Justin Appel

Dear Friends,

Today’s Gospel lesson, associated with the feast of Ss Simon & Jude, includes Jesus’ commentary about ‘the world’ in John chapter 15.

This somewhat puzzling term (cosmos) seems to have a very negative connotation in Jesus’ teaching here. Cosmos appears in a few different contexts through the Gospel of John. For instance, Jesus tells Nicodemus that “God so loved the cosmos, that He gave His only Son” (3:16). The cosmos is the object of God’s love and self-giving. In other places, the word refers to the physical environs, “my Kingdom is not of this cosmos” (18:36), in contrast to the things that are eternal or heavenly, continuing past the limits of this world.

In John 15, however, the sense is that the cosmos is in opposition to Jesus; in fact, it hates him. In this case, the world clearly refers to a kind of rebellion against God. If the world hates you, Jesus says, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.

So, here it is. Jesus clearly articulates a contra mundi posture for his followers, and indeed, the Apostles pursued their callings in this reality, most of them sacrificing their lives in witness (martyria) to their Lord. This witness was the Apostles’ ultimate testimony regarding Jesus. They believed so fully in his identify as the Son of God that they were willing to live and die for him, even if the world was against them.

So, in the present, we too can listen to the Apostles and conform our lives to their faith. We have the gift of the Spirit. The “Spirit of truth” comes forth from the Father, Jesus says, so he also testifies the truth concerning Jesus.

Since this Apostolic and Spirit-given testimony is the air we breath in the Church, we too can follow their example and testify to the Lordship of Jesus.

Yours in Christ,

—Justin