| June 4, 2006 - Year B - Pentecost John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15 • 15:26 From the Father, I will send you the Spirit of truth. When this Helper has come from the Father, he will be my witness, 27 and you, too, will be my witnesses for you have been with me from the beginning. - - - - - - 16:4bI did not tell you about this in the beginning because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to the One who sent me and none of you asks me where I am going; 6 instead you are overcome with grief because of what I have said. 7 Indeed believe me: It is better for you that I go away, because as long as I do not leave, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go away, it is to send him to you, 8 and when he comes, he will vindicate the truth in face of the world with regard to sin, to the way of righteousness, and to the Judgment. 9 What has been the sin? They did not believe in me. 10 What is the way of righteousness? I am on the way to the Father, meanwhile you will not see me. 11 What Judgment? The prince of this world has himself been condemned. 12 I still have many things to tell you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into the whole truth. He has nothing to say of himself but he will speak of what he hears, and he will tell you of the things to come. 14 He will take what is mine and make it known to you; in doing this, he will glorify me. 15 All that the Father has is mine; because of this I have just told you, that the Spirit will take what is mine and make it known to you.” = = = • 26. THE FATHER, THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT In making us children of his Father, Jesus enables us to discover the intimate mystery of God. In God there is communion among the three persons: the Father, the Son and their common Spirit. We speak of their common Spirit, because Jesus said both: The Father will give you another Helper (14:16) and: The Helper which I will send you (15:26). Now he says: He will take what is mine and tell it to you: everything that the Father has is also mine (16:15). “The Spirit” is not a poetic figure: it is Someone. This has already been commented on (Jn 7:37; 14:1). Starting from the day of Pentecost, the Spirit began to act in the Church, thus showing that he was the Spirit of Christ. The unbelieving Jews thought that God was with them, but in reality his Spirit did not act among them. So it was clear that they had sinned (v. 16:9) for not believing in Christ. What is the way of righteousness (v. 8). The righteous One is Christ and the righteous persons are those who believe in him without seeing him (v. 10). The Acts of the Apostles records how the Spirit worked in the first disciples of Jesus. Before granting miraculous powers, the Spirit gave them joy, peace and mutual love, as well as inner certainty that Jesus had risen and was among them. The Spirit guides missionaries; he gives them the power to perform miracles; he gives to believers the knowledge of God, new capacities for working, healing, serving and shaking up a sinful world. Throughout history the Spirit would raise up people of faith, martyrs, prophets, and through them transform the world. In this way the Savior, seemingly defeated, would be justified; and it becomes evident that the loser is Satan, who already has been condemned (v. 11). The evil spirit, great director of the worldly show, is displaced and his influence limited. A new force, which is the Spirit, orients history and guides us towards the total truth. = = = = = = = 1. Sin: not believing in a journey of Jesus toward compassion, kindness. 2. Righteous Way: being on a journey with Jesus toward compassion, kindness. 3. Judgment: reflection on and course changes through a journey with Jesus toward compassion, kindness.
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