Commentary on the Gospel of
John 16: 29-33 Cheer up, I have overcome the world
I am not alone, for the Father is with me
Cheer up, I have overcome the world
I deeply admire our Lord’s manner of boosting his disciples’ self-esteem! He says to them: you are the salt of the earth! You are the light of the world!! And today he reassures them, ‘cheer up, I have overcome the world! Now that I am assured and convinced that my master has overcome the world, what on earth would I be scared of?
I had a childhood courage that is simply traceable to what I heard about my dad, namely, that he was a trained boxer! He was training to become a professional boxer but did not continue because of his mother’s insistence that as an only child she feared losing him! What is important here is what this knowledge did to me! As a little child I was convinced that no one dared molest anyone in our family because my dad would beat the person up! Though, I never saw him fight, yet I was full of confidence that a strongman was beside me.
Today we are exhorted to embrace the empowering strength of positive thinking, the wonder-working transformation brought about by laying a solid foundation on the right rock, namely the Lord Jesus Christ. Attaching oneself to him means attaching oneself to the Father, of whom he says, “I am not alone, for the Father is with me.”
We are therefore called upon to embrace the practice of positive self-talk – at the sight of important missions, to learn to empower and re-empower oneself through constructive, affirmative messages like, ‘the Lord is my strength’, Yes, I can by God’s grace, etc. One does not just say such words, the person is deeply convinced and means what is repeated within oneself. O Lord, give us the grace to always recourse to You for empowerment and steadfastness, amen.
