(Jn 14:15-16, 23-26)

Those who fall in love unleash a new energy: never again will they be orphans

(Jn 14:15-21)

Jesus replaces the commandments of legalistic religion with His own commandments (His own Person and His own values). One cannot love someone who is accustomed to keeping score.

The different expressions of love are infinitely more important than a code of laws - that of Moses - and the proliferation of rules typical of tradition, if it makes us nervous and dissatisfied (even if well-established).

The complacent person tends to drag himself along according to interpretations and ways of behaving that deviate from his own deepest being.

Attached to worn-out and obsolete rules, we continue to give old answers to new problems, refusing to accept emancipation and the joy of discovery. The same is true of innovations that bring us closer, of new ways of thinking that allow us to grasp God as alive, always present, and therefore capable, through his incessant action, of giving us a face that humanises us.

When they become excessively entrenched, deviant customs close us off to the impulses of the Spirit of Truth, and precisely in the name of God. In this way, they corrupt and supplant the purity of the Source and, in a cascade effect, the innate fragrance of our particular essences.

Instead, the Paraclete within us defends us from external hostilities and also from the inner powers that do evil: e.g., fears of responding to the authentic Call, cravings for power and appearance, which drag us away from life.

Attempts to enrich ourselves, yes, but seeking the most varied reciprocity of qualities and accentuating the same resources in our neighbour.

God reveals himself in a personal face, therefore the Spirit is the Defender who allows us to make mistakes.

He extinguishes the panic of unexpected beginnings, gives us a glimpse of the magic that protects us, and helps us to overcome the ambush of perfectionism, which always risks striking even the beginnings of our vocational endeavours.

The innate Friend frees us from our persona, our armour, our anxiety to perform, our desire not to disappoint the opinions and expectations of those around us. 

He brings us back down to earth and forces us to look inside ourselves. By losing ourselves and wandering, we will find our centre in him.

Our Ally helps us understand the meaning of bad moments—those that seem like a pile of misfortunes—the embarrassing moments, the failures, the times when (e.g., due to a series of bereavements and persecutions) it seems that we are attracting negativity like a magnet.

In critical situations, we are guided to detach ourselves from the exterior, which ends up drying us up and causing us to lose sight of our own Core, our hidden Spirit.

When the reality around us becomes precarious, our inner core is forced to find the right distance from external things.

If reality forces us to sweep everything away, we are put in a position where we have to seek and open up new paths: unexpected ideas, energies and initiatives will emerge.

Sometimes it will be chaos itself that solves the real problems, generated more by our habitual lifestyle (or point of view) than by reality.

Confusion perhaps arises too often, but it allows us to finally question our real interests, what we are not giving space to. For example, what aspects, inclinations, activities and relationships would deeply correspond to us and make us all feel good?

So instead of living distracted and carried along by dynamics that do not belong to us, we would learn to live intensely in the present. We would learn to welcome and read what the tide of life brings in terms of novelty, every day and from time to time.

By loosening our controls, judgements, project-driven anxieties, dirigisme and voluntarism, we would let the Gift become the Deposit, the real fact suggest the path, and take the lead in our experiences.

By giving in, step by step, we would learn to let ourselves be flooded: and it would be what invades us that would make us flourish again, through processes that elaborate the unthinkable.

If, by chance, we have muted our passions so as not to appear weak, or made artificial choices to favour consensus around us - and self-control... If we have not yet learned to be direct, the Paraclete will help bring out the free part, the part where our mission lies - instead of a showcase career (even an ecclesiastical one).

The more we are human in the harmony of the Love we have received, which is transformed into friendship communicated to ourselves and others, the more we will allow the divine Gold to emerge in us and in the harmonies that bring us back to the home that is truly ours.

By living our emotions with less interventionism, we would work with passion, expressing ourselves in our vocation and not as others expect us to; perhaps we would do things in a way that is completely contrary to expectations and intentions... 

But by breaking the monotony, we would allow opposing polarities to coexist, and the Heart would become increasingly friendly to our destiny.

In biblical terms, Spirit (Ruah) does not designate an ineffable entity, but a real one: it is a powerful breath, capable of blowing away everything that wants to remain fixed and installed.

God is Spirit not because he is invisible and unreachable, but because his action expresses an overwhelming, uncontainable, impetuous force. It is our dream to participate in this Wind with its unpredictable effects.

The Spirit moves and gives the impetus to set things in motion: the source of life, the instrument of God's work in history.

Religious law can also point in the right direction, but it does not give conviction, it does not make us understand the absurdity of love and its incredible fruitfulness, nor does it transmit to us the energy that leads us to our destination.

For this reason, Jesus is not a model, but a motive and a driving force: he did not just teach us a way, but he still communicates to us his impetus to achieve the goal of life.

His Spirit is called Paraclete ("called alongside", a term borrowed from legal language): a sort of lawyer who stood beside the defendant in court to exonerate him - in perfect silence.

It is the Spirit of Christ that renders evil powerless and accusations against us futile. In the face of difficulties, we can move forward without letting our arms fall.

The Spirit of the Lord is also at the service of Truth (theological): the Faithfulness of divine Love.

In short: while the Church offers new answers to new questions, it is the Spirit of Truth that ensures that the Gospel is not corrupted, but rather introduces disciples to the fullness of life and the unexpected richness and radicality of its own Call.

We will never say anything new, nor the opposite: by remaining open to its impulses, we will grasp to the full the Mystery that envelops the meaning of our life in Christ.

Dwelling and reciprocity, interpretation and roots

Generating from below

(Jn 14:21-26)

The Father's love unites us to Christ through a call that manifests itself wave upon wave. And on this path, the Son himself reveals himself, thanks also to authentic community life.

The Gospel passage reflects the question-and-answer catechesis typical of the Johannine communities in Asia Minor, committed to questioning themselves: this time the theme of misunderstanding is introduced by Judas, not Iscariot.

The Jews too had been waiting for an eloquent public statement in order to believe in the divine nature of Jesus of Nazareth. Perhaps such a humble manifestation could only generate scepticism.

Why does He remain hidden, and why do even His closest friends not react more strongly? Wouldn't an open and sensational twist be more appropriate?

And why live through difficulties from within? Then, why were relationships considered 'important' viewed with growing aversion, as alien and irritating?

Well, the vulnerable messianism of Christ—apparently defensive, evasive—is not the kind that dispels doubts.

He remained unadorned. In this way, he did not lose his naturalness, as if he had perceived the danger of high-sounding aberrations, all external.

The authentic Messiah protected his identity, his human, spiritual and missionary character. In this way, he avoided all the excessive glorious titles expected in the theological culture of ancient Israel.

The life of faith in us also continues invisibly: not surrounded by external miracles and strong sensations... rather, innervated by convictions (recognised in ourselves).

In this time of a new relationship with God and our brothers and sisters, the ancient concept of the Anointed One of the Lord who observes and imposes the Law of the chosen people (with force) on all nations has no relevance.

In any condition and latitude, God is always present and at work, starting from the core, to help us rediscover the breath of being.

The Father, the Son and believers form, in mutual knowledge, a wide circle of love, reciprocity and obedience, through free responses that are neither stereotypical nor paralysing.

Do not get bogged down in details and case studies, but focus on fundamental choices.

"My commandments" [v. 21: subjective genitive] is a theological expression that designates the very Person of the Risen One in action.

"Person" unfolded in human history thanks to his mystical Body: the diverse People of God, whose multifaceted nature is an added value (not a limitation or contamination of purity).

Of course, Love is the only reality that cannot be 'commanded'.

But Jesus designates and advocates it as such to emphasise the detachment from the Sinai Covenant, which it summarises but replaces.

The plural form 'commandments' recognises the range of various forms of exchangeability and personalisation of love.

No orientation, doctrine or code can ever surpass it, or vice versa, render it muddled.In the Gospels, love is not spoken of in terms of feeling [of emotion subject to fluctuations, or regulated on the basis of the perfections of the beloved] but as real action, a gesture that makes the other feel free and adequate.

The People of God reflect Christ to the extent that they develop their destiny by living totally of gift, response, exchange and superabundance in Gratuitousness.

All this in a way that is increasingly new for each person, for every micro or macro-relational situation; age, characteristics, type of defects, or prevailing cultural paradigm.

In short, the Lord does not want us to exalt ourselves by detaching ourselves from the earth and from our brothers and sisters: the honour due to the Father is that which we give to his children.

Therefore, there is no need to lift ourselves up through ascetic observance ['ascending' as in going up to the next floor: the lift only goes down].

It is He who reveals Himself, offering Himself to us: this is His joy.

He comes down from 'heaven'.

He manifests himself in us and in the folds of history, revealing his desire to merge with our lives (v. 21) in order to increase them, complete them and enhance their capacities (in qualitative terms).

The Apostles, conditioned by conventional religious thinking - all about appearances - wonder about Jesus' attitude, which is modest and not inclined to spectacle (v. 22).

They do not accept a Messiah who does not impose himself on everyone, who does not amaze the world, who does not shout proclamations like a madman.

The Master prefers that we recognise in his Word an active correspondence with the desire for integral life that we carry within us (vv. 23-24).

This Logos-event must be taken up into our being as a Call distinct from the commonplaces of widespread, conformist, and alien thinking.

In fact, this Appeal contains a sympathy, an understanding, an arrow, an efficient and creative vigour, which becomes Fire and the solidity of a personal Presence, starting from within - at once faint and resounding.

In ancient forensic culture, 'Paraclitus' (v. 26) was the name given to the eminent figure in the assembly - today we would call him a sort of lawyer - who stood silently beside the defendant to justify him.

[The latter may have been guilty, but deserving of forgiveness; however, he needed a sort of public guarantor to vouch for him. Or he may have been innocent, but unable or incapable of finding witnesses in his favour to exonerate him...]

This attribute of the Spirit alludes to an intensity, an intimate foundation and reciprocity of silent Relationship that becomes Person, and knows where to go; that leads the heart, the character, life itself, not to the pillory, but to the full flowering of ourselves.

Thanks to His support, we are not enchanted by high-sounding roles, strong words, formulas, impressions, or tumultuous feelings: we enter into the demanding, fulfilled depth of Love.

We broaden our field. We welcome a different guiding image, one that presses and takes us by surprise, but subtly; it does not reproach or scold us.

It is an experience that takes place without earthquakes, thunder and lightning - partial - but through the action of the Spirit who internalises, accompanies, nourishes, and makes the interpretation of the Word up-to-date and alive (v. 26).

The message of the Gospels has a generative root that cannot be reduced to a unilateral and cumbersome experience, all codified and moralistic but empty as in sectarian situations, always in struggle with themselves and the world. 

Venturing into their own Exodus, each person discovers hidden resources and a broadening of perspectives that expand and complete their being, broadening the experience of the vocational character that corresponds to them.

Between life on the move and the Word of God - the golden rule that gives self-esteem - an unpredictable, versatile, eclectic, non-one-sided understanding is ignited, which transcends identity chains.

In its scope, the Call remains the same, but over time it expands awareness of its facets, integrating them.

Rich and not yet ratified forms of expression, Creator and creature do not express themselves authentically in a fixed, sanctioned way, with reference to a code of doctrine and discipline, but in the excessive freedom of life.

Even today, with new needs and questions overwhelming us, there is an appropriate abundance of new answers - finally also from the Magisterium.

Plausible in the adventure of Faith, but which would drive any religion mad.

To internalise and live the message:

Do you recognise the work of the Spirit or do you reject it as a nuisance? What strikes you about the new Magisterium?

Do you find this approach in the Proclamation, in Catechesis, in Animation, in Pastoral Care and in your own journey?