One way…and only one of many ways ... of appreciating this morning’s gospel and the Spirit of Truth is to look, first, at Genesis 3:1-7, where we learned that original sin was based on a lie.
Now the serpent … said to the woman, ‘Did God say, “You shall not eat from any tree in the garden”?’ The woman said, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, … or you shall die.”’ But the serpent said, ‘You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband… and he ate.
The serpent, Satan, introduced original sin, which distorted our perception of reality… of what is true. He persuaded the woman that eating the apple was a good thing and made the misperception of good and evil a permanent consequence of original sin.
The Spirit of Truth undoes misperceptions.
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Salvation, union with God, depends on living the truth. This is how we come to the gospel for Pentecost. Here is a much abbreviated version of it.
"When the Advocate comes… the Spirit of truth whom I will send to you from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning....
Now I am going to him who sent me; … it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.
And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgement: about sin, because they do not believe in me; …
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you…He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. (John 15:26-27, 16:4-15)
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The word Advocate, sometimes translated as “counsellor”, or “comforter”, literally means “the one who comes alongside”. Broadly speaking this companion will become Jesus’ substitute, recalling his words and actions as a reference point to instruct the disciples. As Jesus says, in the words that follow, he will testify on my behalf… he will take what is mine and declare it to you. (A commentary some years ago, aimed at the youth, used a metaphor for the Spirit as a hockey coach, who was the twin of the coach who would be leaving, but who shared all the life experiences, values and practices of the first coach.)
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the Spirit of truth whom I will send to you from the Father will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning....
Jesus offered the Spirit of Truth as a continuing gift, to testify on his behalf. A paraphrase might be: ‘the Spirit will faithfully represent me in offering you understanding and suggesting words of truth, but you will be your own self as spokespersons, using your own experience of me and your own expressions.’
The different accounts of Jesus’ life in the gospels testify that the evangelists, as documentarians, each applied their own filter to Jesus’ life to testify to the truth. They were witnesses, but their stories highlight different parts of Jesus’ life...As with other famous people, such as Martin Luther King, for whom there are many video and audio recordings, personal hand-written notes and diaries and the recollections of close friends, biographers and documentarians select the content which put him in context. They offer flashbacks to early experiences and emphasize the key aspects that they see as significant. As a result, MLK has been the subject of many different written and video biographies... So, the Spirit of Truth was similarly at work in these different accounts of Jesus’ life, highlighting his significance to the evangelists and the communities they addressed.
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In words that hearken back to last week’s gospel of the Ascension, Jesus said,
Now I am going to him who sent me;…it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.
Jesus told his disciples that his departure would be to their advantage. He was making space for them to grow into their mission by exercising their own responsibility and independence. They could no longer default to him to speak the words of truth. But while he was transferring his mission to them, he would also send them the gift of the Advocate as his continuing presence and guide.
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And when he (the Spirit of Truth) comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin … because they do not believe in me;
As noted at the beginning of this commentary, sin misleads us into thinking that something is good, when it is not. Selfishness, masquerading as appropriate self-care, represents one of those falsehoods. Rationalizing is another slippery slope of falsehood: “Everyone does it”. Denial too: "I sometimes drink too much but I could stop any time I decided to." Thinking that vengeance is the same as justice or that anger is the appropriate response to hate are other distortions, born or original sin.
While the original sin may have begun as a personal event, it became systemic, affecting governments and economies (consider slavery as an economic institution) and even churches (recall the Doctrine of Discovery.)
But the Spirit of Truth would dispute these inaccuracies. In particular, the Spirit would use Jesus’ teaching of love and example of self-giving as the source of truth. His parables about the Good Samaritan, his free offering of healing to the blind, his cures of the possessed and his restraint to the point of death… when he told Peter (who thought that violence was an appropriate response,) Put your sword … for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? (Matt 21:52-53)… were all examples of the truth and love. The Kingdom of God would be the antidote for institutional sin. The Spirit of Truth would offer unconventional wisdom.
Jesus had embodied the Spirit of Truth in his teaching and his person. Following his instruction and example are the key to release from the bondage of sin.
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The unity of the Father, Son and Spirit appears most clearly when Jesus said, When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; …He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine... The Father, Son and Spirit speak with one voice and offer the same wisdom. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be!
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· Do you struggle with a particular, perhaps chronic, misperception of good? What is Jesus’ teaching and example with respect to that challenge? Do you recognize the truth of his message? What do you think would be the “corrective lenses” for the misperception?
· How do you think of the Spirit? As a dove? A tongue of fire? A feeling of peace? Would your image of The Spirit of Truth be something like the sensation of suddenly understanding something or a breeze carrying the scent of lilacs?
· Does Pentecost, with its references to the Father, Son and Spirit emphasize the unity of God or the trinitarian nature? (Next Sunday is Trinity Sunday.)
Peace
Michael