Fr. Eduardo Emilio Aguero, SCJ
Jesus’ Farewell and the Promise of Return
Today’s Gospel continues last Sunday’s reading. Jesus remains in his farewell discourse to the disciples. He had told them not to be troubled, but to trust in him. Now he assures them that he will not leave them as orphans. For a time, they will not see him, but he will return. His hour—his glorification—culminates in his return to the Father’s bosom, from whence he came (Jn 1:18).
Commandments and the Covenant of Love
The text begins with a conditional statement from Jesus: “If you loved me…” His words challenge us—our Christian communities and our families. Do we truly love him? We gather each Sunday at the Eucharist to celebrate the sacrament of his love, but do we truly love him? What are the signs of authentic love, the kind of love that mirrors his own? The Gospel tells us: it is keeping his commandments. But why does he speak of commandments, and which ones? The word “commandments” recalls the covenant at Sinai. God sealed his covenant with Israel through the blood of sacrifice, binding the people to his law and his Word. He would be their God, and they his people. This mutual belonging was realized through obedience to the Ten Commandments. When Jesus speaks of commandments, he refers to the New Covenant, sealed with his own blood. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. His commandment is love—true love, as he has loved us. It is oblative, sacrificial love. Like faith, this love is God’s gift to the disciples. He empowers us to respond with the same love. As St. Paul says, faith works through love (Gal 5:6). Faith allows us to see, to experience, and to respond to God’s invitation—not only with consent, but with action. Love is commitment, patience, and perseverance amid trials and sufferings.
The Spirit of Love and the Witness of the Saints
The Blessed Trinity works out our salvation in a mysterious way, beyond our understanding. The Son pleads with the Father to send the Holy Spirit—a companion, a comforter, the one who strengthens us in our struggles. Only then do we grow and mature. Christ prepares a dwelling for us by giving us the opportunity to do his work. His love, acting in us through the Spirit, enables us to accomplish His works. The Church, assisted by the Paraclete, becomes a sacrament of God’s love in the world. The “world” here represents those who have rejected Christ, choosing darkness and thus are unable to know God. Yet Jesus is the one sent by the Father to reveal him. To know Jesus is to know the Father, through the gift of the Paraclete, the Spirit of Love. Charles de Foucault embodied this love. He abandoned everything to live among the Tuareg in the desert, becoming a brother to all—the slaves, the persecuted—who found refuge in his humble home. His life was marked by Eucharistic adoration and love for the poor, total detachment, and trust in God’s will. He was murdered by bandits, never seeing the congregation he dreamed of founding. Only after his death did others follow his footsteps, giving life to the Little Brothers and Little Sisters of Jesus. Today they live in poverty among the poorest, doing God’s work in hidden places, unnoticed by the world, yet radiant with joy in the heart of God. Most of us are not called to such radical self-giving. Yet moments arise when Jesus’ challenge pierces us: “If you loved me…” In those moments, our free choice can lead us to maturity in his love, until we give everything. The Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, strengthens us as he did the first martyrs of the Church—Perpetua and Felicity, Agnes and Lawrence, and the new martyrs of Nigeria, Sudan, and the Middle East—who discovered courage, joy, and fortitude beyond imagining as they shed their blood for Christ.
What about us?
Jesus tells each of us, “If you loved me…” and we know what follows for each of us. I know what changes I need to make in my life to show greater fidelity to my love covenant with the Lord. Love is not just a feeling or a sentiment. Love is commitment. I feel challenged to move on, to grow, to allow the Paraclete to guide me, beyond my own vision. I just need to trust in Him and learn to obey to live in peace and total freedom. “How deep is your love!” sings the song. The more I respond to that abiding love, the more I experience its power in me and through me. Yes, as Jesus’ works are the works of the Father, my works can become Jesus’ own works. Fragile as I am, limited as I know myself to be, I can still give you all I have and am. Let your love shine through my littleness, in my poverty, so that your Grace and your power be manifest in me and through me. We are called to be the light of the world, the salt of the earth. Don’t be shy! Don’t allow false humility to stiffen God’s powerful love in you!
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