“But now I am going to the one who sent me, and not one of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts. But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes he will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation: sin, because they do not believe in me; righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; condemnation, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.” (John 16:5-11)

Like many of the gospels in the Easter Season, today’s gospel is taken from the long discourse following the Last Supper – sometimes called the “Farewell Discourse.” The discourse includes Chapters 14 through 17.  In the immediate run up to our gospel passage for today, the Parakletos is not the primary topic, but now becomes the center of discussion. The word “parakletos”means “one called upon for support, one called in for assistance” thus an advocate and so in Latin it often is translated as advocatus. Outside the New Testament the word was used to designate a legal adviser or advocate in the court/legal setting.

Now that events of Holy Week are racing towards their conclusion, Jesus is preparing the disciples for his departure and the persecutions that are sure to follow – and for the arrival of the Advocate/Paraclete, the continuation of the Divine Presence in the life of the burgeoning Church. The Advocate (Holy Spirit)  will be the constant guide of the disciples, speaking to them (through inspired preachers and writers like the evangelist) what He hears from Jesus, who, in turn, receives from the Father.

Just outside of the gospel reading (v.13) we read: “when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming.”

I think the verb “hears” is key because it tells us that the Advocate is simultaneously in Heaven eternally dwelling in the Holy Trinity –  and, at the same moment, with the disciples in our present. Through the Advocate, what Jesus says in his Father’s realm is now transmitted to the disciples. Jesus who once spoke in the flesh now speaks through the Spirit. The disciples will lose him in earthly form within a short time but will soon receive him back again in Spirit .

What about us? It has often been noted that we pray to God, to Jesus, and at Pentecost we will pray “Come Holy Spirit” but, in a way, the Holy Spirit – our Advocate – does not garner the attention of our prayers in the same way. While one might argue that we pray to a Trinitarian God – and that is true – the Person of the Trinity given to us, to be present with us in this age, is the Advocate/Holy Spirit. We hold that the Holy Spirit teaches us and reminds us of all that Jesus taught and did. (John 14:26). In the gifts of the Holy Spirit we receive the seven gifts – wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord – so that we grow in holiness and are continually reminded of God’s loving presence within us and around us.

But we also need to be reminded that even when we offer up the Lord’s Prayer (“Our Father…”) we are offering up a Trinitarian prayer – even when it only seems to be prayer to Our Heavenly Father.  Consider the setting and context of Luke 11 where Jesus is teaching the disciples to pray.  After teaching them how to pray, Jesus then immediately follows the prayer by teaching about asking for the gift of the Spirit (11:13). There appears to be the implicit assumption that this is not a prayer you can pray without the Spirit’s help. That being said, what about the specific wording of the Lord’s Prayer? Can we find the Spirit there?

Our Father in heaven. It was not original to Jesus to address God as father/abba; other contemporary  writings indicate it was a part of first century Judaism. At a key moment in Jeus’s life, we hear Jesus pray “Abba”’ while in Gethsemane (Mark 14:36). Consider that St. Paul makes clear that a key work of the Spirit is to lead/shape us into the same relationship with God after the pattern of Jesus: “As proof that you are children, God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’” (Gal 4:6) and similarly in Romans 8:15.  And perhaps we should note that Paul says quite clearly “No-one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Cor 12.3), I don’t think it is too much of a stretch that we might well infer “No-one can call God ‘Father’ except by the same Spirit.”

Let me take just one more part of the Lord’s Prayer: May your kingdom come. In the ministry of Jesus and in the growth of the church, under the leadership of the apostles in Acts, the coming of the kingdom and the ministry of the Spirit are intertwined. “But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” (Matt 12.28). The same connection is evident in Acts 1 at the scene of the Ascension. Here is what is on the minds of the disciples: “When they had gathered together they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6) Jesus’ response is offered in terms of their testimony in the power of the Spirit: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1.8)

Take a moment to reflect on the remainder of the Lord’s Prayer and consider how the Spirit is already there in our most fundamental of prayers.

Image credit: Duccio di Buoninsegna – Appearance on the Mountain in Galilee | ca. 1310 | Museo dell’ Opera del Duomo, Siena | Public Domain