This is the disciple who is bearing witness.
And we know that his testimony is true.
Now we must bear witness.
For what we read, we hope, is true.

I find these last lines of John moving.
We are at the end of his gospel.
Now we can stop for a moment reading.
And ponder the eternal entirety of the Gospel

What poetry
Sublime .
Into faith an entry.
For all time.

John writes for the ages.
And we are the ages.

……

John ends his gospel
We are left profoundly moved
Now it’s up to us

……

See John John 21: 20-25

He said to him.
Simon Peter do you love me.
Do we really love him.
He asks us also , do you love me.

He said to him.
A second time , do you love me.
For the second time , do we really love him,
He asks us again, do you love me.

He said to him.
A third time, do you love me.
For the third time, do we really love him.
He asks us again, do you love me.

Are we also grieved because we are asked again.
But because of our doubts , we will be asked again and again.

……

We are asked three times
Jesus asks do you love me
What is our answer

……

See John 21: 15-19

Take courage.
Because you have testified about me In Jerusalem.
So you must also testify in Rome after a voyage.
The Lord stood by him.

St Paul’s journey is coming to an end.
Soon he will make the final sacrifice.
As we approach our own end.
What will be our own personal sacrifice.

Will we start to lose our mind
Will it be cancer or our heart.
But we should not mind.
As long as faith rules our heart.

But does it.
What really is it.

……

Of St Paul’s journeys
They are coming to the end
And so too are ours

……

See Acts 23: 6-11

They are not of this world.
Sanctify them in the truth.
I am not of this world.
Your word is truth.

These last words of Jesus.
Overwhelm us with their power.
They speak directly to us.
A thought for every waking hour.

We know.
We too are not of this world.
We can never be too low.
Because soon we leave this world.

We listen to these words.
We are immersed in these words.

…..

They’re not of this world.
And we are not of this world
We go the same way

……

See John 17: 11-19

Paul said, I am going to Jerusalem.
Not knowing what will happen to me there.
One day we will go to our own Jerusalem.
And we will not know how death awaits us there.

He said that the Holy Spirit testifies.
That in every city afflictions await me.
Faced with persecution and lies.
In him courage can we see.

He prayed that only I might finish my course.
That  I received from Jesus.
And we pray that we are on course.
To meet the eternal Jesus.

Of course we cannot be certain.
As we peer through the final curtain.

……

And what will happen
In our own Jerusalem
We just cannot know

..   ….

See Acts 20: 17- 22

In the world you will have tribulation.
But take heart , I have overcome the world.
You read these words and you seem to detect perfection.
The heart is no longer unbelieving and cold.

Jesus said, Do you now believe.
The hour is coming.
I ask myself , do I now believe.
Is this belief and hope awakening.

In that moment my doubts were dispelled.
As he used the word overcome.
Doubt and questioning furled.
And, praise God, joy will come.

These moments come and go.
But with them we never can be low.

…..

In tribulation
We remember these his words
He will overcome

……

See John 16: 29-33

Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven.
And said Father the hour has come.
At last we see his own prayer to heaven, driven.
In its beauty and intensity, awesome.

And this , he said, is eternal life.
That they know you , the only true God.
Now we ourselves seek this life .
We ask only to know God.

And in heaven we will not know him as in a book.
We will know him truly ourselves.
We will see,  hear and profoundly look.
We at last will be truly ourselves.

We will be part of the everlasting prayer.
Now we too must send up our own prayer.

…..

We pray to heaven
As Jesus  prayed to heaven
And have our reward

.. …

See John 17: 1-11

Whatever you ask of the father in my name.
He will give to you.
We ask the same.
For me and you.

Ask and you will receive.
That your joy might be full.
Such joy we cannot conceive.
Our cup will be full.

We only have to ask.
It is so easy.
Really our only task.
Simple, no need to feel ineasy.

But do we do it.
Or just avoid it.

……

Whatever we ask
Father gives in his son’s name
But then do we ask

…..

See John 16: 24-28

You have sorrow now
But your hearts will rejoice.
We may feel low.
But joy will find its voice.

He told us.
I will see you again.
Yes , the message is for us.
And it will remove every sorrowful stain.

He reminds us that when the woman has delivered.
She no longer remembers the anguish.
Hope and joy, we have received.
Resurrection will remove all anguish.

What else matters.
As joy scatters.

…

We have sorrow now
But then our hearts will rejoice
We just need belief

…..

See Hohn 16: 20-23

They worshipped him.
But some doubted.
Yes we too worship him.
But we too have doubted.

But Jesus told them, I am with you always.
To the end of the age.
So we pray he will be with us always.
To the end of our own age.

We have not seen him.
Or seen him ascend.
But we have faith in him.
That one day we might ascend.

He is with us always
In all ways.

…..

Yes we worship him
But yes we too have doubted
But we persevere

…..

See Matthew 28: 16-20

When they heard of the resurrection of the dead.
Some mocked.
Do we see, we also ask, the dead.
Have we also questioned , even mocked.

So Paul went out from their midst.
But some men joined him and believed.
Do we see the dead in our midst.
Have we doubted or have we believed.

Last night I dreamt I saw my father.
He was absolutely here, as if alive.
Every detail clearer.
But perhaps he is alive.

He may not be here.
But he is, I pray, there.

…..

Dreamt I saw father
As if he was here, alive.
But he is alive

…..

See Acts 17

And when they had inflicted many blows upon them.
They threw them into prison.
They showed no mercy to them.
But the disciples would soon find themselves out of prison.

The foundations of the prison were shaken.
And immediately all the doors were opened.
Their freedom and hope could awaken.
Their fetters were opened.

Their jailer found faith.
And was baptised.
Will we find true faith.
And be truly baptised.

St Paul found he could free his shackles.
And we too can free our mental shackles.

..  ….

The prison opened
For their faith had set them free
We can do the same

……

See Acts 16: 22-44

Lydia , a purple goods seller.
Was a worshipper of God.
Not yet s Christian but a God believer .
But soon to become a believer in the Christian God.

We all go through this same process.
We know instinctively there is a designer.
Order, we feel, cannot come out of mere mess.
But are we loved by this organiser.

And then we hear the Christian message.
Like Lydia in the Acts of the Apostles.
We ponder , we manage.
But sooner or later we will become one of the apostles.

Because truth is inevitable.
This we know is no fable.

…….

We’re a worshipper
But then what do we worship
It’s the Christian God

……

See Acts 16: 11-15

I will ask the Father.
And he will give you another helper.
To be with you for ever.
And ever.

This extraordinarily powerful John’s Gospel.
Whatever our trials we are not alone.
That we know and we can tell.
We don’t even need to atone.

We have his promise.
I will not leave you as orphans.
And what a promise.
Unlike an earthly father he does not leave orphans.

What an overwhelming relief.
He conquers all despairing mind’s mischief.

….

We are not alone
We will never be orphans
We have our father

…..

See John John 14 :  15-21

If the world hates you.
Know that it has hated me.
Before it hated you.
This we can truly see.

I am inspired by St George Preca’s life.
A saint of the modern age.
He leads us to new life.
New inspiration from a distant age.

He trailed and blazed .
The role of laypeople.
Saying they must be engaged.
We can be taught not just by clergy but the people.

A society of laymen.
To teach the catechism to all men.

…..

If the world hates you
Know that it has hated me
It we persevere

…..

See John 15: 18-21

This is my commandment.
That you love one another as I have loved you.
There is no better commandment.
For me and you.

But so easy to say.
So difficult to do.
As elusive as a sun’s ray.
Not for the many but the few.

We try to love others.
As we love our family.
But they remain the others.
And not our family.

But we know what we have to try.
So that’s what we’ll do , we’ll try.

…..

The great commandment
That we love one another
We fail so often

…..

See John 15: 12-17

Abide in my love.
If you keep my commandments.
You will abide in my love.
Just as I have kept my father’s commandments.

These things I have spoken to you.
That your joy may be full.
And that my joy might be in you.
Our joy is indeed full.

And what joy to be rambling.
The Wolds unfolding.
The distant view of the Cathedral seeing.
Mind in the present focusing.

The wonders of nature.
Nothing else need feature.

…..

Abide in my love.
If you keep my commandments
You abide in love

…..

See John 15: 9-11

I am the true vine.
And my father is the vine dresser.
We see imperfectly the true line.
But we attempt to make a sincere prayer.

I am, he said, the vine.
You are the branches.
We will grow, we will be just fine.
We are connected to his holy branches.

Abide in me.
And I in you.
We pray he is here now with me.
And with you.

We remain connected.
We will be resurrected.

…..

He is the true vine
And we are the true branches
That is what we pray

……

See John 15: 1-8

Peace I leave with you.
Jesus said to his disciples.
Peace I give to you.
Now we are his disciples.

Not, he said, as the world gives.
Do I give to you.
Thus he saves.
Me and you.

Let not your hearts be troubled.
Neither let them be afraid.
But so often our hearts are troubled.
Too often we are afraid.

He told us, I am going to the Father.
And we pray too that we are going to the Father.

……

Peace I leave with you.
Let not your hearts be troubled
We must believe him

….

See  John 14: 27-41

You will be dragged before governors.
And kings for my sake.
But these martyrs are saviours.
They died too for our sake.

I lay tossing, worrying.
And started to concentrate on Blessed Richard as living.
I was not saying words as in praying.
But I felt him close comforting.

How extraordinarily real.
As if he was just with me.
Not some distant ghost but really real.
Understanding and listening to me.

Was this just a mind induced dream.
How could something so real be a dream.

……

We dream of the saints
But they seem living here now
Why shouldn’t they be

.. …

See Acts 7: 55-60

Truly I say to you.
Whoever believes in me.
Will also do the works that I do.
Because I am going to the father who is in me.

Like Thomas we say Lord.
I do not know where you are going.
We cannot understand this leading spiritual cord.
And we are fearful as to where we are going.

But we take heart.
We hear he has in his father’s  house many rooms.
This surely is a welcoming start.
We will not lie forever in catacombs.

So let not our hearts be troubled.
Let hope be redoubled.

…..

Our hearts are troubled
Not knowing where we’re going
There are many rooms

….
See John 14: 1-12

If you had known me.
You would have known my father also.
From now on you do know him, it is me.
And you have seen him also.

St Athanasius confronted Arianism.
That the son is inferior to the father.
Yet another defeated ism.
For the Son is equal to the Father.

If not then we are not saved.
The Father did send himself to us.
With Jesus as man and God we are saved.
He is both God and us.

He is both God and man.
And we are man.

…..

Jesus God and man
Not inferior to father
And sent to save us

…..

See John 14: 7-14

He appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee.
Who are now his witnesses to the people.
They truly could see.
And we now are his people.

Like Thomas I ask.
Lord we do not know where you are going.
Finding faith is my task.
And I can only progress with praying.

But I hear what he says to me.
Let not your hearts be troubled.
Believe in God, believe in me.
With this I must be consoled.

I pray I’ll go that place.
And that he has prepared that place.

…..

He appeared to them
They became his witnesses
We have that task now

……

See Acts 13: 26-33 and John 14: 1-6