John the Evangelist presents the teachings of Jesus through a series of dialogues. Sometimes, Jesus criticizes the faults of the Pharisees and scribes, while at other times, he engages in conversations with ordinary people to impart valuable lessons from specific incidents. Additionally, Jesus often converses with His Father in prayers. During the Last Supper, Jesus informs the disciples that they would face hardships, but encourages them to remain courageous, as He had conquered the world. (John 16.33)
We naturally wonder about the meaning of this encouragement from Jesus, especially when we encounter the opposite in our lives and our human minds fail to perceive any change in the world’s governing nature. Natural disasters like earthquakes, pandemics, and all the misfortunes we experience are frequent, and our physical ailments persist. Even worse, unspeakable barbarities rooted in human evil spread around us, as St. Gregory of Narek describes in Prayer 15.3, engulfing us in their sordid insolence.
How can we comprehend this uplifting message from Jesus, urging us not to lose hope and to remain courageous? How can we connect with these profound words of the Lord? Is there a tangible reality where the gospel of our Lord truly exists? The answer to these questions lies in the prayer of our Lord addressed to His and our Father, as recorded in John 16.4, 6, 14, 18, 22, and 26. In this prayer, Jesus expresses His glorification of the Father on earth by completing the work entrusted to Him. He reveals the Father’s name to those whom He has taken from the world to bestow upon Him. Jesus passes on the Father’s word to these individuals. As He sent Himself into the world, He sends them into the world. He bestows upon them the glory that He received from the Father, so that the love with which the Father loved Him may reside within them.
If we genuinely desire for these words of joyful encouragement to manifest within us (John 17.13), we must glorify our Heavenly Father by completing the tasks assigned to each of us. We should share the word of God through the deeds of the grace we have received, rather than through words that stem from our corruptible nature. We should never cease doing good works, as this is the most effective way to spread the glory of God (1 Corinthians 13.31). By constantly pursuing the love of our Father, we should follow this love so that it can take tangible form in this world and transform our wills, freeing us from the captivating allure of evil.
Preaching love should be accompanied by actions that reflect its true essence. It involves treating everyone with the holiness that emanates from God, relying not on human reasoning but on God’s grace (2 Corinthians 1.12). We should encourage and affirm each other in love (2 Corinthians 2.6), while refraining from being deceptive and misrepresenting God’s word (2 Corinthians 4.2). Only then will the treasures that God has entrusted to our mortal bodies (2 Corinthians 4.7) shine brightly, and Jesus himself will manifest his presence in our mortal flesh (2 Corinthians 4.11).
