Day 15 – God Speaks Through Jesus
Read: John 14:1-14
“Do not let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if not, I would have told you. I am going away to prepare a place for you. If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also. You know the way to where I am going.” “Lord,” Thomas said, “we don’t know where you’re going. How can we know the way?” Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” “Lord,” said Philip, “show us the Father, and that’s enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been among you all this time and you do not know me, Philip? The one who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who lives in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Otherwise, believe because of the works themselves. “Truly I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
You don’t have to talk to too many people and ask what they think about Jesus before you hear the timeless heresy, “Sure, Jesus was a great guy, but was he really God? I think he might have just been a great moral teacher.” Our world is inundated with the idea of good-guy Jesus that came to tell us to be good people and sing Kumbaya. But I’m here to tell you that Jesus is so much more than that.
Jesus is God in human flesh. His presence gives good news to the poor, sets captives free, gives sight to the blind, and declares the favorable year of the Lord. (Luke 4:18). How do we know this?
For this we turn to the words of Jesus Himself. In John 14:1-14, Jesus is talking with his disciples when they begin to ask Him to reveal the Father that sent Him. Jesus tells them that whoever knows Him knows the Father, and is even so bold to proclaim that, “The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his own.” (John 14:10b)
Jesus Christ’s words, teachings, and miracles were not those of a moral teacher, philosopher, prophet, or magician, but are the very words of God. For Jesus is truly God. The community of the Holy Trinity screams the truth of the inner life of the grace of God to us through the human life of Christ, and you are called to know him and join in that life.
How can we join in this life? By knowing and loving God and participating in the life of grace comes through prayer. The spiritual discipline of prayer leads us closer to the heart of God that we might begin to know His voice. The knowledge of this voice leads us to following Him more closely, and thus participate in His perfect community.
Prayer:
Holy Trinity, that you spoke to us in physical form as Jesus and that your words are recorded for us to read, learn, and meditate on is a tremendous gift of communication that I do not want to take for granted. Jesus, as I examine your life and listen to your words, transform me more into your likeness.
Journal:
Consider the following question(s).
Consider the distinction between categorizing Jesus as a good man with good teachings, and recognizing that His words are the words of God. Is there any part of Jesus’ teaching that you need to obey, rather than just thinking it’s good advice?
Imagine that you are joining into the conversation of the Trinity today. What do you think you would hear them speaking to one another, to you, to the world?
Today’s Practice:
Today I encourage you to spend time listening to God through the contemplative act of Lectio divina. This is an ancient style of praying scriptures developed by St. Ignatius of Loyola. To do this you need to find a short passage of scripture—maybe John 14:1-14—and reading it aloud to yourself or others with you several times. In the first read through, search for words or phrases that stick out to you. In the second read through, consider what God might be trying to say to you through these words or phrases. In the third read through find an action that God is calling you to today. Read through it aloud as many times as it takes you to find these things. Be slow and deliberate. Listen to the words of God wash over you and speak to you. Train your heart to listen in silence and learn the voice of God.
By Wesley Rodgers, Area Coordinator of Apartments