Walking With The Spirit

Reflection on John 14:25-31

by Iana Diesto

These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, forthe ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here. 

Whenever my one-year-old nephew falls or gets knocked down, his immediate reaction is to cry.  However, there’s a three-second window, in between the fall and the tears, when he looks at me for help. In that moment, I can help him respond differently: I pretend it wasn’t a big deal, or I can rush to his aid and coddle him. If I choose the former, he simply gets up again and continues on.  If I run to him and worriedly pick him up, he starts crying. More often than not, when I show my nephew how I respond, he responds likewise.

I see a similar situation happening with Jesus and his disciples at the end of John 14.  Up until this point, Jesus was saying that he would be leaving them. His crucifixion is about to take place, and He only has a few moments left.

As for the disciples, the person they had built their lives around – whom they had left everything for and in whom they had entrusted their futures – was about to leave them! How would you feel if person or the things you had sacrificed a lot for were gone? Or if your ideas of your future weren’t panning out the way you wanted?

I would feel incredibly frightened and frustrated.  I’d probably cry harder than my nephew. Sensing this is how his disciples would also react, Jesus takes those few moments He has and offers a different way to respond: with the Holy Spirit.

First, He offers the Holy Spirit as a “Helper.” If translated, this means various things: counselor, advocate, and intercessor are a few. When the disciples are faced with an unknown future, the Spirit will give them advice. When they feel like they are unable to speak for themselves, the Holy Spirit will be there to stand in the gap for them. Not only that, but the Spirit will continue to do the things Jesus was doing with them. What comforting news that must be!

Second, Jesus also offers His unique peace. Worldly peace is temporary; it depends on things that may not last (like their jobs, house, or the wellbeing of their families). In contrast, Jesus’ peace lasts forever. Their souls can be at rest no matter what is going on around them, because His peace is within them. It is a peace that covers all of their past and present troubles, and it shields them from fearing their future.

Lastly, Jesus offers joy. In a little while, He’ll be gone and the disciples are unsure when He will return. Instead of fearing this potentially difficult circumstance, Jesus calls for rejoicing.  Somehow, Jesus’ leaving will be better for Jesus, and therefore better for His disciples. Jesus calls them to rejoice in their current hard situation because of what it will mean in the future.

We all deal with difficult situations. There are times when I am stuck and don’t know what to do next. There are people in our community who feel trapped where they are and no one will listen to their voice. In those situations, rejoicing does not seem natural.  Crying, arguing, and making excuses seem more natural. But how would I live differently if I knew there was a Helper who gave me direction when I felt lost in life? Which voices we would hear if we listened to the Spirit interceding on behalf of the voiceless in Oakland? Knowing that there was a peace in the Holy Spirit that the world could not take away, which circumstances is God calling you to rejoice in?

Tomorrow’s reading: John 16:1-15