The Transition

Almighty God, whom truly to know is everlasting life: Grant us so perfectly to know your Son Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth, and the life, that we may steadfastly follow his steps in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Jesus said to his disciples, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. 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. I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 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.”

We have just heard proclaimed to us a short but extremely important portion of the Gospel of John. In six short verses Jesus has explained to his disciples the future of the church. These verses come at the end of the story of the Last Supper. Jesus has just “dropped the bombshell” news that he was going to be crucified and they were expected to continue on with out his leadership.

Imagine the turmoil in that group of close friends – they had spent three years following their teacher. What had it all meant? How could they possibly go on without Jesus’ leadership? What were they to do with all this new mind expanding/ tradition exploding way of relating to the world? Obviously, they could not just go back to living like they had before. Picture the scene, Jesus was being bombarded with questions and was doing his human best to reassure this group of followers.

Peter was saying, “But, I want to go with you.”

Thomas was asking, “But how do we know the way to follow? We don’t know where you are going.”

Philip was insisting, “Just show us the Father, then we will be content, that will be enough for us.” Our gospel reading today is a portion of the response to Philip’s request. Jesus’ more complete answer is recorded something like this in contemporary language.

From The Message, “You’ve been with me all this time, Philip, and you still don’t understand? To see me is to see the Father. So how can you ask, ‘Where is the Father?’ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you aren’t mere words. I don’t just make them up on my own. The Father who resides in me crafts each word into a divine act.

“Believe me: I am in my Father and my Father is in me. If you can’t believe that, believe what you see—these works. The person who trusts me will not only do what I’m doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do that I’ve been doing. You can count on it. From now on, whatever you request along the lines of who I am and what I am doing, I’ll do it. That’s how the Father will be seen, for who he is in the Son. I mean it. Whatever you request in this way, I’ll do. If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you. I will talk to the Father, and he’ll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can’t take him in because it doesn’t have eyes to see him, doesn’t know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you!

        I will not leave you orphaned. I’m coming back. In just a little while the world will no longer see me, but you’re going to see me because I am alive and you’re about to come alive. At that moment you will know absolutely that I’m in my Father, and you’re in me, and I’m in you.

        The person who knows my commandments and keeps them, that’s who loves me. And the person who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and make myself plain to him.

        This is a moment of great transition. Until this point in time, God’s spirit and communication on spiritual level had been channeled through limited people. In the ancient times God spoke through Abraham, Noah, Moses, and on through the prophets. While Jesus was physically among his apostles and teaching in the mountains and by the seas, this spiritual connection was still seen as coming through him. From the crucifixion and resurrection on, though, all of this would change. This is the great promise and the great transition. God’s Holy Spirit was to be let loose and become a part of anyone who would allow themselves to experience it from that time forward, even until today.

        The Epistle explains to us that the work Jesus is asking us to continue is simply, “love one another.” Our love is to be offered in deeds and truth, not just thorough words and speech. In the Charles Schultz comic strip Peanuts, Linus and Charlie Brown are shown all bundled up with caps and coats on a snowy, wintry day. They spot Snoopy shivering in the cold. Desiring to comfort him, they walk over to him. Linus speaks first, “Be of good cheer, Snoopy.” Charlie Brown adds, “Yes, be of good cheer.” Then they turn and walk away.  Snoopy is left shivering. A big question mark appears over his head and a puzzled expression is on his face as he watches Linus and Charlie Brown walk away. Christian love requires action beyond words to deeds. God blesses us abundantly to share abundantly with those in need. Hopefully, we can do a better job than Linus and Charlie Brown.

In Jesus’ answer to Philip he and we are promised guidance, the guidance of the Spirit of Truth.

        In the story from Acts, the same person – Philip is urged by the spirit to go where he is uncomfortable. We read that he was told to go out onto the Wilderness Road that leads to

Gaza

. This road was a dangerous place where bandits would often lay in wait to rob unsuspecting or poorly protected travelers. Philip though overcame his fears and met an Ethiopian eunuch studying in his chariot. This Ethiopian eunuch represented the ultimate outsider of the times. From every possible viewpoint: racially, religiously, sexually, nationally, he was outside Philip’s comfort zone. Philip did not easily and naturally go over to this outsider. The spirit urged, pushed, coerced and moved Philip to go where he did not naturally want to go, and to be with someone he had been taught to avoid at all costs. Philip was able to see past all his previous perceptions, and with the help of the Spirit of Truth, was able to see a person in need.

For many of us it is easier to love from a distance, rather than up close and personally. But we are promised that we don’t have to do it alone, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth will guide us and lead us. Philip acted by going up to the eunuch and met him on his own ground. He saw where that the Ethiopian was reading and met him where he was, in his studies. Philip was inspired to ask the Ethiopian if he understood what he was reading. “How can I?” he replied, “unless someone guides me?” So Philip explained to him the Good News as he had experienced in with Jesus and God’s power to transform human lives and human relationships.

        The Ethiopian, in this story was hungry of fulfillment. He was looking for meaning by reading the Hebrew Scriptures. He was open to new possibilities and was willing to be guided. In response to Philip’s sharing of his own experiences - the Ethiopian asked to be baptized. After which, we are told, as he traveled on his way he was rejoicing, evidence of greater understanding and a life being supported and guided by the Spirit of Truth.

        What we do today must be a continuation of what Jesus did. What we do today should be what Philip and the early disciples did. We are to bring sanctity to everyone and every thing in God’s creation. It is working toward a vision of world of peace, a world of justice for every person, with respect for the dignity of every human being, that we will be known as followers along Jesus’ way and people driven by the power of the Holy Spirit. We have a call to love but also a call to put that love into action.

William countryman, in his book The Good News of Jesus writes about the life of the Holy Spirit and relates that in sharing Eucharist we experience the eternal newness of God’s unfailing love.

        “The life of the community that celebrates these sacraments is a life of mutual giving and receiving. The early Christians were convinced that the Spirit has a particular care for the church, supplying the community with all it needs. She does so, however, in a peculiar way. The gifts you need she gives to someone else. The gifts you are given are meant for others. The Christian community can live only by sharing these gifts. The church at its best is a community that lives by this kind of sharing, exercising generosity not only within its own circle, but toward outsiders as well. Jesus, after all, came for the outsiders. None of us has any higher claim on god that the claim to God’s willing forgiveness. We are all of us outsiders, miraculously included within the community of the gospel of God’s call.

        Rabi Haim of Romshishik was an itinerant preacher who traveled from town to town delivering religious sermons that stressed the importance of respect for one’s fellow humans. He often began his talks with the following story:

“I once ascended to the firmaments. I first went to see Hell and the sight was horrifying. Row after row of tables were laden with platters of sumptuous food, yet the people seated around the tables were pale and emaciated, moaning in hunger. As I came closer, I understood their predicament.

“Every person held a full spoon with a long handle, but both arms were splinted with wooden slats so they could not bend either elbow to bring the food to their mouth. It broke my heart to hear the tortured groans of these poor people as they held their food so near but could not consume it.”

“Next I went to visit Heaven. I was surprised to see the same setting I had witnessed in Hell – row after row of long tables laden with food. But in contrast to Hell, the people here in Heaven were sitting contentedly talking with each other, obviously sated from their sumptuous meal.”

“As I came closer, I was amazed to discover that here, too each person had a long handled spoon and their arms were splinted on wooden slats that prevented them from bending their elbows. How, then, did they manage to eat?”

“As I watched, a man picked up his spoon and dug it into the dish before him. Then he stretched across the table and fed the person across from him! The recipient of this kindness thanked him and returned the favor by leaning across the table to feed his benefactor.”

“I suddenly understood. Heaven and Hell offer the same circumstances and conditions. The critical difference is in the way the people treat each other.”

“I ran back to Hell to share this solution with the poor souls trapped there. I whispered in the ear of one starving man, ‘You do not have to go hungry. Use your spoon to feed your neighbor, and he will surely return the favor and feed you.’

‘You expect me to feed the detestable man sitting across the table?’ said the man angrily. ‘I would rather starve than give him the pleasure of eating!’

“I then understood God’s wisdom in choosing who is worthy to go to Heaven and who deserves to go to Hell.”

The difference between Heaven and Hell is not the setting – it is in the way people treat each other.

Amen