, is the Father God. Jesus’ disciples are the branches.
It is the branches which bear the fruit.
If a branch does not bear fruit, it is simply cut off. It is no good; it is just draining life from the trunk without giving anything in return. It is very easy for us to be that kind of Christian. We come to church in search of “handouts” but give very little back to the community.
But, even the branches which do bear fruit, are pruned, have parts cut off, so that they will bear even more. Those who cultivate fruit trees or roses are familiar with this process and know how important it is.
What does this pruning consist of? Jesus explains: “You are pruned already, by means of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide, stay in me, as I abide and stay in you.” We are pruned, then, by our total identification with everything that Jesus stands for and by constantly cutting out of our lives everything that is contrary to the spirit of Jesus.
This involves a certain kind of asceticism, a denying of some of our natural appetites. This becomes easy as we are more and more overtaken by the vision of life that Jesus offers to us. We give up those non-Christlike things gladly and willingly. It becomes our deepest happiness and even pleasure to be always in Christ.
It is clear from what Jesus says that only those branches which are connected to the trunk can bear fruit. “Cut off from me you can do nothing.” Without fruit we are dead branches but, on the other hand, the fruit is not just of our own making. It is the sign that Christ is working in us and through us.
The most outstanding fruit of all is, of course, the love we reveal in our relationships with God and with people. “By this will all know that you are my disciples, that you have love one for another.”
Separated from Christ – always the result of our own choice – we are like a branch that has fallen from the tree. We wither. Such “branches are collected and thrown on the fire, and they are burnt”. Such separation is not physical. It is a separation of identity. It comes from rejecting or refusing to accept the Way of Jesus as our way of life. It is a rejection of life and the choice of alternatives which can only lead to decay and death.
Finally, there is the great promise. “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask what you will and you shall get it.”
This is not to be interpreted as some kind of blank cheque, such as asking to win the first prize in a lottery or to have one’s enemy wiped out or to be cured of a terminal sickness.
The promise is prefaced by an important and essential condition: we need to be IN Christ and to have our lives totally guided by his “words”, that is, his teaching, his vision of life. And, if we are with him, our prayer inevitably will be to be more deeply rooted in him. Because he is the Source of all life and all Meaning in life.
Thursday of The Fifth Week of Easter
Gospel: Jn 15, 9-11 Jesus said to his disciples: "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Live on in my love. You will live in my love if you keep my commandments, even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and live in his love. All this I tell you that my joy may be yours and your joy may be complete."
Meditation: Do you know the love that no earthly power nor death itself can destroy? The love of God the Father and his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ is a creative, life-giving love that produces immeasurable joy and lasting friendship for all who accept it. God loves the world so much because he created it to reflect his glory. And he created each one of us in his own image and likeness (Genesis 1:26-27). He wants us to be united with himself in an inseparable bond of unity, peace, and joy that endures for all eternity. That is why the Father sent his Son, the Lord Jesus, into the world, not to condemn it, but to redeem it from the curse of sin and death (John 3:16-17). Paul the Apostle tells us that we can abound in joy and hope because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the gift of the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Romans 5:5).
Through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, God offers pardon for all of our sins and failings, and he calls us to lay aside everything that might hold us back from loving him above all else. We owe him a debt of gratitude and love in return. We can never outmatch God because he has loved us first and has given himself to us without measure. Our love for him is a response to his exceeding mercy and kindness towards us. In God's love alone can we find the fulness of abundant life, peace, and joy.
A new commandment of love
The Lord Jesus gives his disciples a new commandment - a new way of love that goes beyond giving only what is required or what we think others might deserve. What is the essence of Jesus' new commandment of love? It is love to the death - a purifying love that overcomes selfishness, fear, and pride. It is a total giving of oneself for the sake of others - a selfless and self-giving love that is oriented towards putting the welfare of others ahead of myself.
There is no greater proof in love than the sacrifice of one's life for the sake of another. Jesus proved his love by giving his life for us on the cross of Calvary. Through the shedding of his blood for our sake, our sins are not only washed clean, but new life is poured out for us through the gift of the Holy Spirit. We prove our love for God and for one another when we embrace the way of the cross. What is the cross in my life? When my will crosses with God's will, then God's will must be done. Do you know the peace and joy of a life fully surrendered to God and consumed with his love?
Lord Jesus, may I always grow in the joy and hope which your promises give me. Inflame my heart with love for you and your ways and with charity and compassion for my neighbor. May there be nothing in my life which keeps me from your love."
Friday of The Fifth Week of Easter
Gospel:
Jn 15, 12-17 Jesus said to his disciples, 'This is my commandment: love one another as I have loved you. There is no greater love than this: to lay down onés life for onés friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you I no longer speak of you as slaves, for a slave does not know what his master is about. Instead I call you friends, since I have made known to you all that I heard from my Father. It was not you who chose me, it was I who chose you to go forth and bear fruit. Your fruit must endure, so that all you ask the Father in my name he will give you. The command I give you is this, that you love one another."
Saturday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Gospel: Jn 15:18-21
Jesus said to his disciples:“If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you.Remember the word I spoke to you, ‘No slave is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. And they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me.”
Commentary on John 15:18-21
Jesus has been urging his disciples to love all those around them as a sign of their love of him. Today he warns them that there is no guarantee that they will be loved in return. If they hated such a loving person as Jesus so bitterly, his disciples cannot expect to be treated differently.
And the reason they will be hated is because they will refuse to identify themselves with the values and priorities of the secular world. They will reject materialistic greed and competitiveness, the scramble for status and power, the hatred, anger, violence and revenge which mark so many people’s lives.
The most terrible thing to happen to Christians is for them to be loved by that world; it is a sign they have become part of it. “No,” says Jesus, “I chose you out of the world.” Once again he reminds them that the servant is not greater than his master. “They will harry you as they harried me. They will respect your words as much as they respected mine.” That is, hardly at all.
Some of us may find it difficult to understand this. We feel that the Church should be honoured and respected. We can get upset when we hear ourselves or our leaders rubbished in the media or hear of Christians languishing in jail or suffering torture simply for living their faith. But we are rightly proud of our martyrs and our courageous witnesses.
But there is a fate we often undergo in modern society which is far worse – when we are simply ignored and go unnoticed altogether. Our local church may be filled every week but what goes on there may have become completely irrelevant to the surrounding society. It is as if we did not exist.
It is also tragic when we find hate and division within our own community, which can be a major source of scandal to outsiders. And, of course, all through the history of the Church there has been sinful behaviour at all levels. We should not be surprised at that but it is particularly reprehensible when it goes on behind a veneer of moral superiority – the whited sepulchres that Jesus speaks about.
All of this compromises our witness to the love of God for his people everywhere. When any of these things happen, then we know we have really failed the Gospel.
Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter
Gospel: Jn 16, 29-33 The disciples said to Jesus: "At last you are speaking plainly without talking in veiled language! We are convinced that you know everything. There is no need for anyone to ask you questions. We do indeed believe you came from God." Jesus answered them: "Do you really believe? An hour is coming -- has indeed already come -- when you will be scattered and each will go his way, leaving me quite alone. (Yet I can never be alone; the Father is with me.) I tell you all this that in me you may find peace. You will suffer in the world. But take courage! I have overcome the world."
Commentary on John 16:29-33
The disciples now claim to understand exactly what Jesus is talking about, although it is doubtful that they really do. It will not be until later on that the full meaning of Jesus’ words will be grasped by them.
They are impressed that Jesus can answer their questions even before they are formulated. “Because of this we believe that you came from God.” Yet, perhaps they are speaking too soon.
Jesus questions the depth of their belief. Very soon, in spite of their protestations now, they will be scattered in all directions and leave Jesus alone and abandoned. Of course, Jesus will not be alone; the Father is always with him even at the lowest depths of his humiliation. Even when he himself will cry out: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”
He tells them all this, not to discourage them, but so that they can find peace. There will be many troubles facing them in the coming days and indeed in the years ahead. They are not to worry: Jesus has conquered the world, not in any political or economic sense but in overcoming the evil of the world. His disciples can share in that victory, as long as they stay close to him and walk his Way.
These words obviously have meaning for us especially if we are experiencing difficulties of any kind in our lives. The peace we seek is available if we put ourselves into Jesus’ hands. He knows; he has been through more than anything we are ever likely to have to experience.
Tuesday of Seventh Week of Easter
Gospel: Jn 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.”
Commentary on John 17:1-11
Today we move on to the great chapter 17 of John. Jesus is still with his disciples at the last Supper and this is the final part of his discourse. It consists of a long prayer, sometimes called the High Priestly prayer of Jesus.
The prayer can be said to be in three parts:
- Jesus prays for his own mission;
- he prays for his immediate disciples, who are with him as he prays;
- he prays for all those who in later times will become his disciples.
Jesus begins by praying for the success of his mission. He prays that, through his passion, death and resurrection, he may find glory. In John’s gospel Jesus’ glory begins with his passion and the high moment is the moment of his dying on the cross which is also the moment of resurrection and union with the Father. This glory is not for himself but to lead people to glorify God, of whom Jesus is the Revealer and Mediator.
In turn, he prays that all he does may lead to people everywhere sharing in the life of God. And what is that life? It is stated here in one of the key sayings of Jesus reported in the Gospel: “Eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
To know God and to know Jesus is to acknowledge their unique place as the source and end of all we have and are. To know the Father and Jesus is to have as full as possible an understanding of Jesus’ message and to have assimilated it into one’s whole life. It is not just a knowledge of recognition but a mutual identification of vision and values. As the Jerusalem Bible comments: “In biblical language, ‘knowledge’ is not merely the conclusion of an intellectual process but the fruit of an ‘experience’, a personal contact. When it matures, it is love.” (Jerusalem Bible, loc. cit.)
It is to be aware of that, to accept that fully as the secret of life, not just in the world to come but here and now. Everything else – and it really means everything – is secondary to this. To put anything else, however lofty, in first place is to go astray.
Jesus has given glory to the Father by all that he has said and done. He now prays again that glory will be given to him, because by giving glory to him we give glory to his Father also. In fact, it is through Jesus, through our total identification with him, that we give glory to God.
Jesus now prays for his disciples, the “men you took from the world to give me”. Although it was Jesus who chose them, ultimately they are the gift of the Father to help Jesus continue his work on earth. Jesus thanks God that they have recognised that he comes from the Father and that they have accepted his teaching. And, because they belong to Jesus, they also belong to the Father and through them Jesus will receive glory.
Finally, they have been chosen from the world and yet will remain in the world, though not sharing in its values. In fact, they will give glory to Jesus precisely by challenging the values of that world and leading it to the ‘eternal life’ which they have discovered through Jesus and which they have already begun to enjoy.
We thank Jesus for his disciples. We thank them for handing on to us the secret of life.
We thank them for the giving of themselves, sometimes through a martyr’s death, to share that secret with us. We recognise that they, like us, had many weaknesses but Jesus still worked through them and through them the world came to know Jesus.
Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter
Gospel: Jn 17, 11-19 Jesus looked up to heaven and prayed: "O Father most holy, protect them with your name which you have given me, [that they may be one, even as we are one.] As long as I was with them, I guarded them with your name which you gave me. I kept careful watch, and not one of them was lost, none but him who was destined to be lost -- in fulfillment of Scripture. Now, however, I come to you; I say all this while I am still in the world that they may share my joy completely.
I gave them your word, and the world has hated them for it; they do not belong to the world, [any more than I belong to the world]. I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but to guard them from the evil one. They are not of the world, any more than I am of the world.
Consecrate them by means of truth -- 'Your word is truth.'
As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world; I consecrate myself for their sakes now, that they may be consecrated in truth."
Commentary on John 17:11-19
Today Jesus continues his prayer for his disciples. He prays for their continued loyalty to the gospel message and for unity among them. He has kept them true to his name. One was lost, although that was foreseen from all time.
They have accepted the message of Jesus and, because of that, they will be hated by the world as Jesus himself was hated. Because, like Jesus, they do not identify with the world and its values and priorities.
At the same time, Jesus makes it very clear that he is not asking that they be removed from the world’s environment, only that they be protected from its evil influences. It is only by being in the world that they will be able to communicate the Gospel message. Armed with truth, with the integrity of Jesus himself, he is sending them into the midst of the world. That is where they are to do their work. They were, as he said elsewhere, to be “the salt of the earth” and the “yeast in the dough”.
Jesus prays that they be consecrated in truth, the truth of God himself. This truth does not consist of a set of dogmas. Rather it consists in the living out lives of perfect integrity and wholeness, in perfect harmony with the will of the Father and the Way of Jesus and dedicated to bringing that truthfulness and integrity to the world. They do this by living lives of love, a love expressed in service to the well-being of all. They have the full backing of Jesus: “I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.”
Let us then pray today
- for the unity among us which Jesus prayed for in his disciples
- that we may be ready for the hostility and the indifference of the world
- that we may realise that, if we want to give witness to the Gospel, we must be fully inserted into the world by which we are surrounded. To be ‘holy’ is not to escape and distance ourselves physically from that world, which is what many are tempted to do or even think is the right thing to do.
- that we may be people of complete integrity, that we may be filled with truth and sincerity so that what people see in us is what we truly are and wish to be: disciples of Jesus.
Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter
Gospel: Jn 17, 20-26 Jesus looked up to heaven and said: "I do not pray for my disciples alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their word, that all may be one as you, Father, are in me, and I in you; I pray that they may be [one] in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. I have given them the glory you gave me that they may be one, as we are one -- I living in them, you living in me -- that their unity may be complete. So shall the world know that you sent me, and that you loved them as you loved me. Father, all those you gave me I would have in my company where I am, to see this glory of mine which is your gift to me, because of the love you bore me before the world began. Just Father, the world has not known you, but I have known you; and these men have known that you sent me. To them I have revealed your name, and I will continue to reveal it so that your love for me may live in them, and I may live in them."
Commentary on John 17:20-26
In this final part of Jesus’ prayer during his discourse to his disciples at the Last Supper, Jesus now prays for all those who through the influence of disciples before us came to believe in Christ as Lord. Each one of us is among those Jesus is praying for here.
In this prayer Jesus prays above all for unity among his disciples as the most effective sign of witness. “By this will all know that you are my disciples, that you have love for one another,” he had told his disciples earlier on in the discourse.
He now prays that we may display the same unity among ourselves and with Jesus as that which binds Jesus and the Father. It is through the love that Christians, coming as they do from so many ethnic groups and all classes of people, show for each other that they give the most effective witness to the message of Christ. “May they be so completely one that the world will realise that it was you who sent me.”
It is said that, in the early Church, people marvelled, “See those Christians, how they love each other.” In a world divided along so many lines, people were amazed to see Jews and Greeks, men and women, slaves and freemen, rich and poor sharing a common community life in love and
forgiveness and mutual support. It clearly would lead people to ask what was the secret of this group.
Is that the witness that we are giving today? What do people see when they look at our parishes? What do they see when they look at our families? What are they to think of the painful divisions of so many groups who claim Jesus as their Lord? How can we maintain such divisions in the face of these words of Jesus?
Obviously, we all have much to think and pray about regarding our “spiritual” life and the impact we make in drawing people to Christ (and that includes bringing back many who have left in confusion and disillusionment).
So let us make our own the last words of Jesus’ prayer today: “I have made your name known to them [his disciples] and will continue to make it known, so that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and so that I may be in them.”
Friday of the Seventh Week of Easter
Gospel: Jn 21, 15-19 When [Jesus manifested himself to his disciples and] they had eaten their meal, he said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," Peter said, "you know that I love you." At which Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."
A second time he put his question, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" "Yes, Lord," Peter said, "you know that I love you." Jesus replied, "Tend my sheep."
A third time Jesus asked him, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because he had asked a third time, "Do you love me?" So he said to him: "Lord, you know everything. You know well that I love you." Jesus told him, "Feed my sheep."
I tell you solemnly: as a young man you fastened your belt and went about as you pleased; but when you are older you will stretch out your hands, and another will tie you fast and carry you off against your will." (What he said indicated the sort of death by which Peter was to glorify God.)
When Jesus had finished speaking he said to him, "Follow me."
Commentary on John 21:15-19
The disciples now claim to understand exactly what Jesus is talking about, although it is doubtful that they really do. It will not be until later on that the full meaning of Jesus’ words will be grasped by them.
They are impressed that Jesus can answer their questions even before they are formulated. “Because of this we believe that you came from God.” Yet, perhaps they are speaking too soon.
Jesus questions the depth of their belief. Very soon, in spite of their protestations now, they will be scattered in all directions and leave Jesus alone and abandoned. Of course, Jesus will not be alone; the Father is always with him even at the lowest depths of his humiliation. Even when he himself will cry out: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”
He tells them all this, not to discourage them, but so that they can find peace. There will be many troubles facing them in the coming days and indeed in the years ahead. They are not to worry: Jesus has conquered the world, not in any political or economic sense but in overcoming the evil of the world. His disciples can share in that victory, as long as they stay close to him and walk his Way.
These words obviously have meaning for us especially if we are experiencing difficulties of any kind in our lives. The peace we seek is available if we put ourselves into Jesus’ hands. He knows; he has been through more than anything we are ever likely to have to experience.
Saturday of the Seventh Week of Easter
Gospel: Jn 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.
Commentary on John 21:20-25
Peter has been given his mandate to shepherd the Lord’s flock and been fully rehabilitated after his sad betrayal earlier on. But it is still the same old, impetuous Peter. Having heard about his own future, he now wants to know that of the “beloved disciple”.
Basically, he is told to mind his own business; it is no concern of his. Jesus says enigmatically, “Suppose I want him to stay until I come, how does that concern you? Your business is to follow me.”
As a result, Jesus words became distorted and were understood that the “beloved disciple” was not going to die. He would stay alive until the Lord came. But this is strongly denied by the author of the chapter. [It is believed that this final chapter is not by the author of the rest of this gospel.] The New American Bible comments here: “This whole scene takes on more significance if the disciple is already dead. The death of the apostolic generation caused problems in the church because of a belief that Jesus was to have returned first. Loss of faith sometimes resulted. Cf . 2 Peter 3:4.” (loc. cit.)
Another very different explanation is possible if the “beloved disciple” is not identified with John but with the symbolic figure who represents the perfect follower of Jesus. This person appears four times in John’s gospel – and perhaps five, if we identify him with the unnamed disciple of John the Baptist who spent a day with Jesus in the company of Andrew (John 1:35ff). At this point, he is not called the “beloved disciple”, as he is just beginning to be a follower. Later in the gospel, he is identified on four different occasions of special significance – leaning on the breast of Jesus at the Last Supper, standing at the foot of the Cross, going with Peter to the empty tomb on the day of the resurrection and understanding the meaning of the arrangement of the cloths (something which meant nothing to Peter) and, finally, as the one who recognised in the stranger who told the disciples where the fish were to be found as “the Lord”.
Hopefully, all through the history of the Church there will be “beloved disciples”, people who have lived out the Gospel to a very high degree. And such people will continue to be found until Jesus finally comes to bring us all to himself.
For our own lives, in the light of this passage, we can ask ourselves once again what we see to be the mission that Jesus has for us at this time. And secondly, while we do of course need to be esponsible for the wellbeing of our brothers and sisters, our main concern is to focus on where God is calling us and not be too worried about what he expects from others.
On a final note, the author claims to have witnessed everything that has been written but that it still is only a fraction of all the things that Jesus said and did. We would indeed love to know what some of those unreported words and actions were but we have more than enough with the existing texts to provide a challenge to us for the rest of our lives. And, with the imminent approach of Pentecost, we remember that the Spirit is there to continue teaching and guiding us and leading us ever deeper into the meanings of God’s Word.
Monday of Octave of Easter
Gospel Mt 28, 8-15
Tell my brothers that they must leave for Galilee; they will see me there. The women hurried away from the tomb half-overjoyed, half-fearful, and ran to carry the good news to his disciples.
Suddenly, without warning, Jesus stood before them and said, "Peace!" The women came up and embraced his feet and did him homage. At this Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid! Go and carry the news to my brothers that they are to go to Galilee, where they will see me."
As the women were returning, some of the guard went into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. They, in turn, convened with the elders and worked out their strategy, giving the soldiers a large bribe with the instructions: "You are to say, 'His disciples came during the night and stole him while we were asleep.' If any word of this gets to the procurator, we will straighten it out with him and keep you out of trouble." The soldiers pocketed the money and did as they had been instructed. This is the story that circulates among the Jews to this very day.
Commentary on Matthew 28:8-15 The women who had come to the tomb early on Sunday morning to embalm the dead body of Jesus were amazed to find the stone rolled back from the entrance and the tomb empty. Their reactions are a mixture of anxiety and joy. They are anxious that the body may have been stolen; but there is also an expectant joy. Could it be that he is alive? We may contrast that with Mark where he tells us that the women in their fear “said nothing to anyone” (Mark 16:8).
And, while still wondering what could have happened, they run to tell the “good news” (obviously they were having optimistic thoughts) to tell the disciples when they ran into Jesus who gave them the Easter greeting of “Peace!” (Shalom).
As they cling to Jesus’ feet (like Mary Magdalene in John’s gospel, they do not want to lose him again), they are told not to be afraid, an admonition that will be heard frequently during these days, but to go to the disciples and instruct them to go to Galilee where they will see Jesus.
In today’s reading, the women are to instruct the disciples that they will see him in Galilee, their own place and that is where we will expect to see him, too. Galilee is their home ground, the place where they were born, grew up and work. That is where the Risen Jesus is to be found.
He is saying the same thing to us too. We do not have to go to Jerusalem or Rome or Lourdes or Fatima to find him. If we cannot find him in the place where we live and work, we won’t find him in those other places either.
TUESDAY OF THE OCTAVE OF EASTER
Gospel Jn 20, 11-18
Mary stood weeping beside the tomb. Even as she wept, she stooped to peer inside, and there she saw two angels in dazzling robes. One was seated at the head and the other at the foot of the place where Jesus' body had lain. "Woman," they asked her, "why are you weeping?" She answered them, "Because the Lord has been taken away, and I do not know where they have put him." She had no sooner said this than she turned around and caught sight of Jesus standing there. But she did not know him. "Woman," he asked her, "why are you weeping? Who is it you are looking for?" She supposed he was the gardener, so she said, "Sir, if you are the one who carried him off, tell me where you have laid him and I will take him away." Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned to him and said [in Hebrew], "Rabboni!" (meaning "Teacher"). Jesus then said: "Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Rather, go to my brothers and tell them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God!" Mary Magdalene went to the disciples. "I have seen the Lord!" she announced. Then she reported what he had said to her.
Commentary on John 20:11-18 After going off to tell Peter and the other disciples about the empty tomb, it seems that Mary of Magdala went back there to grieve over her lost friend and master. She sees two angels sitting inside the tomb and asks where her Lord has been taken. When asked why she is weeping, she replies that her Lord has been “taken away” and she does not know where he has been put.
Then, as she turns round, there is Jesus before her but she does not recognise him. This is a common experience with those who meet Jesus after the resurrection. He is the same and yet different. In this transitional period they have to learn to recognise Jesus in unexpected forms and places and situations. He asks the same question as the angels: “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” A question we need to ask ourselves constantly. Like Mary, we may say we are looking for Jesus – but which Jesus?
She thinks the person in front of her is the gardener. How often we jump to conclusions about people, about their character and personality and true identity! Maybe this man has taken Jesus away and knows where he is. It is also another lovely example of Johannine irony. First, that the one she took to be the gardener should know where Jesus was to be found. Second, it is John who tells us that the tomb of Jesus was in a garden (19:41). All the world’s pain and sorrow began with the sin of the Man and the Woman in a garden (Eden) and now new life also finds its beginnings in a garden. Mary was unwittingly right – Jesus is a Gardener, the one who produces life from the earth, and is the Word of his Father, the Gardener of Eden.
Then Jesus speaks: “Mary!” Immediately she recognises his voice, the voice of her Master. It reminds us of the passage about Jesus the Shepherd. “The sheep hear his voice, as he calls his own sheep by name… the sheep follow him because they recognise his voice… I know my sheep and they know me” (John 10:3-4,15).
Immediately she turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni”. This is a more formal address than just “Rabbi” and was often used when speaking to God. In which case, Mary’s exclamation is not unlike that of Thomas in the upper room – “My Lord and my God!”
With a mixture of joy and affection and partly out of fear of losing him again, she clings on to him tightly. But Jesus tells her to let him go, because “I have not ascended to the Father”. In John, the glorification of Jesus takes place on the cross at the moment of death. At that moment of triumph, Jesus is raised straight to the glory of the Father. In that sense, it is the glorified Jesus who now speaks with Mary not the Jesus she knew earlier. This Jesus cannot be clung to. In fact, there is no need. From now on “I am with you always.”
The Father of Jesus now becomes the Father of his disciples as they are filled with the Spirit that is both in the Father and the Son. Thus they will be re-born (John 3:5) as God’s children and can be called “brothers” by Jesus.
Mary – and all the others – have to learn that the Risen Jesus is different from the Jesus before the crucifixion. They have to let go of the earlier Jesus and learn to relate to the “new” Jesus in a very different way.
So she is told to do what every Christian is supposed to do: go and tell the other disciples that she has seen the Lord and she shares with them what he has said to her. “I have seen the Lord.” She is not just passing on a doctrine but sharing an experience. That is what we are all called to do.
It is significant that it is a woman who is the first person in John’s gospel to see and to be spoken to by the Risen Jesus. Not only that, if she is the same person mentioned by Luke as one of Jesus’ women followers (Luke 8:2), she was formerly a deeply sinful woman from whom seven demons had been driven out. Often no one is closer to God than someone who has been converted from a sinful past. We think of people like St Augustine or St Ignatius Loyola.
So Mary, who (who with Mary, Jesus’ Mother, stood by the cross of Jesus to the very end – unlike the men disciples), is now rewarded by being the first to meet him risen and glorified. She is truly a beloved disciple.
WEDNESDAY OF THE OCTAVE OF EASTER
Gospel Lk 24, 13-35
Two of the disciples of Jesus that same day [the first day of the week] were making their way to a village named Emmaus seven miles distant from Jerusalem, discussing as they went all that had happened.
In the course of their lively exchange, Jesus approached and began to walk along with them. However, they were restrained from recognizing him. He said to them, "What are you discussing as you go your way?" They halted in distress, and one of them, Cleopas by name, asked him, "Are you the only resident of Jerusalem who does not know the things that went on there these past few days?"
He said to them, "What things?"
They said: "All those that had to do with Jesus of Nazareth, a prophet powerful in word and deed in the eyes of God and all the people; how our chief priests and leaders delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. We were hoping that he was the one who would set Israel free. Besides all this, today, the third day since these things happened, some women of our group have just brought us some astonishing news. They were at the tomb before dawn and failed to find his body, but returned with the tale that they had seen a vision of angels who declared he was alive. Some of our number went to the tomb and found it to be just as the women said; but him they did not see."
Then he said to them, "What little sense you have! How slow you are to believe all that the prophets have announced! Did not the Messiah have to undergo all this so as to enter into his glory?" Beginning, then, with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted for them every passage of Scripture which referred to him.
By now they were near the village to which they were going, and he acted as if he were going farther. But they pressed him: "Stay with us. It is nearly evening -- the day is practically over." So he went in to stay with them. When he had seated himself with them to eat, he took bread, pronounced the blessing, then broke the bread and began to distribute it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him; whereupon he vanished from their sight. They said to one another, "Were not our hearts burning inside us as he talked to us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?"
They got up immediately and returned to Jerusalem, where they found the Eleven and the rest of the company assembled. They were greeted with, "The Lord has been raised! It is true! He has appeared to Simon." Then they recounted what had happened on the road and how they had come to know him in the breaking of bread.
Commentary on Luke 24:13-35
One of the great passages of the New Testament. It is Easter Sunday as the passage opens. In Luke all the resurrection appearances take place in the vicinity of Jerusalem and on Easter Sunday.
It begins with two disciples on the road leaving Jerusalem. For Luke the focal point of Jesus’ mission is Jerusalem – it was the goal to which all Jesus’ public life was headed and from there the new community would bring his Message to the rest of the world.
They are on their way to a place called Emmaus, about 7 miles (11 km) from Jerusalem, whose exact location is not now known. It does not really matter and that is the point. They were on the “road” – they are pilgrims on the road of life. Jesus is the Way, the Road. The problem is that at this moment they are going in the wrong direction.
The Risen Jesus joins them as a fellow-traveller. “Something” prevents them from recognising him. What was that “something”? Their presumption that he was dead? Was it their pre-conceived idea of what Jesus should look like?
Seeing their obvious despondency and disillusionment, he asks what they are talking about. With deliciously unconscious irony they say, “You must be the only person staying in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have been happening there these last few days.”
Jesus plays them out a little more with a totally innocent-sounding, “What things?” He wants to hear their version of what happened. To them the death was the failure of Jesus’ mission. They refer to him as a “prophet” as if, after the debacle of his death, they could not see in Jesus the Messiah they had earlier acknowledged. “We were hoping that he would be the one to set Israel free.” Again the delicious irony of their own words is lost on them. For them, freedom meant liberation from the tyranny of foreign domination and perhaps the inauguration of the Kingdom of God as they understood it.
They are puzzled also by the stories of the women describing an empty tomb and angels – but there is still no sign of Jesus. More irony! They are addressing these very words to Jesus!
Jesus then gives them a lesson in reading the Scriptures and shows them that all that happened to Jesus, including his sufferings and death, far from being a tragedy was all foreordained. Luke is the only writer to speak clearly of a suffering Messiah. The idea of a suffering Messiah is not found as such in the Old Testament. Later, the Church will see a foreshadowing of the suffering Messiah in the texts on the Suffering Servant in Isaiah.
As they reach their destination, Jesus makes as if to continue his journey. However, they extend their hospitality to the stranger. So Jesus goes in to stay with them. Wonderful words. But it would not have happened if they had not opened their home to him. As they sat down to the meal, Jesus, the visitor unexpectedly acting as host, took the bread, said the blessing over it, broke it and gave it to them. And in that very act they recognised him. This is the Eucharist where we recognise the presence of Jesus among us in the breaking of bread. Not just in the bread, but in the breaking and sharing of the bread and in those who share the broken bread.
Then Jesus disappears. But they are still basking in the afterglow. “Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” In the light of all this experience, they turn around [conversion!] and go back along the road to Jerusalem from which they had been fleeing. There they discover their fellow-disciples excited that the Lord is risen and has appeared to Simon. And they tell their marvellous story and how “they had recognised him at the breaking of bread”.
All the ingredients of the Christian life are here.
- Running away from where Christ is to be found. We do it all the time.
- Meeting Jesus in the unexpected place or person or situation. How many times does this happen and we do not recognise him, or worse mistreat him?
- Finding the real meaning and identity of Jesus and his mission in having the Scriptures fully explained. Without the Scriptures we cannot claim to know Jesus.
- Recognising Jesus in the breaking of bread, in our celebration of the Eucharist. The breaking and sharing of the bread indicates the essentially community dimension of that celebration, making it a real comm-union with all present.
- The central experience of Scripture and Liturgy draws us to participate in the work of proclaiming the message of Christ and sharing our experience of it with others that they may also share it.
- The importance of hospitality and kindness to the stranger. “I was hungry… and you did/did not feed…” Jesus is especially present and to be found and loved in the very least of my brothers and sisters.
THURSDAY OF THE OCTAVE OF EASTER
Gospel Lk 24, 35-48
The disciples recounted what had happened on the road to Emmaus and how they had come to know Jesus in the breaking of bread. While they were still speaking about all this, Jesus himself stood in their midst [and said to them, "Peace to you."] In their panic and fright they thought they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, "Why are you disturbed? Why do such ideas cross your mind? Look at my hands and my feet; it is really I. Touch me, and see that a ghost does not have flesh and bones as I do." [As he said this he showed them his hands and feet.]
They were still incredulous for sheer joy and wonder, so he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of cooked fish, which he took and ate in their presence.
Then he said to them, "Recall those words I spoke to you when I was still with you: everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and psalms had to be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to the understanding of the Scriptures.
He said to them: "Thus it is written that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead on the third day. In his name, penance for the remission of sins is to be preached to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of all this."
Commentary on Luke 24:35-48
We pick up from yesterday’s story of the disciples going to Emmaus. Back in Jerusalem they share their experience of the risen Jesus with their comrades who have also heard that Jesus has appeared to Simon Peter.
Suddenly Jesus himself appears in their midst. The fact that he comes suddenly, although the doors were locked, indicates that his presence is now of a different kind.
He wishes them peace. It is the ordinary Jewish greeting of ‘Shalom’ but one which has special meaning in this Easter context. Before his Passion Jesus had told his disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. Not as the world do I give it to you…” (John 14:27). The peace of the Risen Jesus is fully of messianic blessings.
In spite of what they had heard, they are terrified and think they are seeing a ghost. “What are you afraid of?” Jesus asks them. He shows them his pierced hands and feet. The Greeks mocked at the idea of bodily resurrection but Luke emphasises the physical reality of Christ’s risen body, that is, the wholeness of the person of the risen Jesus.
He invites them to come and touch him. Ghosts do not have flesh and bones. As he shows them the wounds in his hands and feet their fear turns to a mixture of joy and utter astonishment. They can’t believe their eyes. Jesus has to ask them to give him something to eat. Ghosts don’t eat and Jesus is no ghost, he is no disembodied soul. There is also an emphasis that death is not an escape from the body but that the whole person goes into the next life.
Jesus then goes on to explain, as he did with the Emmaus disciples, how all that had happened to him was fully in harmony with and the fulfilment of the Law, the prophets and psalms. Mentioning the three constituent parts of the Old Testament Jesus indicates that the Messiah was foretold through the whole of the Hebrew scriptures.
And out of Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection comes the mission to proclaim reconciliation with God through Jesus to the whole word. “You are witnesses to this.” It is their mission to carry on the establishment of the Kingdom throughout the world. Or, as it is put here, “that repentance, for the forgiveness of sin, would be preached in the [Messiah's] name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem”.
The Kingdom is being realised when people go through that process of radical conversion and change of life (‘repentance’ metanoia) which brings about a deep reconciliation of each one with God, with all those around them and with themselves, when all divisions fall away, when fear and hostility are replaced with a caring love for each other.
If we have not yet done so, let us become part of that great enterprise today.
FRIDAY OF THE OCTAVE OF EASTER
Gospel Jn 21, 1-14
Jesus showed himself to the disciples [once again] at the Sea of Tiberias. This is how the appearance took place. Assembled were Simon Peter, Thomas ("the Twin"), Nathanael (from Cana in Galilee), Zebedeés sons, and two other disciples. Simon Peter said to them, "I am going out to fish." "We will join you," they replied, and went off to get into their boat. All through the night they caught nothing. Just after daybreak Jesus was standing on the shore, though none of the disciples knew it was Jesus. He said to them, "Children, have you caught anything to eat?" "Not a thing," they answered. "Cast your net off to the starboard side," he suggested, "and you will find something." So they made a cast, and took so many fish that they could not haul the net in. Then the disciple Jesus loved cried out to Peter, "It is the Lord!" On hearing it was the Lord, Simon Peter threw on some clothes -- he was stripped -- and jumped into the water.
Meanwhile the other disciples came in the boat, towing the net full of fish. Actually they were not far from land -- no more than a hundred yards.
When they landed, they saw a charcoal fire there with a fish laid on it and some bread. "Bring some of the fish you just caught," Jesus told them. Simon Peter went aboard and hauled ashore the net loaded with sizable fish -- one hundred fifty-three of them! In spite of the great number, the net was not torn.
Come and eat your meal," Jesus told them. Not one of the disciples presumed to inquire "Who are you?" for they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came over, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This marked the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after being raised from the dead.
Commentary on John 21:1-14
Today we have a resurrection story which is unique to John. Like most of John’s accounts, it is a story full of symbolism.
We see a group of disciples, seven altogether, seemingly at a loose end with nothing to do. Peter, the leader, decides to make a move. “I’m going fishing.” It is what he knows best. The others go along with him. Is there an implication that the great enterprise that Jesus began is over and they return to their old way of living?
After a whole night on the lake they get nothing. Is there also an echo of words spoken at the Last Supper, “without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5)?
As the light of dawn breaks Jesus is standing on the shore but, as usually happens in these post-resurrection scenes, they do not recognise him. He asks the question fishermen do not like to be asked, “Have you caught anything?” Reluctantly they have to admit, No. He then gives them some suggestions. On a natural level, it is possible he could see a movement of fish that was not visible from the boat but the real meaning is deeper. He will lead the fish to them as he will lead people to them later on.
After following Jesus’ instructions, they make a huge haul of fish, so many that they cannot be brought into the boat. The exact number is given: 153. Is that an actual memory or is there a special symbolism in the number? The main point, however, is to emphasise God’s generosity. It was a large catch.
And the net was not broken. The net itself is, as in other texts, a symbol of the Kingdom of God. This is all clearly a parable, a symbol of their future work as fishers of people, a work whose success will originate in the power of Jesus behind them and in their following what he tells them to do.A similar incident had happened during Jesus’ earthly life and the “disciple Jesus loved” immediately saw the connection. He is the one with deeper insight into the presence and the ways of his Master. “It is the Lord!” he exclaims.
But if the “other disciple” was the one Jesus loved, it was Peter who was the one who loved Jesus. And it is Peter, the impetuous one, who reacts first. He was not wearing any clothes* so he throws something around himself and jumps into the water to get to Jesus, leaving the others to bring the boat and fish to the shore. Such is his anxiety to be close to his Lord.
On the shore they find that Jesus has lit a fire. There is bread and some fish cooking. (Where did these fish come from? It is the kind of question we do not need to ask when reading a symbol-full passage like this.) “Bring the fish you have just caught.”
In response to the command, it is Peter, the leader – now and in the future, who alone brings in the huge catch from the boat by the water’s edge. Peter alone dragging the net in is an image of the Kingdom coming (compare the parable in Matt 13:47ff). It also signifies the special position of Peter in the mission of the Apostles. Just now the whole group together could not haul the net into the boat.
Jesus then invites them to come and eat with him the meal he has prepared for them. Here, too, there are eucharistic overtones. Now as they stand close to the friendly stranger, no one dares to ask “Who are you?” because they know quite well it is the Lord, the risen Jesus. Again we are being taught to find the presence of the Lord in all those who are kind to us, who do good to us in any way and especially in those who share the eucharistic meal with us. Just as we are called to be Jesus to everyone that we encounter.
His identity in a way is now confirmed by his taking the bread and the fish and giving it to them to eat. He broke bread, he celebrated a Eucharist with them.
We have here then some central pillars of our faith:
- recognising Christ in the kindly stranger and playing that role ourselves;
- expressing our love and solidarity with each other through our celebration of the Eucharist and breaking bread together;
- working with the power of Jesus to fill the net that is the Kingdom, becoming truly fishers of people.