"The Paraclete" John 14:15-31

In verse 16, Jesus promises to give the disciples "another counselor," sometimes translated "another comforter," or "another advocate." The word in Greek is paracletos, literally "one called along side to help." There are two words for another in Greek, heteros and allos. Heteros means another of a different kind, while allos means of the same kind. The word here is allos. Jesus is giving the disciples one just like him that "will be with them forever." What Jesus promises to them and us is his presence portable and accessible to them 24/7. Jesus has described how he is in the Father and the Father is in him. Now he adds us to that. We are in him (and in the Father) and he (and the Father) are in us. When we sing the hymn "Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine," it is the Holy Spirit dimension of God that makes that real.

Jesus hooks together our love for him with obedience. In Luke 6:46, right before he tells the parable about the wise and foolish builders, Jesus says,

"Why do you call me,'Lord,Lord,' and do not do what I say?"

It's as if Jesus is saying, "I'm sorry, but your actions or lack of them are drowning out your words." Our obedience also sharpens our awareness of God's presence, while our disobedience dulls it. I don't mean that that there aren't times when it is hard to feel God's presence. I do mean that following Christ step by step in the power of the Spirit in obedient action does make us more atuned to what God is doing.

In I Samuel 15:22, the prophet Samuel rebukes Saul, saying "Obedience is better than sacrifice." It's not about religious showmanship or even doing occassionally that which is heroic that pleases God. It is our willingness to be obedient, even when no one else is watching. What are we to be obedient to? First, we are to be obedient to God's leading, whether it is for our gain or our loss, our comfort or our pain. Second, we are to be obedient to his standards of life, which are governed by his holiness and his love. Third, we are to be obedient to his call to make disciples of all nations. Fourth, we are to be obedient to love one another, even those of us that are less lovable. Is your track record for obedience as mixed as mine?

Thankfully, we are not left on our own. We have the Holy Spirit within to remind us of what we know and who and whose we are. We have an inner tutor and mentor, who helps get us back on track. And the secondary gift of that presence is a special kind of peace. I have learned to trust that peace - that sense that God is with me and in what I am experiencing and everything is going to be OK, in fact more than OK. But I have learned not to equate peace with comfort or the status quo. There is a peace that comes even in difficulty, controversy and even outright loss, a peace that this world could never give. It is the gift of God.