Readings
Acts 14:5-18
John 14:21-26
Reflection
One of the daily routines of seminary days was the night prayer, and one of the hymns I soon grew to like, and then to love, from the night prayer was ‘Abide with Me.’ Not simply because of its soothing tone, but because of the depth of its words and their meaning. “Abide” is a beautiful word. It means more than visiting, more than remembering, more than praying when we are in trouble. To abide is to make a home. It is to stay, to dwell, to let love become the atmosphere in which we live.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus says, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” That is an extraordinary promise. God does not simply give advice from a distance. God comes to make a home within us.
St Teresa of Ávila once said she would like to close down both heaven and hell, so that people would do good not out of greed for reward or fear of punishment, but simply because goodness is beautiful, and because God is worthy of love. That is abiding in God: loving without bargaining, serving without calculating, forgiving without keeping score.
Sometimes our faith can become a transaction: “God, I did this, so please do that.” But Jesus invites us deeper. He asks us to love him, keep his word, and trust that the Spirit will teach us everything we need, little by little.
The Holy Spirit does not merely remind us of religious ideas. The Spirit reminds us who we are: people in whom God has chosen to dwell.
So today, let us ask ourselves: Do I merely visit God occasionally, or am I learning to live in God?
Because the Christian life is not about earning God’s love. It is about making room for the God who has already made a home in us.
Giltus Mathias CP – a Passionist.