Psalm of Praise: Psalms 66:1-3
Shout for joy to God, all the earth!
Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious.
Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power that your enemies bow before you.
Bible Reading: John 14:15-18
Jesus said, ‘If you love me, keep my commands.
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another comforter
who will help you and be with you forever, the Spirit of truth.
The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him.
But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.’
A Reflection:
When governments change, new leaders come in with new ideas and a new plan. Likewise when there is a leadership change in a business the new boss will change some of the policies of the previous boss. How the reign of King Charles compares to that of Queen Elizabeth remains to be seen, but he has said that he would follow his late mother in upholding “the precious principles of constitutional governance.”
When Jesus was preparing his disciples for his return to heaven he said he would not leave them as orphans, but that his Father would send them another comforter, not just to be with them as Jesus was, but to be within them forever, namely the Holy Spirit.
There are two words for ‘another’ in New Testament Greek, ‘eteros’ which means ‘another of a different type’ i.e., another leader with different goals, and ‘allos’ which means ‘another of the same type’ i.e., another leader with the same goals.
The word Jesus uses for ‘another’ here, is ‘allos.’ The Father will send another comforter with the same nature as Jesus, a nature of love and compassion, of peace and humility, a nature to bring comfort, healing and forgiveness.
Earlier Jesus had said ‘If you really know me you will know my Father as well. Now he is saying, ‘If you really know me you will know the Holy Spirit as well. The Father and the Holy Spirit have the same nature as Jesus.
When we put our faith in Jesus his Holy Spirit comes not only to live with us but to live within us, bringing life to our own spirit. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, as the disciples were at Pentecost, God's Holy Spirit equips us and empowers us for service.
In both cases the Spirit that dwells within us is the Spirit of Jesus, with the nature and character of Jesus. He will comfort us when we need comfort, he will guide us when we need to know the way, he will empower us to serve him and he will lead us into the truth about God.
Pray:
Thank you Jesus that you didn’t leave us as orphans. Fill me anew with your Holy Spirit, and equip me to serve you in your world. Amen
Holy Spirit, living breath of God.