Word to the Wise
Tuesday, May 23, 2017 - 6th Week of Easter - Tues
[Acts 16:22-34 and John 16:5-11]"Now I am going to the one who sent me, and not one of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts. 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: sin, because they do not believe in me; righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; condemnation, because the ruler of this world has been condemned" [John]
We are all familiar with the phenomenon of news organizations reporting on the same event and telling different stories of it. The slang term for these different accounts is "spin." Sometimes the reports will differ on the facts and sometimes on the interpretation of the facts. Historians coming along later will take these divergent stories and try to create a consistent narrative, but even the historians have their own "agendas." We see something of this process in the composition of the gospels. Since we are moving through the Farewell Discourse at the Last Supper in the Gospel According to John, the process of reporting and interpreting is important to remember. Scripture scholars do remind us that all efforts to create an overarching narrative of the discourse itself is nearly impossible, but it CAN be placed within the larger picture of the gospel so that "themes" can be seen. Another image might be the musical one of "theme and variations." The main theme is stated at the beginning and then various ways and rhythms are explored by the composer.
With all that in the background, the Farewell Discourse shows us how it happens. Jesus is reported as saying, "I am going to the one who sent me and not one of you asks me, 'Where are you going?'" Yet, earlier in this discourse one of them, Thomas, did indeed ask that question. (14:5). This is a signal to us that the evangelist (reporter, composer, historian) is using a separate tradition that was given to him. The major theme is Jesus coming from the Father and returning to the Father and the Spirit then coming from them to enable the Church to bear witness. This witness will include confronting the "world" with its refusal to believe in Jesus as the one whom the Father has sent. It will show that Jesus has kept his promise to send that Spirit. Finally, the Spirit will confront the overall power of evil that Jesus battled in his ministry.
All of this faces us in our own time as it did the evangelist and early community in its own time. We continue to bear witness that Jesus is the one whom God has sent, and that the Holy Spirit enables us as Church to proclaim Jesus and confront the "world" with its lack of faith. We still have some of the Farewell Discourse to work through, but there is more than enough richness in today's segment. AMEN
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