“I have told you this in figures of speech. The hour is coming when
I will no longer speak to you in figures but I will tell you
clearly about the Father.” John 16:25
When is it that Jesus will speak clearly about the Father? When is
that “hour” of which He speaks? First, this “hour” can be
understood to be the time after His death, Resurrection and
Ascension to Heaven. It is then when the Holy Spirit will come upon
them at Pentecost to open their minds to understand all that He has
taught with much greater insight and clarity. But in John’s Gospel,
the “hour” is also a reference to His death on the Cross. It is His
hour of glory, the hour in which the Son of Man saves us through
His holy passion. Therefore, this statement of Jesus should be read
within the context of Him alluding to His coming passion. Recall
that this sermon Jesus gives is part of His “Last Supper
Discourse.” It is given immediately prior to Jesus going out to the
Garden of Gethsemane to be arrested.
When we consider this “hour” to be the passion and death of Jesus
on the Cross, we should be aware of the fact that His act of dying
is not only a saving act of redemption, it is also one of the
clearest ways in which He speaks about His Father in Heaven. Jesus’
suffering and death does, in fact, reveal the Father to the
disciples in ways that His “figures of speech” could not reveal.
Jesus’ veiled language was spoken as truth but as truth that could
not be fully communicated. However, Jesus’ freely embraced
suffering and death does clearly communicate the Father in the most
profound way possible. The Cross is pure love, and the Father is
pure love. Jesus’ death on the Cross in obedience to the will of
the Father reveals to all that the Father loves us so much that He
was willing to sacrifice His only begotten Son so that if we but
believe in Him, we will inherit eternal life.
The message of the Cross is a true teaching about the love of the
Father. It’s a teaching that took place through an act of the most
pure and sacrificial love imaginable. The Cross was Jesus speaking
“clearly about the Father” insofar as it reveals the depth of the
Father’s love for all humanity. If you find this difficult to
understand, then you are not alone. The disciples themselves
struggled with this. That is why they ultimately needed the Holy
Spirit to come upon them to open their minds. We too need the Holy
Spirit if the veil is to be lifted and we are to comprehend this
most powerful message of God’s infinite love.
Reflect, today, upon Jesus’ burning desire to lift the veil of His
teaching and to reveal to you, clearly, the depth of the Father’s
love for you. Allow the Holy Spirit to open your mind to this
revelation as it is given through the Crucifixion. Pray for that
gift. Listen to Jesus tell you He desires to give you this
understanding and then await the grace you need to see and
understand the very heart of the Father and His divine love for
you.
My precious Jesus, Your hour of glory upon the Cross is the
clearest and fullest revelation of the Father’s love. On the Cross,
You show us all how deeply we are loved by You and Your Father in
Heaven. Please do open my mind, dear Lord, to all You wish to
reveal to me, so that as I come to know You, I will also come to
know Your Father in Heaven. Jesus, I trust in You.
Source of content:
catholic-daily-reflections.com
Copyright 2024 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved.
Used with permission via RSS feed.
Featured image above: The Exhortation to the Apostles By
James Tissot, via Wikimedia Commons
Kommentare (0)
Melde dich an, um einen Kommentar zu schreiben.