Spring Bible Study - 12 May 2020
Spring Bible Study - The Gospel Lesson for 17 May - 6th Sunday of Easter
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READINGS AND QUESTIONS FOR 10 MAY 20
John 14:15-21: The Upper Room Discourse
The
Gospel reading for 17 May is a continuation of Jesus’ “Upper Room Discourse.”
It is from the Gospel of John. It contains our Lord’s final words of
instruction to his disciples before his impending arrest in the Garden of
Gethsemane and his death on Golgotha. We have been reading this discourse for a
lot this Easter season in daily and Sunday Mass readings. It can be challenging
to preach from the Upper Room Discourse because Jesus Christ says the same
things in varied ways. Often it sounds like the same homily for every Mass! But
that is not a bad thing. They are the last things our Lord wishes to impart to
the disciples before his death and subsequent resurrection. Thus, they are very
critical to our faith.
The
reading:
Gospel John 14:15-21
Jesus said to his
disciples:
And I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always,
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept,
because it neither sees nor knows him.
But you know him, because he remains with you,
and will be in you.
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
In a little while the world will no longer see me,
but you will see me, because I live and you will live.
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father
and you are in me and I in you.
Whoever has my commandments and observes them
is the one who loves me.
And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”
And I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always,
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept,
because it neither sees nor knows him.
But you know him, because he remains with you,
and will be in you.
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
In a little while the world will no longer see me,
but you will see me, because I live and you will live.
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father
and you are in me and I in you.
Whoever has my commandments and observes them
is the one who loves me.
And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”
A. [Jesus
said to his disciples:] “If you love me, you
will keep my commandments.”
1.
The
Bible was written in Ancient Greek. The Greek word for disciple is “matheetes”
from which we get the word mathematician. Matheetes means “learner.” How
are you a “learner” of Jesus Christ? How does failure and making mistakes fit
into the idea of a disciple, a learner?
2.
What
sorts of activities were the followers of Jesus involved in as his disciples? How
did he teach them about the faith? (Remember there were more than twelve
disciples who followed him.) What activities demonstrate you are a disciple?
3.
What
exactly are Jesus’ commandments? What is the goal of them? What is the greatest
commandment and how do you obey it?
4.
Why
is obeying Jesus Christ evidence of our love for him? How does obedience relate
to family and Church life?
5.
Does
it mean we don’t love the Lord when we fail to keep his commandments, his words
of instruction?
B.
“And I will ask the
Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always,
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows him.”
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows him.”
1. An “advocate” is a defense attorney for somebody on trial. The term for it in NT Greek is “paraclete,” which is another title for the Holy Spirit. Jesus said he would give us “another paraclete.” Who then was our first advocate?
2.
How is the Holy Spirit with us always?
3.
How have you encountered the Holy Spirit in your life? This can be both in terms
of sacraments of the Church as well as a personal experience.
4.
How does the Spirit of truth relate the truth to us? Exactly what truth is
Jesus talking about?
5.
Jesus said to his disciples in last Sunday’s Gospel lesson, "I am the
way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
How does/did the Spirit express this truth to the world? What does this say
about the words of Scripture in relation to the Spirit?
6.
We live in a society that increasingly has no set understanding about truth, be
it in overall truths concerning God and humanity, truths regarding morality, acceptance
of scientific fact or the idea that truth does not change. How do we navigate
these waters and respond to this “spirit of untruth”? How do you personally
share this truth?
7.
Has the Spirit of Christ ever corrected something you understood wrongly about
God, yourself, the world? How did the Spirit reveal this to you?
8.
Why doesn’t the world see and know the Spirit of truth?
9.
What happens when one begins to see and know this Spirit? When did this happen
to you? How ongoing is this revelation?
10.
How does this Spirit of Truth lead you into all truth?
C.
“But you know him,
because he remains with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans;
I will come to you.”
1. What is the Lord talking about when he says you and I know him “because he remains with you, and will be in you”? How was the Spirit of truth with but not in them, and in what way was this experienced?
2. When did the Spirit come to be in them? Was this Spirit in
Jesus as well? When did he receive this Spirit as a human being?
3. To what is Jesus referring when he said he wouldn’t abandon
them (in death) but would come to them? Is he referring to his Resurrection or
something else? After his Ascension into heaven, does he still come to us?
4. How does Jesus come to you personally? Also why would he do
so, considering the billions of people in the world over the millennia? How can
our personal relationship with him be so central to Jesus Christ?
5. The Lord is also speaking not just to individuals but to the
Church over time. What confidence do Jesus’ words give us in relation to the truths
the Church holds to (they are called “dogmas”)? [Hint: in 1 Timothy 3:15 St Paul
writes, “But
if I should be delayed, you should know how to behave in the household of God,
which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth.”]
6. How does faith work in seeing and knowing the truths the Holy
Spirit brings the Church?
D.
Closing
Thoughts
Look over the underlined portion of the Gospel from which the
above questions are based. Given all we have talked about today, what is one
thing you can take with you from this reading? What truth is the Spirit of
truth showing you today?
