Advocate, Comforter, Guide

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.

            John 14:26

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit…

            Acts 2:1-4

June 8^th is Pentecost Sunday, the day (according to the Book of Acts) when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, turning them from disciples to apostles and giving them the ability to carry out God’s work of spreading the gospel and growing the early church. This is how we usually think of the Holy Spirit, as bringing us to faith and enabling evangelism.

The Gospel of John has a slightly different view of the Spirit. In John, the Spirit is called the paraclete, a Greek word which has no exact translation in English. In Greek, it literally means ‘one called alongside you.’ Paraclete is translated variously into English as:

 comforter: literally ‘one who is strong with you’

 advocate: literally ‘one who calls out for you’

 intercessor: literally, ‘one who moves between you and another’

Note that all of these English translations imply presence, being with you. Indeed, in John’s gospel Jesus tells the disciples that the Spirit will come to them after Jesus has left them, to be with them in his place. These translations also imply someone who helps you to act. Here John’s view of the Spirit aligns with that of the other gospels and of Acts: the Holy Spirit does things. The Holy Spirit is an agent. Sometimes the Spirit is an agent for God, as when it brings us to faith. Sometimes the Holy Spirit is an agent for us, as when our souls are unable to pray because of distress or pain and it “intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” (Romans 8:26)

This agency of the Spirit can be found throughout the Bible. The Spirit is both the breath of God that speaks the words of creation and the wind that sweeps over the waters at creation. The Spirit gives the prophets God’s word for God’s people. The Spirit descends upon Jesus at his baptism, and raises Jesus from the dead. The Spirit is God in action.

This action of God applies to us as well. The Spirit moves us to follow Jesus, and to do God’s work for God’s kingdom. The Spirit guides us in faith and in loving action towards others. Sometimes the Spirit calls on us to do something that seems crazy (say, going to seminary in your 50s) but is actually the best thing for us. And the Spirit comforts us in our times of need, advocating for us with the Father in the name of the Son.

The Holy Spirit isn’t always quite as blatant as it was at Pentecost. Often the Spirit works undercover, if you will—slowly and silently, staying out of sight as much as possible. But if you look closely, you can see the Spirit at work all around you. I encourage you to look for the Spirit at work in your neighborhood, your workplace, your church, your life. Who knows what you’ll find when you really look?

Peace,

Pastor Shawn