Our reading this week is from the gospel of John.
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.
“I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.” (John 14:15-21)
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This is Part 1 of the series The Promise of the Holy Spirit
Our reading this week begins with Jesus’ words, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” I can appreciate the intent of this saying. It attempts to shift the idea of love from sentiment into lived, embodied practice and intentional choices. Love is not reduced to belief, personal devotion, or worship but demonstrated through action. In the context of Jesus’ teachings on justice, this statement takes on a deeply communal and ethical dimension. To love Jesus is to align oneself with the values that shaped his life: compassion, inclusion, honoring the humanity of the other, and restoring those pushed to the margins.
So Jesus’ commandments are not abstract rules but expressions of relational justice. They call for feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, confronting systems that dehumanize, and standing in solidarity with the oppressed. In this sense, obedience is not about rigid moralism but about participating in the healing of the world. Love becomes visible in how we treat the most vulnerable among us.
Following Jesus, then, makes justice more than an optional extension of faith. Practicing justice is one of faith’s clearest expressions. When communities organize for living wages in the midst of dramatic inflation, when communities challenge racial or gender inequities, when communities advocate for LGBTQ inclusion or to protect our environment, they are enacting the kind of love Jesus describes. They are “keeping” his commandments in ways that transform both individuals and systems.
Importantly, this kind of love requires courage. It often places people at odds with dominant cultural or religious norms, just as Jesus himself was. Yet the call remains. Love that is faithful to Jesus cannot remain passive in the face of injustice. It must move, speak, and act. Ultimately, Jesus’ words invite us to redefine devotion, belief, and worship. To love him is not merely to affirm him, but to live as he lived, participating in the work of justice, mercy, and collective liberation.
Next in our reading, Jesus promises that the Father will send the Spirit as an Advocate to be with his followers. We’ll pick up here in Part 2.
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