Access for All

Gospel: John 16: 12-15

When it comes to this mysterious figure of the Holy Spirit, we have acquired some unhealthy ideas over the years.  We have come to believe that only a small select group of men have access to the Spirit at all time and that every decision they make is guided by the Spirit.  In our own life our access to the Spirit is limited to sacramental moments at baptism and confirmation.  At all other times the Holy Spirit is a nice conversation piece in our theological attic.

But Jesus tells us that we have access to the Spirit at all times, and that the Spirit will guide each one of us in the way of all truth, not merely in some institutional sense but in our individual, personal lives.  The Spirit dwells within each person as we are told that we are temples of the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit, then, cannot be contained by institutional machinations.  The Spirit is present to each of our lives, there to guide us in all truth as well.

Each day we look to the Spirit for guidance in the truth, in making judgments we need to make in our lives.  We look to the Spirit to inspire us to do the works of mercy and loving kindness as Jesus did while on earth.  And we look to the Spirit for consolation when the struggles and difficulties of life become overwhelming at times.  We have received a great gift.  Let us not consign her to our attic of oddities, but instead cultivate a mind that listens to her wisdom each and everyday.  

The Consolation

Gospel: John 16: 5-11

The disciples are overcome with grief.  Jesus has been unjustly executed, and they have some guilt regarding this death.  One of their band betrayed him, another denied him three times, and the rest abandoned him to this cruel fate.  The trauma of all these events magnifies the grief they feel, all of which are perfectly natural and understandable responses to trauma and death that human beings experience each and every day.  

However, Jesus promises to send them the Consoler, the Holy Spirit who will help them overcome this grief.  Over time they will come to see and realize many things.  Jesus is physically absent from them, but his Spirit moves among them, enabling them to carry out the works of mercy and loving kindness he performed while on earth.  Eventually, their sorrow will turn into joy, knowing that Jesus lives among us in word, sacrament, and the presence of others.  

In our own grief we experience with the loss of loved ones we too can find consolation in the Spirit and in the ongoing presence of Jesus in the world.  Grief can seem like a slab of concrete that crushes us.  But like a little tiny tree shoot in the crack of the concrete, over time it grows above the concrete and breaks that concrete to be a strong tree.  The concrete, the grief, will always be there, but it no longer dominates our life.  This is what the Spirit enables us to do with the consolation she brings to our lives.

The Danger is Real

Gospel: John 15: 26-16: 4

Today's Gospel portion describes the very real life setting of the original audience.  Christians were being expelled from the synagogue rolls throughout the region.  This took place after the failed revolt against the Roman Empire in which Christians did not participate.  Once removed from synagogue rosters, they lacked the legal protection afforded to the Jewish community exempting them from required cult of the Roman Emperor.  Christians now were required to offer worship and tribute to Caesar as a god.

Christians refused to do so and consequently faced a number of punishments for this crime, including execution.  Such punishments began right around the time the Gospel of John was composed.  What is described here is historical and real.  So, too is the consolation the Gospel writer offers.  The presence of the Holy Spirit confirms us in truth and provides us with peace and consolation to face such punishments with the same serenity and acceptance as Jesus did in his arrest, trial, and execution.

Christians of today are out of practice in refusing to give honors to emperors.  Since the time of official recognition as the state religion of empire, the currying of favor with empires has been all too popular with Christians, even to the point of mocking other Christians like Oscar Romero who would stand opposed to the earthly powers.  They are content with golden statuary and feigned piety of the showman.  The authentic Christian follows the way of the Lord Jesus, led by the Holy Spirit of truth and consolation.