(Audio)
Master, then what happened that you will reveal yourself to us
and not to the world?
Jesus does want the whole world to know him, whether Jew or Greek, slave or free, woman or man.
We proclaim to you good news
that you should turn from these idols to the living God,
who made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them.
Yet people are much more ready to turn toward lesser things.
"The gods have come down to us in human form."
They called Barnabas "Zeus" and Paul "Hermes,"
When we receive good things we tend make much of those from whom we receive them. It is right to be thankful. But it is not good to forget that ultimately every good and perfect gift is from above (see James 1:17). Ultimately everything God gives, through whomever he gives it, is meant to bear him witness.
In past generations he allowed all Gentiles to go their own ways;
yet, in bestowing his goodness,
he did not leave himself without witness,
for he gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons,
and filled you with nourishment and gladness for your hearts.
Given, then, that God never ceases to offer witness to himself, given too that all whom the Father gives Jesus come to him, why does it then seem that God has revealed himself only to a few and not to the world at large? This is the mystery of free will. We who love God do not love him apart from his grace which allows us to do so. We rely on it utterly. Yet our free will is not destroyed.
Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.
Jesus and his Father invite us to love them. They actually supply the grace and the love whereby we can love them. They give us the grace to choose to love them. But they will not force us. We can choose to ignore them. This is the great peril we all face. We must not refuse so gracious, so generous, so merciful an offer of salvation.
See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven (see Hebrews 12:25).
We should be clear that it is not a mystery to be solved or a program of right behavior first and foremost. It is rather an invitation to relationship. The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit want to live in us. They want to be known by us precisely so that we can love them and they can love us more fully.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit
whom the Father will send in my name
he will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you.
The Holy Spirit transforms us spiritually into what the world is naturally, that is, unceasing witnesses to Christ.
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