Thoughts going in, May 1st, Easter +6

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Jesus answered Judas (Not Iscariot), “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me. 25 “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe. [John 14:23-29]

            For this sixth week of Easter the readings continue to prepare us for transition. Perhaps it's stating the obvious, but we 21st century disciples are dealt a slightly different hand compared to the very first disciples. They sat and spoke with the Lord face to face. They saw the look in his eye, the way he smiled, the devotion to his Heavenly Father. And then they saw him killed. But three days later they saw him again--resurrected. And while this meant being able to look into his eyes again, and speak to him face to face again, this too would change. Their relationship with the Lord would morph into something very similar to our relationship with the Lord. One of the reasons the Easter season Gospel readings drift back to pre-crucifixion stories is so we in the Church can be reminded that Jesus told his disciples that this is how it would be. In that sense, vs 29 of this Sunday's reading is a perfect summary statement: And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe.

            In this very brief passage there are shades of things soon to come, such as the Ascension: You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I (v28); and Pentecost: But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you (v26). In other words, BIG CHANGE is coming down the pike. We can only guess how the disciples handled this news--or if they understood it at all prior to the crucifixion--but if they were anything like us, my hunch is that any talk of change filled them with foreboding... in spite of vs 27's Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

            The clear and intended focus of this selection is to hold up the Christian life as a life directed by the Spirit--in place of Christ who has ascended back to the Father, and for our good. In that sense, the key verse would be vs 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. To run through this at slow motion... It's interesting to see how the major translations handle the description of the Holy Spirit:  NIV/NRSV = Advocate; ESV/NASB = Helper; KJV = Comforter; HCSB = Counselor. The old Douay-Rheims essentially leaves the word untranslated, rendering it as Paraclete, which is the word in the original Greek. So what is a paraclete, and which of the translations are correct? In many ways, ALL of the translations together are correct. In its original usage, a paraclete is one who is called to the aid of another, often but not always, in legal/court cases. This word appears only in New Testament writings associated with John (and always designates the Holy Spirit), and interestingly enough appears once in the Greek version of the Old Testament (known as the Septuagint), in Job 16:2. The Job text proves to be a fascinating point/counterpoint to the whole paraclete question because it's applied by Job to his "friends" who've come to 'comfort' him in his misery. If you know the Job story, however, you realize that they're anything but comforting. At one point Job exclaims: I have heard many things like these; you are miserable comforters, all of you! (16:2) Clearly, just because someone shows up....doesn't mean they're all that helpful.

            In contrast, Jesus presents The Paraclete par excellence, the one who doesn't just show up, but is sent by the Father and who comes in Jesus' name; the one who has, according to Christ, a two-fold job: (1) to teach... this would entail leading us into new, different, and ever-more mature understandings about God and our relationship with Him; and, (2) to remind... to drive home, to bring back to memory those things we already knew to be true about our relationship with God.

            Luther was very big on the idea of the Christian being beset by an 'unholy trinity' of sorts... what he called the Devil (or simply any and all forces of evil), the World (by which is meant all human inclinations that align themselves against God), and our Own sinful nature (which still lingers). These three together make for a formidable threat in terms of living the baptized life... but Christ's promise in this Gospel reading is that HELP IS ON THE WAY. That's now past tense. HELP HAS BEEN GIVEN. The Paraclete, Counselor, Comforter, Helper, Advocate is in our lives and on our side. Thanks be to God!

Cheers,

T.M.