24 May 2015
Solemnity of Pentecost
Jesus has been quietly preparing our hearts to receive his Spirit. Have we been paying attention? Today’s Gospel and those of the last three Sundays have been taken from the “Farewell Discourse” of Jesus. In the context of a sacred meal, Jesus shares his deepest desires for all of us.
These five chapters in the fourth gospel are filled with language of love, assurance and hopefulness. We hear Jesus say, I will not leave you orphan …remain in my love…I call you my friends…your grief will become joy…Father, they are your gift to me.Jesus also speaks here at length of an “Advocate” who will come. The title "Advocate" is telling. It speaks to us of companion, guide, comforter, counselor, one who stands by our side and and is concerned about all that concerns us. As John describes in today’s Gospel, the Holy Spirit witnesses, guides, declares and glorifies. And we ourselves are empowered and commissioned by the Spirit to witness, guide, declare and glorify, as Christ’s disciples.
Jesus goes to great lengths to give his followers assurance during this Last Supper discourse. In the part we hear in today’s Gospel, he also says something that might strike us as a little "odd": “I have much more to tell you," Jesus says, "But you cannot bear it now.” I can't help but wonder about this "more" he talks about! But we must be patient with God and with ourselves. Our “bearing of the truth” is a lifelong process in which the Spirit accompanies us as we grow into spiritual maturity. And as we grow in faith, our witness becomes stronger, as does the Spirit’s power at work in us.
So let us this week
• renew within our hearts the power of the Advocate at work within us
• continue to pray for an increase in the gifts that empower our discipleship
• grow in the truth so that we, too, may inspire, lead and guide others in the faith and therefore
• glorify God in all that we do.
The author, Ms. Barbara Gawle, leads Bible studies at her parish, Incarnation Church of Wethersfield, CT. She is a CBS graduate and the 2012 recipient of the Biblical School's highest award, the Lawrence Boadt Memorial Medal.
