John 14:15-21

The Holy Spirit, God’s continuing presence in the world, is with us always. Last week Jesus told us, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life’. So the Spirit of truth, that Jesus tells us about in today’s Gospel, is sent by the Father and is an extension of Jesus. The Holy Spirit gives us gifts and also reminds us of the gifts that we already have. Our task is to develop such God-given gifts and use them to build community, like many do in our parish.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus encourages us to follow his commandment: love one another as I have loved you. This is part of the way, truth and life we heard in last week’s Gospel. The self-sacrificing love of which Jesus spoke is a way of living that develops over time, that leads each of us on to be true to ourselves and each other and gives life to everyone touched by it. We each have our own examples, which surely include mothers.

Since we believe that God is love, we need no more tangible a symbol of God than those who mother others. Thus those who mother others are, like the Holy Spirit, part of God’s continuing presence in the world. Some we call ‘mother’ are no longer with us but have ‘gone home’. We cherish their memory. Let us celebrate mothers – in name or nature – for all the good that their love engenders. Such love builds each of us up so that we can be all that God intended us to be. What a gift!