Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?
What a wonderful question this un-named man of the Gospel asks! He asks with such fervour, such frankness, such daring! No wonder Jesus loved him! Surely we also feel a certain instinctive attraction towards him. He puts his question not just for himself, but on behalf of all of us; on behalf of humanity as a whole.
Jeremiah 20:10-13 Romans 5:12-15 Matthew 10:26-33
There's not much Good News in today's Gospel, if we are honest with ourselves. True, I can pick out one or two highlights, focus on them and ignore the rest. It is nice to think that every hair on my head has been counted, for example, that I am valued by God.
But then one can do the opposite and quickly discover that pieces of “Bad News” significantly outnumber the highlights here. Jesus seems to ask of his disciples things that are either extremely uncomfortable or downright terrifying. And the command “do not be afraid” rings out like a refrain throughout.
Deuteronomy 8:2-3,14-16; John 6:51-58
Today’s magnificent Collect, or opening Prayer of the Mass, was written by St. Thomas Aquinas. At least; like almost all the non-scriptural parts of today’s liturgy - hymns, Antiphons, Sequence and the rest - it’s ascribed to St. Thomas. But as with the case of William Shakespeare, there are always theorists about who speculate it could have been by someone else. This Collect is anyway a work of genius: concise and clear; simple, yet profound; euphonious and strong. Of course it was written in Latin, as part of an exclusively Latin language liturgy. But even in translation it remains powerful.
God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
However many times we hear this text repeated, it retains its power to astonish us, to humble, thrill, amaze, move, inspire; to bring us to our knees in worship and thanksgiving, or to lift us up in joyful wonder. John 3:16 is a good text for the Feast of the Holy Trinity, because today especially we step back, as it were, simply to praise God: for what he is, and for what he has done; to contemplate his greatness and glory, and to ponder our eternal destiny with him.
Acts 6:1-7 1 Peter 2:4-9 John 14:1-12
I spent a good part of the past two years at Prinknash Abbey near Gloucester in England. They are a small community now, living in a quirky old building with a very interesting architecture and a very complicated history. In it there is a hall, which also serves as a chapter room and forms part of the library. On one of the bookshelves, in a prominent place, someone put a large-format picture book, cover up. The cover is shiny but very dark. It's a painting of a nun in a black habit with a black veil on her head. Only two things shine out brightly: the nun's face and the word “trust” written in large letters directly beneath it.
Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? (14:9)
Philip has been living in constant companionship with Jesus now for three years. Philip knows that Jesus is deeply, consistently good; that he walks with God in holiness of life; that he possesses power, and wisdom, and authority, such as no other man has ever done. Philip has listened to Jesus teaching, both publicly and privately. He has witnessed his miracles, seen him at prayer, observed his clashes with the Jewish religious leaders. Based on all that, Philip has no doubt whatever that Jesus is from God. With Peter and the other disciples, Philip has concluded that Jesus fulfils in himself all the prophecies of Israel: that he is indeed the promised Messiah. But still, Philip does not yet know Jesus.
Many times in the Old Testament God’s people are spoken of as sheep, led by a shepherd. The image would be a very natural one in the Ancient Near East, where wandering flocks led by a shepherd were everywhere a familiar sight. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were all shepherds. Moses and Joshua are portrayed as shepherds guiding Israel to freedom, and to the promised land (cf. Nb 27:17). David was taken from shepherding sheep to become the Kingly shepherd of Israel (cf. 2 Sm 5:2). We find this same image several times in the Psalms, and in the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Zechariah.
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