The validity and truth of Jesus’ words is proven in time and
situations; yet when it was first spoken or encountered it was
mysterious and hard for us to understand. That was because we were
coming from a totally different criterion. This mystery however is so
vast that we comprehend it only in bits and parts as we would say “on a
need to know basis” and relevant to a particular situation.
Jesus knew beforehand of his impending death. During the last days of
his life he found the need to prepare his disciples to accept that his
death so that the Holy Spirit can come to them and help them continue
the work that he had started. However, the Holy Spirit cannot be
understood in terms of reasoning alone but through the experiences of
people. It comes to resurrect in new life, perfected only in love like
Jesus’ presence among his disciples after his death.
Fr. Albert Nolan in his work “Jesus before Christianity” puts it: “Each
remembered Jesus in his or her own way or had been struck by a
particular aspect of what they had heard about him.”
As in St. Paul’s time, the world is full of religious syncretism. Yet
there is one truth about the God we believe in; it can only be revealed
through love. The Holy Spirit reveals to us what love is. Are we ready
to relinquish our own understanding and old ways of living in order to
accept the truth and act upon it?
