Reading
John 16:12-15
12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”
Comment
In the Old Testament, God is Israel's shepherd and guide. Jesus proclaims himself the good shepherd (Jn 10:14-16); now the Spirit takes the lead of the disciples. Jesus and the Spirit take the place of Moses and the law, and lead the new Israel of the redeemed - Jews and Gentiles - "to springs of living water" (Rev 7:17).
The "what is yet to come" (v. 13) announced by the Spirit are the mysteries referred to the final era. The Comforter leads the community to understand that all is the fulfillment of what has been promised in the Scriptures.
The Spirit relates all that he hears from Christ, the "whole truth", and it is he who glorifies, as a subject contained in the Scriptures. Through "prophecy" - understood as the ability to interpret the signs of the times - and the extraordinary works that will accompany the proclamation of the Gospel, the Spirit will glorify Christ on earth as he is glorified by the Father in heaven.
The truth that the Spirit reveals to us is truly great, it exceeds our reach ("more than you can now bear"; v. 12), and it transcends us like a horizon that withdraws at the same time it becomes present. Truth is thus a journey, "way", "life", an intimate and experiential process; not static appropriation of intellectual notions, but familiarity with Christ, which takes us outside of ourselves to find that fullness of being that the Father has placed in the hands of the Son and which we can possess only outside the limited confines of our ego.
Prayer
Make us docile, o Lord, under the guidance of your Spirit, so that we may walk in holiness and justice, glorifying your name before men. Amen.
- Rev. Dr. Luca Vona
