(Jn 15:26-16:4a)
Faith in the Master is already eternal life, or rather Life of the Eternal (in action here and now).
He himself is Bread of authentic and indestructible existence, though still earthly.
In short, the intimate life of God reaches us in our time.
First step is the adventure of Faith that gives a Vision; irruption of the Spirit that gives rebirth from above.
Impulse that animates a different - not empty - existence.
The sign of such adherence is believing Jesus as Son: man manifesting the divine condition.
Christ is Bread of life also because His Word is creative, and the path of following Him transmits to us the qualities of indestructible Life.
The outpouring of the Spirit stirs in us the same beating Heart of the Eternal.
We experience this in the deaths and resurrections of daily life and in the long rigmarole of the Vocation, reaffirmed from path to path.
Even in persecution, he who 'sees' the Son has the Life of the Eternal within him.
Life that regenerates and always arranges new births, other premises and questions, different paths, in an uninterrupted; growing form.
The passion for the Friend unites us to Him, Bread: that is, the Revealer of the Truth that satiates men on their journey towards themselves and the world.
Souls that sometimes change skin, opinions, lifestyles.
In the Vision, we are empowered to directly appropriate, thereby drawing in and realising the Newness of God - even in advance, wisely.
Through Him 'we have a part'... in the Father's love for the Son who manifests Himself as personal Lord, as well as in the outgoing dilated life of the authentic Church.
The 'hidden' God of the First Testament, an obstacle that seemed insurmountable, now presents itself in the specifics of Faith, without the need for fatuous fires to support it.
Because the world of God in the soul is different.
One does not enter the Mystery with normal intentions and perfect expectations, let alone success and recognition.
Here (in the Gospel passage) the apostles' incomprehension comes into play.
Indeed, even to us, Jesus' manner of manifestation often seems undecipherable.
Even the Jews [actually: the returning Judaizers in the communities of the late 1st century] were waiting to grasp it in an overt way, perhaps on an occasion of public life.
Instead, even in times of 'glorification', the Master seems to want to trace the outwardly humble inappearance of his earthly ministry.
Many expected sensational fireworks at that time that they considered 'final'. Instead, no yielding to power ideology or religion-show.
So things did not go as expected: doubts were not dispelled; ambiguities, neither.
The titles of Israel's former nationalist and imperial glory did not reappear at all, quite the contrary!
Even today, the choice of Faith is not given to the apparatuses that would guarantee its visibility: no parachutes, no discounts.
Everything then seems to proceed as before, in the summary: to toil for a living and buy, to travel and not, to laugh and cry, to get sick and get well, to work and party... and so on.
Often in seemingly senseless pain; perhaps no decisive breakthroughs.
But in the same old things there is a different Light, planted on a new, immediate Relationship of needy humanity with the Father who regenerates us.
He stimulates new births, to reconnect desires, deep needs, external paths; to increase the intensity of life.
And it is in the mutual knowledge of the roots and grooves of reality that this circle of love between God and his children exists in the first place.
All that has not yet been understood will be called forth by the action of the Spirit. Only reliable impetus, not pointing to vain things.
A bond between man and Heaven, in us - not above.
Friendship that does not primarily contemplate resignation, effort, humiliation; rather, it is reworked in deepening.
This is where the true scope of our hearts - so limited, yet endowed with a mysterious imprint - for the complete, and personal, life of character comes into play.
In order to avoid intimidation, marginalisation, annoyance, some church members advocated a kind of covenant between Jesus and the Empire.
They proclaimed a Christ so vague and uninvolved that he would not scratch anyone.
Some ambitious people, who were the zealots of 'life in the spirit', felt that the time had come to shake off the earthly story of the carpenter's son.
Figure that was considered weak in itself, short-term, out of place and time; already extinguished.
Jn intends to rebalance the attempt at proclamation, diluted in compromises.
The evangelist emphasises that the Risen One is the cipher and engine that bears the soul and generates us in today.
It was the same Son of God who endured a harsh denunciation and several battles with the authorities.
To the opportunists of his time, the Master had dared to touch positions, vanity, and the bag of commerce.Thus persecuted, tried, vilified, condemned as subversive, and cursed by God.
In short, the Holy Spirit does not go after butterflies.
Action of the Spirit [which internalises and actualises] and historical memory of Jesus must always be combined.
Only in such a frank perspective is it possible to grasp the Truth of the Eternal, and the Truth of Man, in all times and circumstances.
In addition: the Father is the Creator of each of our deepest inclinations, to which he affixes an indelible signature.
It manifests itself in an innate instinct, which wants to germinate, find space, express itself.
We have rooted within us a unique, invincible Vocation and (plural) faces; each one.
We cannot deny ourselves, our Roots - even where an open-faced testimony would be unappealing.
The Truth about each 'Person' is consequential.
By Grace, we are depositaries of an astounding dignity.
Even in error, or what is considered error, it imparts exceptional Desires.
Truth that still restores Dreams: an unseen hope, which activates enthralling passions.
In vain would we have peace and happiness by seeking cultural and social concord, or by playing roles, characters, tasks that do not belong to us - albeit appeasing.
We become outsiders.
Truth: Faithfulness to God in Christ. And frankness in every choice, with our character in relation and situation.
The rest is calculation - deep disturbance, which will leave us disassociated and sick inside.
To internalise and live the message:
Do you take a stand and face the consequences? When your vocational character is at stake, do you stand up and put your face to it or do you blend in?
Are you being vague, do you value reciprocation and seek tribute or protection from satisfactory synagogues? Or do you wish to unite your life with Christ?
