The Spirit is Our Advocate
I came across a story online this week that caught my attention. The headline read, Woman Embalmed, Bronzed in Favorite Pew. There was even a photo.
The by line read MOSCOW, Idaho — Longtime church-goer Gert Rizzoli was so devoted to her spot in the pew at Featherside Congregational Church that when she passed away last month, her family received permission to bronze her body and set it in the pew. Now, to the consternation of some church members, her body is permanently located in the aisle seat she occupied every Sunday for forty years.
“She loved gazing at the pastor from that spot, being the first in her row to receive Communion, having quick access to the bathroom,” says daughter Sofia. “It gave her a sense of deep, spiritual comfort.”
But fellow church-goers also remember Gert’s stiff response to anyone who tried to take her place. One man was shooed away by Gert on several occasions when he arrived early and inadvertently took her spot, he says. Now the bronze statue serves as an irritating reminder of the encounter. “It’s like she’s still there defending her seat,” he says. When church members enter the sanctuary now, they can’t help but catch the glare of light off of Gert’s bronzed head. Visitors find it inconvenient to climb over her, and children have stubbed their toes on her hardened shins. “She was a Christ-like lady, except when it came to giving up that spot,” says a family friend. But others still mumble about the nuisance. “What if more people request the same thing?” one woman asks. “Pretty soon the church will be filled with bronze statues.” That article was, I’m almost certain, a joke, but it does make a point.
May 5, 2013
John 14:23-29, The Spirit is Our Advocate
Doug Scalise, Brewster Baptist Church
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In colonial America you could walk into more than a few churches and find names on some of the pews because people paid to have their seats. In some football stadiums today, season ticket holders have to pay a personal seat licensing fee in the thousands of dollars, for the privilege of paying thousands of more dollars to buy their seats. While at this point no church members have approached me, the finance team or the Advisory Council about the possibility of personal seat licenses so people can truly say a seat is theirs, if some of you would like to do that, perhaps we can work on establishing a figure. This humorous moment has been brought to you by, Hospitality – a very important Christian virtue reminding us all that we are heading into the time of year when our attendance peaks for the next six months. Please be a help and not a hindrance to the Spirit moving by moving yourself and being gracious and welcoming. And please refrain from telling anyone, “Excuse me, you’re in my seat.”
During the month of May my sermons are going to be about the Holy Spirit. When Christians hear the word “God” they often think of words like Creator or the word Jesus used often, “Father.” When people think of Jesus they can picture a man who walked and lived in Galilee and ate and drank and had friends like we do. When people hear Holy Spirit, I think that is often the least understood or the most mysterious member of what we call the Trinity. Three New Testament authors have a good deal to say about the Spirit, and each of these three voices emphasizes something different. For John, the Spirit is the Advocate, the continuing and comforting presence of Jesus with the church, and the source of peace. For Paul, the Spirit is that which unites us to Christ, makes us into his body, and gives particular gifts to each person for the sake of the community. In Luke and Acts, the Spirit is the power of God that blows the church into new and unexpected places of ministry and fires up the faith of the followers of Jesus. We will look at each of these aspects of the Holy Spirit in coming weeks. In John’s Gospel, Jesus begins telling his disciples about the Holy Spirit in chapter 14.
Listen to 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.”
The first thing that’s important to note is what Jesus says about the relationship between loving him and keeping his word. If we love Jesus, we will do what he tells us. It’s an interesting exercise to look at what Jesus says in John’s Gospel before he says this, things like: “Follow me (1:43), Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above (3:3). Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit (3:5). God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth (4:24). This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent (6:29). I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another (13:34-35).” Obviously there is a lot more but that is enough to make the point. If we want all the benefits that Jesus speaks of in verses 26-27, then we first need to do what Jesus says in verse 23. We demonstrate our love for Jesus by doing what he says. We believe, we follow, we love, we worship. When we do these things Jesus makes an amazing statement: “my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” What an astonishing promise of presence. There is a big difference between a guest who comes for a few days and someone moving in permanently and making their home with us. That requires a lot more changes and adjustments. That is true when one adopts a child. It is true when we become a disciple and seek to obey Christ, Jesus and the Father come to make their home with us and things are never the same.
Jesus speaks these words in John 14 not long before his death. The disciples are confused, at least a little frightened to think about the future without Jesus, and a bit on edge. Into this reality of Jesus’ impending absence comes the Spirit, the Advocate, sent by God in Jesus’ name to be present with his followers (verse 26). John 14 is the first time we read about this presence as the Holy Spirit. Jesus is seeking to reassure the disciples that they will not be left alone when he is gone. That’s so important when someone dies – to know there are still people we can turn to – family and friends who can help us as we seek to go on living and doing what God is calling us to do. At one moment yesterday in the lobby before Bill Reycroft’s memorial service, his wife Jackie came over to see her friends Mary Ellen, Nancy, Marie, and Sandra and Frank was also approaching. I realized all of them have lost their spouse and I had led the service for each of them. I felt for all of them yet I was also encouraged by the fact that all of these good folks have been there for each other and they will be there for Jackie as well. The first words Jesus says about the Holy Spirit are “the Advocate, the Holy Spirit.” The word translated “Advocate” can also be “Helper.” Jesus is saying first of all that the Spirit is our Helper. Not only will family and friends be there for us when our loved ones pass away, to help us in a variety of ways, but the Holy Spirit will be there for us as well. I suspect I could ask some of those people I just named, “Have you sensed the presence of God with you?” – and that they would be very likely to be able to be able to share some stories or experiences with us that demonstrates that they have. The Holy Spirit is our Helper and our Advocate.
An advocate is like an attorney in court where it is great to have someone with us who knows the ropes so we don’t have to be there by ourselves. When we’re in court it often means something bad has happened so it’s also important to have someone who will stand up for us, advocate for us, provide wise counsel and advice, and defend us. In the various branches of the US military there is the Judge Advocate General’s Corps that provides “professional, candid counsel” and all the legal help one could need. In the field of health when we’re dealing with issues and meeting with doctors, it can be beneficial to have an Advocate to help us. There is an article on the front page of today’s Cape Cod Times about Lyme disease featuring BBC’s Lisa Freeman. The article says that Lisa “is a nurse and a patient advocate with Lyme Awareness of Cape Cod.” In many situations in life, having a Helper and an Advocate can help to alleviate our anxiety and fear and provide wise counsel; the same is true with the Holy Spirit. The Advocate is a presence we all will need in order to love as we are called to love. Thanks to the presence of the Spirit, it will be as if Jesus is still present.
Not only is the Spirit our Helper and Advocate, the Spirit will serve as the disciples teacher in Jesus’ absence (verse 26). Jesus’ role as teacher is hard to overstate in all the Gospels and continuing his teaching will be the Spirit’s role. Having a teacher who makes a difference in your life is important. Countless stories have been told of teachers making an impact on a young person’s life in ways that turned them around or helped them fulfill their potential in profound ways. I’m sure many of us could identify at least one teacher if not several who have had a significant impact on our life. While no teacher we’ve had is on the level of Jesus as teacher and mentor, all of us need someone present “in our corner” to embody the Teacher who leads us and inspires us to fulfill our God-given potential. Jesus did that for the disciples. He taught them in ways that led them to leave their previous lives to follow him in ministry and to change the world.
The Spirit is our Helper throughout our life, our Advocate who is in our corner, the Teacher who reminds us of all that Jesus said.
Finally, one of the most profound moments in this passage comes in verse 27 when Jesus says: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” Peace is a commodity we sorely need in our world and is absent for far too many people. Jesus does more than gently wish them peaceful lives — he gives them peace (verse 27). This is not a wish. This is a gift. It is a gift of profound importance at this moment in the life of Jesus and the disciples. He must have known the turmoil they would face when he was gone and he does all he can to prepare them for the next part of the journey. Peace and Love are two of the most important elements of John’s gospel. And like love, peace is a mark of true discipleship that is required of the disciples — then and now. Peace is not passive. It is an active working toward peace in multiple situations in which we find ourselves at home, church, work – wherever we are. This Spirit and peace will propel the disciples and later the church into active discipleship and mission. As someone once said followers of Jesus “breathe in peace,” and “breathe out love.” It is the presence of this peace, given by God in Jesus’ name, which enables disciples to live lives of faithfulness (verse 26) helped by the Holy Spirit who is our Advocate throughout our life of discipleship and the one who reminds us of all that Jesus taught.
Prayer
Holy God, you have called us to follow in the way of your Son, and to care for those who are our companions, not only with words of comfort, but with acts of love, help, and advocacy.
Guide us further in the path of discipleship, so that, as you have blessed us with your Son and the Spirit, we may be a blessing for others, bringing the promise of your presence, power, and peace near by our words and deeds. Amen.
Blessing
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.
2 Corinthians 13:13