St. Pope John Paul’s II: JESUS, SON AND REVEALER OF THE FATHER

T he starting point for our reflection are the words of the Gospel which show us Jesus as the Son and Revealer of the Father. His teaching, his ministry, his very style of life, everything in him refers to the Father (cf. In 5:19, 36; 8:28; 14:10, 17:6). The Father is the center of Jesus’ life, and Jesus in turn is the only way which gives us access to Him.

“No one comes to the Father, but by me” (Jn 14:6). Jesus is the meeting-point of human beings with the Father, who is made visible in him: “He who has seen me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’. Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me?” (Jn 14:9-10).

The most expressive manifestation of Jesus’ relationship with the Father is his condition after the Resurrection, the summit of His mission and the foundation of new and eternal life for those who believe in him. But the union between the Son and the Father, like that between the Son and believers, comes through the mystery of the “lifting up” of Jesus, according to a characteristic expression of John’s Gospel. With the term “lifting up,” the Evangelist indicates both the crucifixion and the glorification of Christ: both are reflected on the believer: “So must the Son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:14-16).

This “eternal life” is no less than the participation of believers in the very life of the risen Jesus and consists in their insertion into the movement of love uniting the Father and the Son, who are one (cf. Jn 10:30. 17:22-22).

The deep communion in which the Father, the Son and believers meet includes the Holy Spirit, for He is the eternal bond that unites the Father and the Son and involves human beings in this inevitable mystery of love. Given to them as the “Consoler,” the Spirit ‘dwells‘ in the disciples of Christ (Jn 14:16-17), making the Trinity present.

According to the Evangelist John, Jesus says to his disciples, precisely when he is promising to send the Paraclete: In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me. and I in you” (Jn 14:20).

It is the Holy Spirit who introduces man into the mystery of the Trinitarian life. “The Spirit of truth” (Jn 15:26; 16:13), He acts deep within believers. making the Truth that is Christ shine in their minds.

St. Paul also stresses our orientation to the Father through the Spirit of Christ who dwells in us. For the Apostle this is a true sonship, which enables us to call God the Father by the same familiar name that Jesus used: Abba (ct. Rom 8:15).

O.R. 12/23-30/98 John Paul II