Sermons
27th April 2008 - Easter 6
An unhappily married man was once asked why he didn’t get a divorce. He pondered the benefits of the idea for a while and then said ‘Well, I could, but there would still be me’. He was aware that the solution to his problems didn’t just lie in walking away and providing for himself, if his marriage was going to work he would need to look at his own behavior and the state of his relationship. He was aware that trying to do it all alone probably wouldn’t work. We are tempted by the culture we live in to imagine that we can sort out our problems through our own initiative, self-help books are legion and the promotion of the individual as the sole arbiter of choice is powerful; we live in a DIY culture in which we expect to assemble not only shelves and beds for ourselves but also morals and philosophical standpoints. This is a tall order, particularly because when you come across flat-packed morals and philosophy they tend not to be very well made, and somewhat ironically given the prevalent emphasis on individualism, they tend to be rather standardized. In today’s gospel Jesus tries to teach his disciples that being one of his followers will involve reliance not on themselves primarily, but on God and on others. He is trying to teach them that they should not expect or hope to find their way through their lives as his followers without help - and St Paul would develop this theme so strongly as to make it seem almost heretical to think that can by our own efforts achieve a balanced Christian life.
In this section of John’s gospel, Jesus is pictured seated at the Last Supper teaching the disciples about his forthcoming departure to the Father. Jesus is strengthening the disciples for what lies ahead, knowing that they will be scandalized and bewildered by his death and resurrection. He tries to teach them that through all they are about to experience: the brutal death of their leader, his apparent presence with them beyond death, his ascension to the right hand of God, through all this and beyond they will not be alone, not left to fend for themselves. They are not to be left as orphans lacking the love and guidance of parents. The word used for orphans can also be translated as referring to pupils of a master and Jesus says that the disciples will not be left without their teacher, like the followers of Socrates after his execution. Jesus teaches them that they will be able to rely on God and on other people, not only on themselves.
Firstly, reliance on God. Jesus says that after his departure he will send the Holy Spirit to the disciples. He says ‘I will ask the Father, and he will send you another Advocate, to be with you forever’. We are perhaps most familiar with this word advocate in legal parlance, an advocate will argue your corner, stand up for you, defend you against danger. We get that word from the Latin translation of the Greek word parakletos which literally means ‘one called alongside’. So, yes this could be someone defending you, but it could also be a comforter, a consoler, someone you can definitely trust. But it may also be someone close enough to offer you advice to turn away from the wrong path; that needs to be someone who knows you very well indeed, just think how many people you would happily take advice from which redirects your life in a different direction, how many people whom you know could say to you ‘well, actually I think you are going down the wrong road there, you need to think again’, probably not many. So the comforter, the Holy Spirit might not always be coming alongside to give you a cuddle and affirm your actions, the Holy Spirit might also want to guide you. There is a picture on the Bayeux Tapestry called ‘Bishop Odo comforteth his men’, which shows the good bishop encouraging his men by prodding them with a spear from behind.
Notice also that Jesus calls the spirit another comforter, another advocate. This is to say, another – like the last one, not another - a different one. And here he refers to himself. The spirit that the father will send is the spirit of the son, the spirit of Jesus will be with the disciples and this is why they will know that they are still being guided by Jesus and this is why Jesus - who is the way the truth and the life - can promise the disciples that this spirit will lead them into all truth. The gift of the spirit is the gift of continuing participation in the truth, the truth about the nature of God and about ourselves, the truth about God’s love for each of us, the truth that is to be the defining characteristic of the Christian community. So as Christian people we are not solely reliant on our own abilities and intuitions but on the guidance of God himself through the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Christian community.
And when Jesus is addressing the disciples he speaks to them, of course, in the plural. He is not simply saying that the Spirit will be given to each of them as a sort of theological and moral satnav to guide them through life. They are also to learn with, and from, one another. It is in community that we learn to be Christians and it is in our love of neighbor that our Christianity finds its practical outlets and resources.
So if you have periods when things are stacking up against you, when you are struggling to see your way through the next few hours or days, and you are wondering why you seem to be lacking the ability to sort things out for yourself, then remember this teaching of Jesus to his disciples. You are not to rely on yourself alone, but on God and on one another. You are not to assemble a DIY religion or a DIY morality but are to consider in community the ways in which the Spirit has guided and is guiding people into the truth. We cannot put that truth together by ourselves, and we cannot regulate our moral lives by ourselves, we need help. One of the most revivifying things a Christian can and should do regularly is to ask God and friends for help. Asking for help is just what Jesus told his disciples to do. And asking for help is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign of trust.