Word to the Wise
Tuesday, May 12, 2015 - 6th Week of Easter - Tues
[Acts 16:22-34 and John 16:5-11]"But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes he will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation...." [John]
Jesus's Farewell Discourse turns now to the coming of the Holy Spirit, which the Gospel of John in the New American Bible refers to as "the Advocate" or, in older translations, "the Paraclete." The event will take place after Jesus' death and resurrection (and will be very different in the Gospel of John than in the Acts of the Apostles). So, Jesus tells the disciples that it is very necessary that he undergo what is coming next. In general, the Gospel of John portrays Jesus as completely in command of his circumstances and faithful to the Father's plan.
Since we now live 2000 years after these events, it is difficult to recapture the anxiety and sorrow of the disciples and their confusion and bewilderment about the "Advocate." The presence of the Holy Spirit is something we more or less take for granted. There are plenty of pictures of the white dove to remind us if we forget! Our faithful living of Jesus' command to love one another as he has loved us can be a way of preaching the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. This is what enables us to love in the way he commanded. The traditional prayer says it well: "Come Holy Spirit! Fill the hearts of the faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love..." AMEN
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