The Catholic Church in Hong Kong celebrates Mission Sunday today. The gospel we read today is taken from the last few lines of the long prayer of Jesus in the Last Supper as recorded in John. So, these few lines are expected to be heavyweight in theology and spirituality.
“Sanctify them in the truth; thy word is truth.” (John 17:17)
The word “truth” appears 27 times in John. It begins with “the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (1:14) and ends with Pilate’s question “What is truth?” (18:38) The Logos is full of glory, grace and truth. Yet, men do not see his glory and consequently do not know the truth. This is exemplified by Pilate’s question. In an incident before the Last Supper, Jesus mentioned the importance of the truth, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (8:32)
Within the Last Supper, the word “truth” appears 9 times. It begins with the famous “I am the way, the truth and the life” (14:6) and finishes with “that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” (17:19)
From all these sayings, we may draw a tentative conclusion that this knowledge, this truth is essential for our salvation. But what kind of knowledge is it? From the experience of John, it is the Logos, i.e. the Word, the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Knowing Jesus is knowing the truth because he claims to be the truth. He is truth personified. And the truth shall make us free, shall enable us to attain salvation. Jesus did it through his death on the cross and the subsequent resurrection. The key to salvation is to build up a close relationship with God. We do this through Jesus Christ.
How do we know Jesus? One of the ways is to study the gospel and meditate its messages. In meditation, we come face to face with the Word and merge with him. We lose our words and we are filled with the Word. I know not how to express any more.
Sweet Lord, purify me for I am a sinner, your unworthy servant. Amen.
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