THE TEXT BELOW IS THE TRANSCRIPTION OF THE VIDEO COMMENTARY BY FR. FERNANDO ARMELLINI

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A good Sunday to all. 

Throughout human history, most people have believed in a God who provides the reason for the universe’s existence. They have used different names and imagined it in various ways. For some, it is not even a person but an absolute of which we are also a part. This universe is already ‘god in itself’—a form of pantheism. 

It is clear that if this is the image of God you envision, you neither engage in dialogue nor pray to such a God. Many see God as a person, but one who doesn’t care about us. Think of the Greek or pagan gods… they were not involved in loving relationships with humans; they were often jealous of people’s happiness. Life belonged to them, and people served the gods by offering sacrifices. Some have imagined him as a warlike, vengeful God, a friend to one nation and an enemy to another. Therefore, all ancient wars weren’t just conflicts between two peoples but conflicts in which each side believed their own God fought against the enemy’s God. Simply believing in ‘one God’ isn’t enough. 

The key is to understand which God you believe in and what image of God you hold. Is He a father interested in our lives, or is He a ‘boss’ with subordinates to serve Him? Islam teaches that God is the Creator who dwells above, far from people. God is great, and humans, before Him, are mere dust and ashes. They created ‘sharia,’ and then they judge each person’s life with rewards and punishments. The Hebrews, however, believe that God is not distant; He walks with His people. He cannot be far from them. When Israel is taken into captivity by Babylon, the prophet Ezekiel sees the Ark of the Covenant leave the temple, cross the Mount of Olives, and head east because His people are there. The God of Israel is unlike the Muslim God, a distant deity. No, He is a God who dwells with His people. 

And for us Christians, what is the image of the Christian God? Today, we celebrate a specific aspect of our faith. We believe in a Trinitarian God. But let’s pay attention to the use of this term, which is not biblical. It is a commendable effort to formulate, according to our philosophical criteria, a truth that is present in Scripture in a rational way, but you must be careful when you use this term. It is not biblical. 

The Bible does not analyze God but recounts what God does. Some passages describe God’s intimate life as a communion of love. They speak of the ‘Father’ as the source of everything; the Father who is recognized in his perfect image, which is love and only love. We know him because he has made himself visible, becoming one of us, and we have seen the incarnation of this love. Then the Bible speaks of the Spirit, which is the life of this God, who is made of love; that is, all love and only love. We are interested in this intimate life of God because, in his plan, he has destined us from eternity to be brought into this life of his love. 

It is our destiny of infinite joy, as narrated in the letter to the Ephesians, in a beautiful hymn sung in the first century by our brothers and sisters of the faith in the communities of Asia Minor, and we know it well: “Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has chosen us from before the creation of the world to be wrapped in his love, and he has predestined us to be his adopted children.” Only from this perspective, only if this is our destiny, will our life make sense. 

Speaking with Nicodemus, Jesus said it was necessary to “be born from on high.” Nicodemus did not understand this; he misinterpreted the phrase ‘from on high’ as ‘born again.’ He didn’t understand why Jesus said ‘be born again,’ but Jesus had actually said ‘born from on high.’ Nicodemus believed it wouldn’t be possible, and even if it were, it would be useless because it would be a rebirth into the state called ‘flesh’ in the Bible—meaning a fragile life destined for death, since it still belongs to this world. 

Then, even with rebirth, we would continue the destiny of all life on Earth: microorganisms, plants, animals, and humans. The Qohelet was right to say that ‘the fate of people is the same as that of other living beings.’ Everyone dies because this biological life belongs to the reality of this world. Qohelet says: ‘The vital breath is one, equal for all, for plants, for animals, and for people.’ 

The message that defines the Christian faith is that we have received a gift—life that does not belong to this world; it is the life of the Eternal. This is the message given to us. And the message we take from this celebration of the Trinity determines the meaning of our existence. We are not bound to biological death as everything else is. It happens, but it is not our destiny because we have received the Spirit of God, which is His very life. Our destiny is to be welcomed into the life of the Eternal, in the love of the Trinity. 

The text we will listen to and explain shortly comes from Jesus’ discourse at the Last Supper. During this meal, Jesus mentioned the gift of the Spirit five times and affirmed that the Spirit will carry out the Father’s plan to completion. In today’s text, we will hear the fifth promise to send the Spirit, which Jesus made during the Last Supper. Let’s listen: At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: 

I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. When he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears and will declare to you the things that are coming. 

We know that the Gospel of John is not easy because it contains no parables and instead presents very deep theological concepts. The passage we just heard must be understood thoroughly. We do not want to lose the spiritual richness of this text. Jesus says he has many things to tell the disciples, but they are not able to bear their weight. “I have many things left to tell you ….” 

The immediate reading of these words suggests that his three years of public life were insufficient to share everything he had to say about the truth, about God, and about people. However, Jesus does not say he lacks time; instead, he indicates that the disciples are unable to bear the burden of the truth he wants to reveal. He doesn’t do this because the disciples cannot understand now. He can’t make the disciples understand that truth; he cannot explain it to them because they are not capable of understanding. 

It is about the gift of life he is about to give. The death of Jesus, condemned as heretical and blasphemous, would be a very heavy argument for their weak forces. Truly difficult, and for them impossible to understand that only the life given is divine life, life that remains for eternity. And Jesus continues telling them, ‘I cannot explain them to you; this will be done by the Spirit of truth. He will guide you toward the whole truth. I cannot tell you this truth because it is very heavy for you. The Spirit will introduce you to this truth.’ It will not be Jesus who explains the meaning of his passion of love; it will be the Spirit. The disciples will be able to understand this truth after Easter. 

The Spirit’s mission is not to add anything to what Jesus said, but to help the disciples understand all the truth revealed in Jesus of Nazareth. However, it won’t be enough for the Spirit to enlighten us about the meaning of the gift of life. The Spirit will do that; the disciples will grasp the significance of this act of supreme love Jesus demonstrated. But understanding alone isn’t enough; we must allow ourselves to be engaged by Jesus’ offer of a new kind of person—a proposal he has made not just with words but also through his life—as the successful man, the Son of God. 

Who will now take on the task of introducing these people to this truth and involving them so they adhere to it? It’s not enough to simply understand it. One must embrace the proposal to become a new person, the true person, someone who gives his life out of love. Something similar happens in love. A girl can find a young man, learn everything about him, but if she doesn’t ignite the spark of love that leads her to dedicate her entire life to him, then knowing him is of little value. That is, we can know everything about Jesus’ life and understand its meaning; this is the work of the Spirit, which helps us see that a selfless life is a successful life. But then we must also decide to follow through. Jesus says that this desire also comes from the Spirit: not only to know everything about Jesus, but also to understand the purpose of his life. The Spirit moves us internally, enabling us to be involved in this act of love. 

And then Jesus continues, saying, “The Spirit will announce to you the future.” What does it mean that the Spirit announces future things? Our most immediate interpretation is that the Spirit will enable us to foresee the future, like a magician who predicts what will happen. The future the Spirit will make you see is as follows: it will show what makes sense. What will remain of a life in the future…? 

Today, life is assigned a certain value based on how most people think. But the Spirit looks ahead to the future. It will help you see what truly has value and what is instead worthless, what does not matter at all, and what will be left of life. For example, the Spirit will help you understand that Jesus is right when he says: “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? What remains of all the wealth that has been accumulated?” 

The Spirit helps you understand that Jesus is right. Live your life according to his proposal; look forward; see what remains of your life. That is the Spirit’s mission—to make you realize what will be left of your existence. Now we come to the part of the discourse in which Jesus explains how the Spirit will act. He will glorify me because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; that’s why I told you he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 

Let’s continue exploring this text, which is rich in spiritual depth. Jesus says that the Spirit will glorify him. The Spirit will glorify Jesus… but what does ‘glorify’ mean here? For us, it might mean applause, cheers, or admiration… but it’s not that. When is Jesus truly glorified? And what does this verb ‘glorify’ mean in the Gospel of John? Jesus has already glorified the Father, revealing the true face of God’s love. No one could have imagined a God like the one Jesus portrayed. His face shone brightly, and the ultimate demonstration was the passion of love shown on the cross. 

For people, Calvary represents the dimming of God’s glory. We remember that the ‘God’ they believed in is revealed at the foot of the cross, when they insult Jesus and say: “Come down from the cross, and we will believe that you reveal the face of God… that you are the Son of God.” If Jesus had come down from the cross, he would have confirmed the ‘glory’ of their God… the God who punishes those who rebel against him. This is a false idol. 

Jesus has glorified the Father by showing that the Father is not the God they imagined, but a God of love, only love. On the cross, he told us something very important: They can do whatever they want to me, and I will always respond by telling them that I love them. They will not get me to say another word except that ‘I love them’. This is the glory that Jesus has given to the Father. He has revealed his face of love. 

Jesus says: What does the Spirit do? ‘He will glorify me’ – that is, this Spirit, present in the disciples, the Spirit that acts in the disciple, is the same Spirit of Jesus, the Spirit that has led Jesus to give His life for love, not to think about Himself but in the life and joy of brothers and sisters. This same Spirit is the one who acts in the disciple, and if the disciple does not oppose this impulse of the Spirit, this Spirit glorifies Jesus. That is, He shows, within us, the works of Jesus, which are all works of love. 

Then, Jesus continues—he uses a verb that is repeated three times—the verb ‘to announce.’ “The Spirit will take from what is mine and declare (announce) it to you.” It is the verb ‘announce’—anangelo, which also means re-announcing or declaring. What does it mean? This Spirit speaks, announces, and is present in the disciple, representing the divine life that has been given. He speaks and guides all behavior in life, always offering options for love. Jesus says that it is necessary to listen to this Spirit. And it is necessary to be silent to hear him. To silence the way of thinking of the world, to silence what is suggested to us that does not come from the Spirit but from the ‘flesh,’ from passions. Jesus says that the Spirit will announce and explain what he has said. 

How will he announce it? Not by simply repeating what Jesus said—this we already know well if we’ve read and reflected on the gospel. Instead, he will re-announce it, revealing it to our hearts, transforming it into our way of life, and compelling us to live out Jesus of Nazareth’s message in concrete love. This is the conclusion of the message for this feast. The Spirit who speaks to us. 

Let’s consider who Christians pray to—who they actually converse with, not just when they repeat prayer formulas. Real prayer is engaging in dialogue with God. Who are they aiming their prayers at? Many turn to the saints… but that is not yet prayer. Prayer is speaking directly to ‘you’—God. Who are they aiming their prayers at? 

Christians address the Father and Jesus of Nazareth, talking to them. They entrust their crosses, joys, and problems to them. Some Christians also converse with the Spirit, allowing the Spirit to speak within them, listening to him and speaking with him to be guided by the Spirit. Let us become aware of and internalize the revelation of the divine life in which we are destined to be involved for all eternity. We have received this divine life, this Spirit that has involved us in the life of the Trinity. This is the great truth, the only one that gives meaning to our existence. 

I wish everyone a good Sunday and a good week.