Breaking the Word

When he had left, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. (If God is glorified in him,) God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him at once. My children, I will be with you only a little while longer. You will look for me, and as I told the Jews, 'Where I go you cannot come,' so now I say it to you. I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (Jn 13:31-35)

Here in chapter 13 Jesus speaks about the Son of Man being glorified. Till now he was speaking about the Father being glorified and the Son of Man being lifted up. Now he puts the two things together. For Jesus the coming events are unveiling of God’s glory. As Jesus completes his ministry, the glory of God dawns. So the vocation and completion of one’s ministry reveals God’s glory.

Jesus gives a new commandment. But the commandment of Love is central in many parts of the Old Testament (Lev 19.18).  The newness in this is the mode of this love, the depth and type of this love. Jesus says love one another in the same way as Jesus has loved. So the love is all about the other person.

The newness is that in the love there is no importance given to the one who loves. The importance is given to the one who is loved. This love has to be like that of Jesus’. He was ready to lay down his life for the other, he was ready to wash the feet of the other and he was ready to offer his body as food for the others. 

  If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him." Philip said to him, "Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever 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 is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it. (Jn 14:7-14)

All long for God experience. And God experience is made available to the people. Philip’s request to see the Father is the same. But Jesus’ answer saying ‘to have seen Jesus is to have seen the Father’ explains that God experience or Abba experience is same as Jesus experience. Jesus experience is visible in his works. Whatever Jesus does reveal who Jesus is and gives Jesus experience which in turn gives God experience.

Even the believers will do the same works of Jesus or even greater than Jesus’. So believers’ works also will give God experience. This is the truth that we have to accept. Jesus experience or God experience is made available in the works of the believers.

The statement by Jesus “If you ask anything in my name, I will do it” has made the followers to go on asking for anything and everything. When certain things do not happen then the followers lose their faith in Jesus. But Jesus clearly says that things have to be asked in ‘his name’. When we say that we ask in the name of Jesus we mean that we enter into the character of Jesus; that is to say: will Jesus ask for such an such a thing?.