John 14: 23-29
In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
I wonder how you feel about goodbyes. Are they easy, or do you (like me) end up saying goodbye a number of times at the end of a phone call, Zoom or face-to-face meeting? Saying goodbye, in the simplest of circumstances, can sometimes be stressful. Some of us are simply not good at it. Maybe it triggers memories, or we worry (often without cause) that we have parted with the wrong words or without that last hug. The last words we use at parting are important, I think. I try—as a rule—to avoid parting with anyone on a cross or impatient note.
Maybe this is the reason that I find the lengthy farewell discourse in St John’s gospel account fascinating and intriguing. It is almost as if Jesus does not want to leave without saying everything that he possibly can to the disciples, and gives them a whole host of images and metaphors to guide and shape their lives after he is gone. In these images there is both sadness and joy—Jesus must go, but they will not be left alone. They may have reason to be uneasy or afraid, but Jesus assures them that they will have his peace.
Jesus explains all of this by drawing the disciples into a contemplation of that complex, extraordinary relationship that we call the Trinity. By exploring the pattern of Trinitarian life, Jesus demonstrates to the disciples how they should live. He gives them a pattern, a template, as relevant for us as it was to the disciples.
Jesus refers to God as ‘the Father’ and this word may, or may not, work for every listener. But it is not the name ‘Father’ that we should focus on, I think. Some of us will have positive and life giving relationships with a male parent and some will not. Jesus employs this word to denote and contextualize the relationship with the Godhead—it is one of love, connection and welcome. Love is the currency of this relationship—the way in which Father and Son communicate. This relationship is also open to us—Jesus assures us that he and the Father will come to be with us. To describe this Jesus uses the phrase ‘make our home’, a comforting, familiar and domestic image. If we keep his word this will be the depth and breadth of our relationship with God.
The second person of the Trinity—the Son—makes it clear that he is in perfect communication with the Father. His life is an example of following the Father’s will and he has taught his disciples this through prayer, healing and teaching. In the life of Jesus we meet and experience the fullness of God. This is beautifully expressed in the prayer that Christians use so often—the sign of the cross. When we say it we place ourselves in the hands of the Son, that he might offer us to the Father through the work of the Spirit. The sign of the cross confirms our willingness to respond to the invitation from the Father that we have received in the person of the Son.
And even though Jesus must return to the Father, he will not leave us alone or comfortless. The Father will send the Holy Spirit, the Advocate or ‘Comforter.’ We are told that the Spirit is to ‘teach us’ and to ‘remind us’ of all that Jesus has communicated of the Father and of himself.
Teach and Remind. If we think for a moment of those who have taught us we might remember those teachers who have encouraged and supported us. We might also remember those who challenged us to reach our full potential, or who saw in us strengths that we did not know we had. The Holy Spirit will encourage us, give us heart and strength. We are also told that the Holy Spirit will remind us of all that Jesus said and did. The Spirit reminds us that Jesus saw goodness and potential in even the most unlikely people. Think of the fraudulent tax collector Zacchaeus or the hot headed Peter. When Jesus looks at us he sees our potential for love and kindness. And the Spirit helps us to make these attributes visible in the world. In this way, the Spirit brings Jesus’s actions into the present tense. As the Father sent the Son into the world so he sends the Holy Spirit to remind and teach, to (if you like) refresh the Word we received in the person of Jesus Christ.
The powerful and moving words from Jesus that we encounter today are prompted by a question from one of the disciples. There is something heartening about this. It is reassuring to remember that Jesus responds to the questions put to him by his disciples, that he takes the time to answer, to shed light on the complex and extraordinary relationship of the Trinity. We also can learn from this. We do not need to be a community of answers—we can be a community of questions. Questions are permitted here, encouraged even. The God who loves us takes our questions seriously and delights in our engagement in Godly thought—theology. As the worshipping community in this place we can continue to ask questions of ourselves, of each other and of the structures in the wider city and country. We can do that knowing that although Jesus has returned to the Father, we have been left with the gift of the Holy Spirit to strengthen and guide us, to teach and to remind us of our invitation to participation in the life of the Trinity.
And so we pray that all we do may be done in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen