The People of God and the Spirit of Peace

A Reflection for the Sixth Sunday of Easter

God chose to make a people peculiarly His own—a people descended from Abraham. To form this people, He entered into a covenant with them. A covenant is more than a legal agreement. Unlike a contract, which exchanges goods or services, a covenant binds persons together in a relationship—like marriage or adoption. In this case, God made a covenant with Abraham, promising to be his God and the God of his descendants (Genesis 17:7–14). The sign of this covenant was circumcision, marking the people of Israel as belonging to the Lord.

But in today’s Gospel, Jesus reveals something deeper, something new.

“Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.” (John 14:23)

No longer is the sign of God’s covenant a mark on the flesh. The new covenant is sealed with the Blood of Christ (Luke 22:20; Hebrews 9:15)—a gift poured out for the whole world. This covenant is given to all, but it is applied personally to each of us in baptism, which St. Paul calls the "circumcision of Christ" (Colossians 2:11–12). Through baptism, we become sons and daughters of God, members of His family.

Jesus promises that after He returns to the Father, He will send “another Advocate”: the Holy Spirit. It is through the Holy Spirit, received in the sacraments of Christ and given by the Church He founded, that God dwells within us. The Spirit gives us peace—not as the world gives, but as only God can. This peace is not just the absence of conflict, but the deep and abiding presence of God within the soul.

The Spirit changes everything. He changes us. He teaches us the law of love, not carved in stone but written on our hearts (cf. Jeremiah 31:33). He leads us into all truth and conforms us to the likeness of Christ. And in the Holy Spirit, the boundaries of God’s people are widened. The Church is no longer bound to one nation, but embraces all nations. “All the nations praise God!”

The Book of Revelation offers us a vision of this new people. The angel shows the apostle John the New Jerusalem, with twelve gates guarded by twelve angels, representing the twelve tribes of Israel (Revelation 21:12). But in this vision, the Apostles now take on that role—the new foundation stones of God’s people. The Church becomes the New Israel. And unlike the old Jerusalem, this holy city needs no temple:

“I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb.” (Revelation 21:22)

There is no need for a symbolic place of sacrifice or a veiled sign of God’s presence—because the Lord is truly present. Even now, we experience a foretaste of that glory when Christ comes to us in the Eucharist. The Most Blessed Sacrament is not just a symbol. It is the very presence of the Risen Christ among His people.

He comes to us because He loves us. He gives us His Spirit so that we may return that love. “Whoever loves me will keep my word.” And we rejoice that He has gone to the Father, for from there He pours out every spiritual gift—His peace, His Spirit, His presence—and all the fruits of His self-giving love.

Reflection Questions

• Do I live as someone who belongs to God’s family? How is that visible in my daily life?

• What part of Jesus’ word do I struggle to keep? How can I invite the Spirit into that struggle?

• Have I experienced the peace Christ offers? What distracts me from receiving it?

• How can I be more open to the Holy Spirit’s guidance in my life?

• Do I recognize the Eucharist as God’s real presence with me?

• What would it look like to live with heaven in view—as a member of the New Jerusalem?

  
  

A Final Challenge

This week, take a few moments each day to pray:“Come, Holy Spirit. Teach me to love Jesus and to live as a child of the Father.”

Let the Spirit write God’s word on your heart, and let His peace dwell in you. Not as the world gives, but as He alone can give.