Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to John 16, 23b-28
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.
Until now you have not asked anything in my name;
ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.
“I have told you this in figures of speech.
The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures
but I will tell you clearly about the Father.
On that day you will ask in my name,
and I do not tell you that I will ask the Father for you.
For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me
and have come to believe that I came from God.
I came from the Father and have come into the world.
Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”
Going back to the Father
1. Ask and you will receive. When Jesus tells us to ask, he isn’t turning God into a “genie in a lamp”, nor is he suggesting you’re the boss and God is a virtual assistant like Alexa, waiting to fulfill your every command. What Jesus really means is that God helps you shift your perspective. You learn to see things through a new lens, which allows you to find something meaningful and constructive in everything you go through. Often, the circumstances themselves don’t change, but your way of considering and handling them does—and that changes your entire outlook on life.
2. He loves you. How interesting it is to see Jesus as a mediator! True mediators play their part and then step back to let the connection happen. That’s a lesson we all need to learn; often, when we take on a role, we find it hard to let go and want everything to revolve around us. When we put ourselves at the center of everything, we end up feeling constantly tempted or complaining that things aren’t going our way.
3. Joy. True joy is the happiness that comes from freedom. Being free makes you happy, especially when you understand the weight of what that freedom implies. There are things you have to let go of to be truly happy, mainly the things that distract you from “the big picture,” from eternity, from heaven. These are the things that stifle your freedom, weigh down your soul, and keep you from being your authentic self. Having joy means having the strength to say, “I’m giving this up” or “I’m surrendering this,” because it’s just not good for me. Ask God for that kind of real, lasting joy.
Always remember something good is on the way.
God bless you and guard you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
