Sixth Sunday of Easter

Today's text is John 14:15-21, read by Jeff Kessinger. This morning's sermon was delivered by the Rev. Emily Bowen-Marler.

Lead Pastor: Rev. Dr. Phil Snider (he/him)

Associate Pastor: Rev. Emily Bowen-Marler (she/her)

Youth Director: Paije Luth (she/her)

Children’s Church Coordinator: Valerie Bush (she/her)

Executive Assistant: Wacey Rivale (she/her)

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Our scripture reading is from John chapter 14. If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and God will give you another advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees nor knows the Spirit. You know her because she abides with you, and she will be in you. I will not leave you orphaned. I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Abba, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me. And those who love me will be loved by my Abba, and I will love them and reveal myself to them. May we hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.

SPEAKER_01 1:02

Jesus did a lot of work preparing his disciples for his departure. He knew that he could not move through the world as he had been doing, and escaped notice from those in power, especially when those in power began to feel that power threatened. The powerful fear those who inspire a following, especially when that following begins to attribute titles to that person that were reserved only for the emperor. Caesar was the son of God, Caesar was Lord. But this ragtag team following Jesus were referring to Jesus that way. And this Jesus was doing things that some of the religious authorities didn't like because it threatened their power as well. The powerful very rarely want their power threatened. They very rarely give up power on their own. So Jesus wanted to prepare his disciples for that inevitable time when he would no longer be with them. He wanted to reassure them that things would be okay, that they would not be left alone, and that they could still continue the work that he had started with them. And this is where we find this passage that you heard Jeff read this morning. He begins by reminding them what loving him means. It means keeping his commandments. And he had shown them what love looks like just moments earlier when he washed his disciples' feet. And after that, he gave them a new commandment. Love one another as I have loved you. So you must love one another. If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples. Love. Just love. And then he promises him, promises them that they will not have to do this alone. God will send them another advocate. Now that word that is translated translated as advocate in the NRSV, which is the translation we used, that word is paracletos. I don't know if I pronounced it correctly. We're going to pretend I did. And it means one called alongside. This meaning has several layers: helper, advocate, counselor, companion, defender. This is a powerful promise. And by saying another advocate, Jesus is indicating this coming advocate is like the one that they have in Jesus now. The spirit that comes to go alongside them will help them continue the work Jesus did with them. Continue the way of love that Jesus showed them. When Jesus further describes this advocate as the spirit of truth, which the world cannot see, it has me wondering, what does Jesus mean by that? What does spirit of truth mean? Last Sunday, Phil preached about truth in an age where truth is undermined and we hardly know what to believe anymore. Does proximity-oh, he spoke of what shapes our interpretation of truth. Does proximity to power shape our interpretation? Does commitment to love shape our interpretation or our understanding? Another preacher reflects: here the world, as Jesus names it, names a system trained to see through the eyes of power. It can't recognize God's life because domination has distorted that vision. It means the system that can't recognize God's life when it appears outside accepted channels of power. The world can't receive the spirit of truth because it neither sees nor knows the spirit. That doesn't mean outsiders are stupid or beyond hope. It means perception is formed. Systems teach people what to notice and what to ignore. Empire trains people to see prisoners as threats, impoverished people as failures, migrants as problems, and vulnerable bodies as disposable. In John, the word that is translated truth means more than factual accuracy, not to say that facts don't matter. Truth is reality revealed in Jesus, the faithful one who shows us who God is. The spirit of truth teaches the community to see through what dominant systems call normal, necessary, and inevitable. And oh the things that we as a human society have allowed to happen because dominant systems declared those things normal, necessary, or inevitable. This is why a constant refrain in my life, for those who are with me a lot, you'll hear me talk a lot about grace upon grace. I feel like there's a lot going on in this world, and we need to extend a lot of grace to each other in the midst of that, because so many people are going through things we cannot possibly imagine. So one of the things I say over and over is grace upon grace. But another thing that I say over and over, and I know I've said it in a sermon before, we must not justify the unjustifiable. The world that sees through lenses of power and controls, control wants us to justify the unjustifiable, wants us to accept injustice as normal, wants us to view harshness and violence as necessary and also as inevitable. But if, as Jesus promised, the spirit of truth abides with us, and this is the advocate Jesus promised would come alongside us, it is fair to say that we should understand the spirit of truth through the lens of Jesus, the one who taught us to love one another as he loved us, to love our neighbors as ourselves. Love, just love. So Jesus promised his disciples that God would send them an advocate that will be with them forever, the spirit of truth that will abide with them and in them. And then Jesus drives home the meaning of this in case they don't quite understand. I will not leave you orphaned. It is important for us to take a look at the first century context of the word orphaned to receive the full impact of this promise. The Greek word is orphanus, and it means orphans, fatherless children, or people left without protection. Think of how many passages in Scripture contain exhortations to care for the orphan and the widow and the stranger. God has a special concern for the vulnerable and exploited in our society. When a child is orphaned, especially in biblical times, they don't just lose a parent, and this is generally referring to a father, because the father is the one that offers protection and access to wealth and inheritance. But when a child loses a parent or a father, they lose access to protection. They lose access to economic security, they lose access to legal and societal standing. That is why there are constant reminders throughout Scripture, reminding the people of God to care for the orphan, to care for the vulnerable. Jesus saying, I will not leave you orphaned, is Jesus saying more than I will not leave you alone. Jesus is promising, you won't be left without kin, defense, belonging, or my life in you. So Jesus tells his disciples that they will not be orphaned, and then he reminds them to keep his commandments, his commandment to love. And what does love look like? It washes feet, it tells the truth, it serves, it walks alongside, it lays down one's life, it risks. All of the things that Jesus did for his disciples were signs of his love for them, and now they must go and do the same. A few weeks ago, I shared some context for John 10, the passage where Jesus talks about being the gate and being the good shepherd and the good shepherd who protects the sheep who would die for the sheep. He shares this parable in response to the expulsion of the man that Jesus healed from blindness. Now, this man was cut off from community by some religious leaders who felt their power was threatened. Being cut off from community could mean the end of a person. And Jesus' anger and indignation at this act carried out by those who claim to be people of God compelled him to speak against such actions. Thus, his parable of the gate and the sheep and the bandits who steal and kill and destroy. And now, here in John 13 and 14, Jesus' promise of an advocate who comes alongside, his commandment that the disciples love one another as he loved them, his declaration that others will know them by their love. In this, Jesus is promising them community that will carry them through. Community is necessary for the thriving of life. Community gives protection. Community shares resources. Community provides belonging. So now that we have a little more context of exactly what it is Jesus was saying to his disciples so many years ago, what impact those words would have had in that time, what do those words mean to us today? In a time when we are seeing those in power do all they can to keep, consolidate, and grow their power. In a time when we see truth discarded as an inconvenience or a distraction, in a time when we see the most vulnerable being exploited, in a time when we see immigrants who just want to have a better life for themselves and their families being scapegoated, in a time when we see trans people systematically stripped of their rights and targeted by power-hungry and unscrupulous politicians, in a time when we see cheating rewarded, in a time when we see progress in our country's healing of the original sin of racism undone. And it's not that difference isn't important. It's that difference doesn't need to divide us. In a time when people are struggling even more to make ends meet, what is Jesus saying to us now? Jesus is saying, I will not leave you orphaned. To the immigrants who are terrified to go grocery shopping for fear of being dragged away by ice, Jesus says, I have not left you orphaned. There are people who will shop for you. To the trans youth who have been rejected by their family, to the trans people who are being targeted by cruel legislation, Jesus holds out his arms and says, I see you for who you are, and I will not abandon you. And the community of found family that surrounds you has your back. To the person who has been struggling to find a shelter, Jesus says, You are not disposable. And there are people driven by love and that spirit who see you and who are working to honor your dignity. To the ones who are left out or left behind, Jesus says you are part of an inextricable web of care. To the ones who feel abandoned, Jesus says you are not left alone. There is still hope. The spirit of truth binds us all together through that inextricable web that compels us to love. And that love is not a feeble thing. It is not something shallow. It is not something vapid that utters platitudes without any action or strength behind them. It is a force moving through this world, giving us strength, connecting us to one another, and moving us to grasp one another's hands in solidarity so that we can feel that we are not alone. To all of us who feel afraid in these times, Jesus says, You are not alone. I have sent you an advocate who will dwell with you forever, drawing you together in community that follows my commandment to love. And that love looks like so many different things. It looks like comforting one another in times of sorrow. It looks like breaking bread with one another across tables of difference and breaking down walls of misunderstanding. It looks like joining together to meet the needs of those who are struggling. It looks like providing refuge for those who have been abused by faith leaders who forgot about love and turned instead to fear. It looks like honoring those who have lived, who have different lived experiences than us by tapping into our curiosity rather than our judgment. It looks like so many different things that give love hands and feet in this world. We stumble and we fall short. We make mistakes and we make bad decisions, but those mistakes are not the end. The disciples themselves stumbled and fell short. They too made mistakes and bad decisions, but those mistakes were not the end because they remembered what they were called to. They remembered that they were not expected to do it alone. They remembered Jesus' words to love. They remembered Jesus' promise that he would not leave them abandoned. I will not leave you orphaned. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day, you will know that I am in God and you are in me and I am in you. Right there, an inextricable web. But that doesn't mean the way is impossible for them to find or to know. That doesn't mean that the spirit of truth, the way of love, is shut off from them. That is the beauty of love. It finds its way into the cracks, takes root, and grows. Jesus promised that the spirit of truth would come alongside them, and Jesus' resurrection after his death revealed the truth that human failings aren't the end of the story. As Jesus said, those who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me. And those who love me will be loved by my Abba, and I will love them and reveal myself to them. That love is not a finite resource. The more we love, the more Jesus is revealed to us. We see Jesus among us when we do the things He did when He walked this earth, when we serve others, when we bring healing, when we show compassion, when we risk for others, when we speak out against exclusion, when we allow the spirit of truth to move through us, inspiring the way of love that illuminates the path, guides our steps, moves our hearts. For as Paul said to the people of Athens, it is in God that we live and move and have our being. He was echoing the words of Jesus who told his disciples, Because I live, you also will live. On that day, you will know that I am in God and you are in me and I am in you. We are not orphaned. We are not abandoned. We are not alone. Thanks be to God, who moves through us, who dwells in us, and binds us together in an inextricable web of love. Let us join our hearts, minds, and voices together in our time of prayer.