Complete Joy (May 5, 2024)

What this episode covers

Picking up where we left off in last week's Gospel, Jesus continues his Last Supper discourse, this time turning his attention to love, the law, and friendship with God. Taking the lead of the evangelist himself we explore the idea of belovedness and how receptivity to Divine love is the foundation of the spiritual life. Bringing in the topic of the law as well as the thought of Thomas Aquinas we discover that the practice of abiding in God's love has very little to do with our own efforts and everything to do with God's. Diving deep into our Gospel we'll spend our episode looking closer at: - What, according to St. Thomas Aquinas, we must do in order to keep God's commandments [8:49] - The Greek etymology of the word "friend" and what it can tell us about being friends of God [18:48] - The two Old Testament figures that were said to be friends of God [31:20] - Greco-Roman and Jewish conceptions of friendship that likely inform our Gospel [41:52] - Jewish inheritance law and what it has to say about friendship and servitude [45:04] - Some priestly overtones subtly present in the latter part of Jesus' exhortation to the Twelve [51:35]

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