Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you

"If you love Me, keep My commandments.  And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever -- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.  

"I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.  A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me.  Because I live, you will live also.  At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.  He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.  And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him."  Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.  He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.

"These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.  Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.  You have heard Me say to you, 'I am going away and coming back to you.'  If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, 'I am going to the Father,' for My Father is greater than I.  And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe.  I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.  But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do.  Arise, let us go from here."

- John 14:15-31

In yesterday's reading, Jesus began His Farewell Discourse to the Apostles, just after He warned Simon Peter that he would deny Jesus three times before the rooster crowed.   Jesus told the Apostles:  "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.  And where I go you know, and the way you know."  Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"  Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."  Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."  Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?  He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?  Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?  The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.  Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.  Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do because I go to My Father.  And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."

"If you love Me, keep My commandments.  And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever -- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you."  My study bible tells us that "this is the first of three passages in the Farewell Discourse (chs. 14-16) which deals with the ministry of the Holy Spirit.  The Apostles did not fully understand the teachings and works of Christ prior to their reception of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. . . . Jesus calls us to know the Spirit of truth who is in us and helps us pray.  Thus prayer in Jesus' name relates to all three Persons of the Holy Trinity.  Jesus gives assurance that such prayer is answered for those who are united with Him."  This note refers also to parts of the discourse we read in yesterday's reading (see above).

"I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.  A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me.  Because I live, you will live also.  At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.  He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.  And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him."   Although He is going away, He will not leave them alone.  "A little while longer" refers to the "brief separation of Jesus from the disciples, due to His arrest and Crucifixion," says my study bible.  It will "lead to a deeper mystical union after the Resurrection and the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost."   It adds, "At that day refers to the Resurrection of Jesus followed by the Ascension and the giving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, all of which, working together, make the fullness of divine life available to all believers."  Jesus speaks of commandments, which we receive through the Gospels -- but there is also an understanding that His commandments are in real time, through the presence of the Helper, through His Spirit of truth that will be ever-present with them, and with us.  My study bible says, "Love for Christ is shown through obedience to Him.  Jesus tells us that if we have His commandments and keep them, He will manifest Himself (reveal, make Himself real) to us."  This is the promise of a gift greater than any other that is possible.

Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.  He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me."  Here Christ's Farewell Discourse leads us into the greatest power of God, which is the power of love.  John is the disciple who will also write to us that "God is love."  But Jesus elaborates here on the great union possible to Him and to the Father, who will come and dwell in us.  Our love for Christ is intimately connected to our response to His words and teachings; in turn He establishes into permanent understanding that the word from Him is the word from the Father who sent Him. 

"These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."   My study bible says that "we have confidence in the Apostles' doctrine because the Holy Spirit is their Teacher and brings Christ's words to their remembrance."

"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you."  My study bible notes here, "Peace was the customary Jewish word of both greeting and farewell.  Perfect peace is brought by the Messiah, who carries out the work of salvation and reconciles humanity with God.  Together with 'grace,' peace is part of the traditional greeting of Christians to each other."  His is an assurance of His steadfast love; in this we find our peace, as the world cannot give -- it is a gift of grace.

"Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.  You have heard Me say to you, 'I am going away and coming back to you.'  If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, 'I am going to the Father,' for My Father is greater than I.  And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe.  I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.  But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do.  Arise, let us go from here."  Christ goes to the Father, but in return He will give us the Spirit, making complete the indwelling of the Trinity, and all that will come to pass that we celebrate at Easter.  The disciples cannot understand Him now, but His words teach about what is to come, and the Spirit, as promised here, will bring them understanding, and He will be with them again in His risen presence to them.  My study bible says that "the ruler of this world, the devil, dominates the realm of those who do not love Christ or keep His commandments.  Jesus said the devil has nothing in Me because there can be no compromise between Christ -- or us -- and the devil.  Jesus becomes man, but was never stained with the sin of men, nor was He under the authority of the devil."  At all times, Jesus has referred His identity as Son to that of the Father.  Here He has taught that He goes to the Father, from whom all commandments have come, and under whose obedience Jesus has led His ministry and mission into the world.

There are many promises in today's reading.  The greatest of these is the promise of the Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit, whom my translation of the Gospels refers to as "Helper" here.  And this promise is greater than we can imagine, greater even than the promise of the Spirit (if we can imagine such a thing) because what Jesus really promises is the indwelling of all three Persons of the Trinity:  Father, Son and Spirit.  They are inseparable.  The Divine, through Jesus, invites us into the fullness of spiritual life, an indwelling of love in which we are invited to participate through our love.  Christ has said if we love Him we must keep His commandments, thus creating a bond that "the ruler of this world" cannot break.  His commandments live for us through Scripture and they live for us through the Helper that is with us.  This gift of grace is not something we earn:  we're not God's equal, so how can we possibly "earn" the gift of God?  The gift is given from love and we cement our bond through our love.  This is His promise.  His peace is there in that promise for us.  This is the truly infinite gift that surpasses all understanding and expectation, and is given "not as the world gives."  It simply continues to give. Jesus goes to His death so that we may receive of this fullness beyond measure.