Gospel: John 16:23b-28
Truly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you. So far you have not asked for anything in my name; ask, and receive, that your joy may be full.I have taught you all these things in veiled language, but the time is coming when I shall no longer speak in veiled language, but will speak to you plainly about the Father.When that day comes, you will ask in my name; and it will not be necessary for me to ask the Father for you, for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me, and you believed that I came from the Father. As I came from the Father, and have come into the world, so I am leaving the world, and going to the Father.”
Reflections
“Ask, and receive, that your joy may be full.”Jesus admits he talks in a veiled language. This poses a big problem not only to his listeners around but also to his own disciples. He promises that it will be different in due time. Then they will understand everything. But in the passage, there is a different outcome. Whenever they pray to God, it will be granted them.When they will know more about the Father, they will no longer hesitate to ask from him. As of now, they are not asking anything from the Father, because he is a mystery to them. Jesus will make them understand the Father much later.Language is important in knowing more about the Father. In linguistics, language is a system of relations. It is a system of words put together to produce meaning. Words that are totally disjunctive to one another cannot produce meaning. They cannot lead to understanding and appreciation of what is communicated. For us Christians, it is important to know the language used in our liturgy and in the Bible. It is not always easy to know the meaning because figures of speech are being employed. Poetry is employed to tickle our feelings, not only our minds.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2019
