Word to the Wise
Tuesday, May 7, 2024 - 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 one not one of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' But because I told you this, grief fills 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. " [John]
I believe that the Gospel According to John could, in many ways, be summed up with the statement, "Jesus is the one whom God has sent." He was a person with a mission to accomplish and he would send (that word again) the "Advocate" to help believers in the long run. The roots of our belief in the trinitarian nature of God are seen in this.
The Last Supper discourse is presented as a kind of preparation of the disciples for what would happen in the near future, but it is not an organized speech. Jesus is quoted as saying, "Not one of you asks me, 'Where are you going?'" But Thomas did ask him earlier in the discourse: "Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?" There are two "endings" as well. Perhaps the evangelist had two different traditions of the discourse and included both in his composition. It's hard to know. What is more important is to note the big picture, both past and future, that Jesus presents in the discourse. He has come into the world to save the world and he will accomplish his mission ultimately by being "lifted up" on the cross. He will send the Holy Spirit to enable the disciples to carry on the mission. That is our situation today. We are now the ones who are being SENT. The Holy Spirit will guide us to all truth. AMEN