Sunday, May 25, 2025
Sunday Reflection: The Advocate
I take great meaning from this passage of John 14:
25”I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 26But 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.27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.
Jesus is explaining that his age-- his time on Earth-- is different than the one to come.
In my mind, God's relationship to men and women in the Bible has three distinct stages. In the Old Testament, God interacts directly with people and (through Moses) gives them rules to live by.
In the second era, that of the Gospels, Jesus teaches people directly. He challenges them to go beyond rule-following to think about principles. When the Pharisees ask him which of the 600+ Mosaic laws is most important, he gives us two principles instead of (the Two Great Commandments of love God/love neighbor).
And then we come to our own age, where we need to live by those principles, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit-- not always an easy thing to do!
