2026/10/19
270. The Gospel of John and the Priesthood of the New Covenant: Distinction and Discernment III
As we discussed in the previous issue, Paul realised
that the beatific vision consists in the Gospel's intuitive insight. Beyond
that realisation lay the mission Jesus gave him to establish the Church in
Rome. He sent Timothy the coded message regarding his "cloak." Understanding
his intention, Timothy set out for Rome accompanied by Peter and Mark (cf.
blog, No. 238). Thus, the Apostles gathered in Rome envisaged a future in which
the believers would hold the completed New Testament in their hands. In this,
the path to the completed Liturgy of the Mass is laid out. If, at the beginning
of the Liturgy of the Word, the Gospel—which proclaims the truth—is read; if
this is then reflected upon through the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles;
and if the truth is cemented in the believers' memory through the priest's
homily, then the believers can grow, just as new wine ferments within new
wineskins. Adding to all this, the reality of receiving the Eucharist, which
gives life to the faithful, becomes one with these things, and they experience
a perfect union with Christ. There, we see the faithful guided by the special
"discernment" of the Holy Spirit.
That special "discernment" enables the
faithful to realise that, through the Holy Spirit, Jesus' words freely bring
all times into the present. The Gospel of John and the Book of Revelation
express this as a "spring of water." The Gospel of John refers to the
"spring" in the dialogue between Jesus and the Samaritan woman in
Chapter 4. Jesus said to the woman, "Every one who drinks of this water
will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will
never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of
water welling up to eternal life" (Jn 4:13–14). The Samaritan woman
immediately asked, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor
come here to draw" (4:15). However, Jesus did not answer her directly;
instead, he made it clear that he understood her background (cf. 4:16–18) and
helped her to move beyond judgements of good and evil so that she might draw
forth her true desire from within herself (cf. 4:19–22).
In the scene that follows, Jesus said to the Samaritan
woman: "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers
will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to
worship him" (Jn 4:23). For us believers to become true worshippers
who worship the Father in spirit and truth, as these words indicate, we should
first focus on the phrase "in spirit and truth." This phrase
indicates that cooperation with the Holy Spirit is a prerequisite. To this end,
we must learn to "distinguish" between ourselves, who desire to collaborate
with the Holy Spirit, and "human information." Furthermore, Jesus'
words, "the hour is coming, and now is," reveal that the
future described as the time "when the true worshipers will worship the
Father in spirit and truth" had already become a present reality at
the very moment Jesus was speaking with the Samaritan woman.
This is the same phenomenon—albeit in the opposite
direction of time—as when a priest today recites Jesus' words from the
institution of the Eucharist, "Do this in remembrance of me"
(Lk 22:19), and the moment when Jesus took the bread, offered a prayer of
thanksgiving, broke it and gave it to the Apostles is made present. The
Samaritan woman before Jesus and we today before the Eucharist share the same
experience. A special "discernment" brought by the Holy Spirit
teaches us and enables us to realise that Jesus' words, through the Holy
Spirit's work, freely bring all times into the present. Furthermore, this
special "discernment" awakens the faithful to the reality that the
Liturgy of the Mass is the Kingdom of God. To make this possible, Jesus
requires that those who draw near to God refrain from judging between good and
evil. For this act of judging good and evil is precisely a manifestation of how
people have absorbed ‘human information’ and made it their own knowledge.
Jesus' words have the authority to bring whatever
occurred or will occur at any point in the past or future into the present
through the work of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the Holy Spirit can invite the
faithful to collaborate with Him. The Book of Revelation expresses this as a
"fountain." That passage depicts the source through which the Holy
Spirit leads the faithful to this special "discernment." This source
sustains the believer’s daily routine as they leave one Mass and set out once
more for the next. "And he who sat upon the throne said, 'Behold, I
make all things new.' Also he said, 'Write this, for these words are
trustworthy and true.' And he said to me, 'It is done! I am the Alpha and the
Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the fountain
of the water of life without payment. He who conquers shall have this heritage,
and I will be his God and he shall be my son'" (Rev 21:5–7).
The words "have this heritage" mean
that believers acquire the cyclical power of the training of the Book of
Revelation, which inherited the way of being of the One who is "the
Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end." The practice of
reading and listening to the Book of Revelation creates tacit knowledge of
"the revelation of Jesus Christ" (Rev 1:1) in the believer's memory,
making them those "who keep what is written therein" (1:3). It
also fundamentally underpins the memory of those who desire to collaborate with
the Holy Spirit. The beatific vision thus bestowed is tangible and builds a
relationship of trust with the Heavenly Father. That perception leads one to
realise that one is "the thirsty" for perfect union with
Christ. This realisation draws the believer deeply into the daily routine
leading to the Mass, where one may drink freely from the fountain of the water
of life. There, the words "I will be his God and he shall be my son"
are fulfilled.
Maria K. M.
