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The opening section of this Gospel brings to mind 1 Corinthians 13:11, where Paul uses the metaphor of childhood to describe spiritual immaturity: “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put away childish things.” Spiritual immaturity refers to a stage in which a believer has not yet developed a mature understanding or practice of faith. It is characterized by a lack of discernment between sound doctrine and false teachings, as well as difficulty applying biblical truths in daily life. Spiritually immature believers may exhibit behaviors such as jealousy, strife, selfishness, and a worldly mindset, rather than reflecting Christlike character.

Spiritual immaturity is a natural stage in the Christian journey—no one is born spiritually mature—but Scripture urges believers not to remain in this state. It is important to note that spiritual immaturity is not limited to children; many adults also struggle with it.

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To help us understand the Holy Spirit, the reading begins by emphasizing God’s love for us—a recurring and familiar theme in John’s Gospel.

Love inherently involves vulnerability. The more deeply we love, the more at risk we are to being hurt. This vulnerability makes trust essential in any relationship. Trust can be given or earned, and violations of trust can sometimes be irreparable. Conversely, trust built through consistent caring and faithfulness strengthens relationships, though some may find it harder to build trust due to past wounds.

The Gospel speaks of a profound intimacy between God and those who love Him. Jesus often seeks out those who do not yet know Him, but today’s focus is on His longing to be with His people.

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Jesus makes some incredible claims, and provides signs of God’s presence amongst his followers, driving out demons, speaking new languages, picking up serpents, drinking poison and miraculous healings, only to name a few. This passage reminds me of the dramatic style of teaching Jesus used to introject passion into his teachings. Remember the scripture passage that speaks of "the dead burying the dead" found in Luke 9:60. Do you remember the scripture passage that speaks of cutting off your hand if it causes you to sin that is found in Matthew 5:29-30 and Mark 9:43-48? Quite dramatic!

What did Jesus mean?

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Love is a central and recurring theme in John’s Gospel, and it has been a focus in previous episodes. Love lies at the core of Christian faith. However, I invite you to reflect on whether your image of God is one that is easy to love. Many identify as Christians out of a desire for salvation yet seeking salvation and loving God are not synonymous.

Concerns about salvation often reflect one’s understanding of God. The traditional concept of God demanding the death of His Son as a sacrificial atonement can be difficult to reconcile with the idea of a loving God. While this notion may have resonated in earlier times, many today struggle to accept that redemption is a freely given gift rather than something earned. Genuine love cannot be compelled; it must come from the heart. God desires our love, not merely our outward actions. This may explain why Jesus was able to forgive so readily-He perceived the true condition of the person’s heart.

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Jesus’ call to love is not easy, people are so afraid of being taken advantage of or they do not feel love for the person. Is Jesus calling his followers to something they cannot achieve? Are people who are loving more vulnerable to being taken advantage of? Some people act as if they have a finite amount of love to give and so don’t love easily. Rather than focussing on the challenge of loving, I want to focus on your attitudes and skills that may help you respond to Jesus’ call. I can appreciate the challenges so I would like to make suggestions to help you be a more loving person and thus closer to responding to the call to love one another.

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Jesus portrays shepherds as protectors and guides for the sheep. Likely they served as metaphors of God’s protective and guiding nature. I wonder if there is more here. Perhaps the shepherd has a role to play in our faith. We don’t see many shepherds in most western towns and cities. When I think of shepherds, I think of individuals who knew and protected their sheep. They were very interested in their welfare and wanted to see them grow into adults. It seems that the modern-day shepherds are what we call mentors today.

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This teaching on leadership must have been revolutionary to the first listeners to this teaching. Jesus addresses this in Mark 10:42-45, as Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.” The people were used to the brutality of the Roman occupiers and the contempt of many of the Pharisees who dominated the people and loved to draw attention to themselves. Obviously, Jesus wants to make sure there are other models of leadership available. The leadership style that Jesus introduces is relational, respecting the dignity of the human person.

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Peace is not just an absence of conflict. Lasting peace needs justice. There are also several levels of peace. There is peace between countries, communities, families and ultimately our own internal peace. Most of us are not in a position to directly impact peace between countries but we can work for peace within our communities, our families and ultimately ourselves. Are we at peace within ourselves? What negatively impacts our personal peace. Guilt, fear, and trauma will undermine our peace. Notice what I left out. Anger. Anger itself does not destroy peace. What is anger? Healthy anger results when our healthy expectations that are not respected and/or are denied. Anger itself is not the issue but it is how we express our anger.