I will not leave you orphaned......

John 14.15-21  NRSV   courtesy of http://www.biblestudytools.com/

15 "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. 17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. 18 "I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. 19 In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them."

This passage is helpful as we prepare for On the Road with Jesus...but I'll get to that at the end.

First some details.  The Gospel of John does not have a "Last Supper" scene.  That is, there is no institution of communion as there is in the synoptic gospels.  Rather, John gives us a powerful scene of Jesus bending down to wash the feet of his disciples.  From this starting point, Jesus then holds a long 'conversation' with the disciples as he prepares them for his imminent death.

This Sunday's gospel lesson is a part of that conversation.  (I wrote 'conversation' because Jesus does almost all the talking!) 

John gives us single sentences from which large lessons can be learned.  "If you love me, you will keep my commandments"  Does this return us to a precise keeping of Torah law?  Is Jesus talking about the much more comprehensive law of love:  love God, love your neighbor?  When we fail, which we will certainly do, does that mean we love Jesus less?  less perfectly? 

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. 17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.

These verses talk about the gift of the Holy Spirit and the power and purpose of the Spirit in this world and therefore in our lives.  First we are comforted to know that although Jesus will no longer be seen in the flesh, the Spirit/ Advocate will always/forever be with us.  But the task here goes beyond comfort because this Spirit is the spirit of Truth - and although the scripture tells us 'you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free' (here Jesus was speaking of himself as Truth)  but we all know that the truth usually makes us angry/embarrased/hurt first before it sets us free.

Jesus points to this Truth Spirit as a wonderful gift - and if we think about how Truth keeps us honest and on the right track we too can see it as a gift.  Furthermore, the Spirit is the Spirit of the living Jesus moving among, through and with us today.

18 "I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. 19 In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.

I will not leave you orphaned....because I live, you also will live.  These are powerful words that can not only bring us comfort, but also provide a purpose and focus to our every day.  We are not alone, and life is an abundant gift that Jesus has set aside for us.  This is the Gospel - the good news of Jesus Christ - in a simple sentence.  If living with Jesus is where we want to be, then we will allow Jesus to live in us....all of this leads to following the commandment of love.

Thinking about On the Road with Jesus....what if we take that simple message to those we are serving?  I will not leave you orphaned...because I live, you also will live.  Here I am, the one Jesus sent to be your companion, to be sure you are not alone, to help you cling to Jesus' promises of life.

Sounds a lot more important than clipping hedges, sewing dresses, cleaning out a garage.  Yet this is the way we live out these verses for the sake of others.

Have a great day!