Read John 14:15-21
We’re still in the season of Easter. It’s still not long since we celebrated Jesus coming back to life after death. In those days before he ascended again, Jesus appeared to his disciples – alive after being killed. Remember the disciples on the road to Emmaus? They recalled that their hearts burned within them; they understood that Jesus had been with them.
But in today’s reading, we rewind a bit – we go back in time. Jesus is saying goodbye to his disciples before he will be crucified. It’s part of his Farewell Discourse. The reason we hear it today is because he talks about how things will be when he is gone.
And he’s talking about after he has ascended to heaven to be with the Father. That will be after the road to Emmaus. That will be when he is no longer seen anywhere on earth – not to Mary Magdalene, not to Thomas, not to disciples behind locked doors or to disciples that receive a breakfast of fish from Jesus. After all those special appearances that followed the resurrection. Those appearances stopped. What then?
Jesus is telling them “what then”. He will send a helper, an Advocate, the special being we know as the Holy Spirit. The Greek word paraclete is an advocate – someone who speaks up for someone. We use it a lot in a court of law. Your advocate will speak for you and argue your case in the courtroom.
But is this a courtroom where God needs The Holy Spirit to argue our case? Will God accept us because of the Holy Spirit? No – if there is any change to God’s way of seeing us, it is thanks to the forgiveness of sins that Jesus bore.
The Holy Spirit is alongside us as a helper and advocate, but actually he speaks for God. He speaks for the Father and the Son. He is the Spirit of Truth.
It’s easy in this world to become confused about the truth. There are a lot of deliberate lies in the media – so-called “fake news”. There are other false things, too – things that we may never discover to be lies, because almost everyone agrees with them. Our society at large can believe that something is OK, and if you are part of that society it is hard to know any different. A few decades ago, companies like Telstra put ads on billboards urging drivers not to sit in their cars - make a call. Today we know better. We used to think tanned bodies were healthy bodies. Now we protect our children and ourselves. Sometimes our society can make decisions that help one area but damage another. COVID-19 policies protect some lives and put others at risk.
In all this, the Spirit of Truth brings the life of Jesus and the Word of the Father to us, here and now. The Holy Spirit convinces us that what Jesus said was true.
For Thomas, seeing was believing. He got to see Jesus. But blessed were those who could not see and yet believed. Who can believe? Those who are open to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Come, Holy Spirit, Come!
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