The Paraclete’s Proof – John 14

A text – John 14:23-29

²³ Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. ²⁴ Whoever does not love me does not keep my words, and the word that you hear is not mine but is from the Father who sent me.

²⁵ “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. ²⁶ But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you. ²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. ²⁸ You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. ²⁹ And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur you may believe.

A reflection:

Here we find ourselves back at the last supper, as Jesus is spending his last evening on Earth with his best friends. He is preparing them not only for his coming absence from them but also for their mission in the world, to continue Jesus’s ministry to all people. Jesus knows that they love him, and he says that because they love him, they will keep on embodying his work of love and care, healing and preaching to draw people closer to the Father.

They are afraid, he can tell. But he promises them that he will leave them his peace, and the Father will send them the Holy Spirit. In the Bible’s original Greek, the word Holy Spirit is something very concrete. The Greek word is paraclete. Para, when it shows up in English, usually means “alongside” – as a paralegal or paramedic functions as an assistant to lawyers or doctors to help get the right things done – a very practical function. Clete comes from the Greek word for “to be called.” The Greek word paraclete was used in everyday speech as an actual term for an advocate or intercessor – someone or something that acted on behalf of a person involved in a difficulty. The paraclete brought a legal defense or proof. Jesus was perhaps saying to his followers that when they grew weary or even unbelieving, the paraclete would strengthen them with defense and with proof, helping them to be reinvigorated for the loving and energetic mission they would be trying to complete.

Anytime we find ourselves called to do something for the Kingdom of God, for “the least of these,” we might also find ourselves not confident in our abilities, or even not confident in our faith in God. But Jesus is saying that believing in him brings with it a noble assistant, an advocate for the power of God that we will be given to complete the task, and even proof for the ability of God to furnish whatever we need to do our called work. Did Peter believe he could bring Tabitha/Dorcas back to life last week? No. But Peter knew God could do it. And God did it. Peter did not take credit, either. The Holy Spirit, the Paraclete or advocate, reminded Peter that God was with him and could send power through him. God’s plan of mission to the whole world seems to be not to send power via thunderbolts but via the touch of other human beings just as fallible as we are. The Paraclete proves it to us over and over again.

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for all the ways you support us with love and confidence and trust. Help us to remember that we can trust the Holy Spirit to prove you to us over and over again, and to do what you call us to do. Amen.