The verb to stay, so representative of the fourth Gospel, has perhaps not sufficiently held the attention of the exegetes. Yes its study could open up a new vista on what can be called John's mystique. The use of the term gradually glides from an outer to an inner meaning. Already in the physical sense, to stay takes up a symbolic and spiritual connotation, while the expression to stay in refers to two levels of interiority: the faith level (Stay in my word) and the communion level (You will stay in the Son and in the Father). This second level is properly the one of John's mystique. For him, Christian mysticism lies in the deep logic of faith.
