Easter 6, Year A

Donna G. Joy

Thomas Long tells the story of Rabbi Hugo Gryn, one of the most respected rabbis in Great Britain. As a boy, he and his family were imprisoned in Auschwitz. As Orthodox Jews they would know that any religious observance would present them with enormous danger, but Hugo’s father insisted that the Sabbath as well as the festivals must be kept. Hugo remembered the time when, to observe the Sabbath, his father took a piece of string and placed it in a bit of butter to make a Shabbat candle. Watching him light it, Hugo became furious and said, “Father that is all the butter we have!” His father replied, “Without food, we can live for weeks. But we cannot live, really live, one minute without hope.”

It has been said that, “Hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark.” Charles L. Allen, early 20^th century, noteworthy American Methodist Clergy person said, “When you say a situation or a person is hopeless, you are slamming the door in the face of God.” A French proverb says, “Hope is the dream of a soul awake.” And an Italian saying, “Hope is the last thing ever lost.”

This story and these messages of hope sprang to my mind this week as I was pondering today’s Gospel reading from John, where Jesus is telling his disciples that although he will be leaving them soon, the same Spirit that has empowered his earthly life and ministry will be given to them – to empower them. With this empowering gift working in them and through them, extraordinary things will be made possible.

Now, as disciples/followers of Christ, it is important to be really clear about how and why this belief system differs from the New Age spirituality that plays such a significant role in our culture today. New Age motivational speakers will say such things as, “YOU are the very essence of what is good. What some folks call ‘god’ I call YOU! Embrace the divinity thatis YOU!”

New Age Spirituality is about the elevation of the self, while Christianity is about the elevation and glorification of God, working in us and through us, as has been promised. The older I get the more aware I become of my own frailty and limitations and with the increased dawning of this awareness I realize that my hope is in remembering that God has promised to work in and through me, particularly in the midst of those places that are vulnerable and weak.

In this morning’s Gospel reading from John, Jesus speaks to his disciples about his upcoming departure. They are gathered in the upper room, clearly filled with fear and sadness about the events that are to soon unfold. Aware of their own frailty, they cannot even imagine how they will get through this. Jesus tells them (and us) that our hope is found in him. He promises them, “…you will receive an advocate . . . to be with you forever. This advocate will abide with you and be in you. I will not leave you orphaned/desolate . . . because I (Jesus) live, you will live.”

This word ‘advocate’ comes from the Greek word ‘Parakletos’ or ‘Paraclete’ which means literally ‘someone called alongside.’ (Friend) In other words, never – never – is there even a second or a moment when this advocate – this Spirit – this Divine Friend - is not with us, empowering us to do and be what God has created us to do and be; offering us courage and strength that we – left to our own devices – could NEVER otherwise have. Here Jesus is reassuring his worried disciples that God will actually dwell within us. To trust in this, is to live in hope.

Jesus is giving his disciples the One who is the link between Jesus and his heavenly parent – the One to whom Jesus identifies as Father. Everything that Jesus has done, throughout his earthly ministry, has been done “in the Spirit,” that is, empowered by, authorized by, and enabled by the Spirit. So in promising his disciples the gift of this same Spirit, Jesus is giving them a profound sense of hope.

Once again, contrary to New Age spirituality, the Holy Spirit is not an aspect of human nature. The Holy Spirit is God - that which links Jesus’ disciples to the whole rest of the Godhead. That is huge - The Spirit that unites Jesus to the Father/Mother/heavenly parent . . . that SAME Spirit is given to those fearful, trembling, terrified disciples . . . AND through our baptism, to each of us. The Holy Spirit, that power through which God is most vividly present, that energy that empowered Jesus to preach and to heal, that force that pushed the first Christians out into every corner of the world to preach and to heal, that same power, God’s presence, is in me and in you! This is the hope we cling to.

Jesus begins today’s lesson by saying, “If you love me . . . keep my commandments.” We are not simply to only believe in Jesus but also to follow Jesus. We are to show our love for Jesus in obeying Him. Our love for Jesus will be made manifest to the whole world through our loving obedience to Him. And Jesus brings today’s Gospel to a close by saying, “They who have my commandments and keep them will be loved by me . . . and I will reveal myself to them”

I think this means that as we try to follow Jesus, try to discern and do what he asks of us, as we do our utmost to devote ourselves to him - then we are more likely to find him in the struggle; he will tell us and show us what we need to know in order to faithfully follow him. That mysterious, elusive Other whom we call God will NOT stay distant from us but will as he promised, be with us and in us. It is, in so many ways, an extraordinary claim.

Imagine those disciples sitting with Jesus. Clearly they were full of sadness, fear and confusion.

They were about to lose this Jesus on whom they had come to rely. And yet he gathers with them and says, in effect, “As you love me” (which they obviously did) and “as you are trying to obey and follow me I will be with you, and in you.” (“Even though, as you try to follow me your success rate ebbs and flows, I will be with you.”)

William Willimon (a highly renowned preacher/teacher/theologian whose work I’ve followed for 20 years) speaks of a time, back when he was first ordained. He says that he had real doubts about his ability to actually be anybody’s pastor. He had been told that he didn’t come across well to some people, that he was too intellectual for some people, that he talked too much and listened too little, that he was not spiritual enough, and on and on. After hearing these criticisms, not from everybody, but from enough people to really make him doubt his own worthiness to serve as a member of the clergy, he made a pact with himself that he would do his best to give parish ministry a good try but if it didn’t work out, he would admit defeat early and go into some other line of work. Then, as he went about his pastoral duties, he had these undeniable experiences in which he would stumble into some situation – say when there was a sudden death and people were in full grief, or when someone asked him about some problem they were having in their life – and he would respond, as best he knew how. And amazingly, it seemed to be enough. People would say to him, “That was just what I needed to hear,” or God really spoke to me through what you said this morning.” And despite his misgivings, he became aware of a real sense that the presence of God was working through his fear and strong feelings of inadequacy.

Willimon realized that he was showing his youthful ignorance to say, “I made a pact with myself.” He realized that he was NOT working with himself (in and through himself). He wasn’t alone. His hope was in Jesus working in and through him. The Holy Spirit was using him as a means of getting to other people. The Holy Spirit was using other people as a way to get through to him. The ‘go between God’ (The Holy Spirit) was clearly at work.

Of course William Willimon isn’t and wasn’t God. But he is a confirmation of the profound message of hope that is found in today’s Gospel from John. And I’m sure that I’m describing something that has happened and continues to happen to and through each of you. I encourage each of us here today, to recall a time when despite our feelings of fear or inadequacy something good was accomplished. I encourage each of us to think of something at the moment that presents us with such a challenge. And I urge each of us to acknowledge the presence and power of the living God rising through these challenging times.

Let us pray: Eternal, loving and living God, help us to remember that our hope is found in you. We give you thanks for the gift of your Holy Spirit which fills us with your presence, reveals you to us and within us so that we might represent you in the world. Left to our own devices we do not have the gifts we need to be your faithful disciples. But fill us with hope and faith that you fulfill your promise to give us the gifts we need in order faithfully to do the work that you summon us to do. Amen.