Bp. Miller’s Musings: Sixth Sunday of Easter

“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth …” (John 14:15)

As we near the end of the fifty-day celebration of resurrection, our gospel lections turn our attention toward the Holy Spirit, getting us ready for the final day of this season, the day of Pentecost.

Yet, the Holy Spirit has been present in this season throughout, beginning on that first evening when the risen Jesus appeared to the gathered disciples in the locked upper room— “He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” On that day, Jesus delivered on his promise to the disciples, the promise we hear in this verse.

At our recent synod day of learning (Variety of Gifts), a participant shared that he thought Lutherans don’t give enough thought to the Spirit. In many congregations, except for a greeting or benediction in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and recitation of the creed, the Spirit gets noticed only on that Day of Pentecost when we read the story of the Spirit’s descent on the disciples like divided tongues of flame. In that story, the power of the Spirit manifests in an unusual way, creating an atmosphere of understanding through diverse languages.

But our text for this week presents us with a more muted vision of the Spirit as Advocate, Comforter, Helper. Jesus promises the disciples this Spirit will dwell within them and among them and will provide understanding to them. This lets us see that the Spirit works not only through great public acts but in quiet ways within individuals and the community of the Church.

Our baptismal theology teaches that the Holy Spirit both creates and sustains faith. It is a gift of God that calls us to community through the Gospel, gathers us in the Church, and enlightens us with its gifts of understanding, wisdom, courage, and faith; or as Isaiah says it: “wisdom, understanding, counsel, courage, knowledge, reverence, and fear of the Lord.”

Jesus says to the disciples, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Knowing how hard it is to obey, he promises the Spirit, without whom we cannot but fail him. The Holy Spirit gives us the power to love God, to love one another, to love our neighbors, even to love our enemies; for this Spirit is the embodied love of God which sends the Word into the world for reconciliation and peace.