Last week, at Pentecost, in a section taken from the last supper, Jesus said to his disciples, The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. (John 14:10-11)

Today’s short but theologically dense gospel (John 16:12-15) picks up this theme of “my Father’s words being passed along faithfully”. However, in this gospel Jesus expanded his earlier statement. 

Here is the gospel for Trinity Sunday in its entirety. Jesus told his disciples, 

‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 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. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

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Digesting the meaning of this gospel involves parsing highly nuanced words and phrases. Ultimately, the gospel points to the intimacy of the Father, Christ and the Spirit…as is fitting for Trinity Sunday. 

Different interpretations of this gospel (among other passages) led to the split between the Roman and Orthodox churches based on whether the Spirit proceeded from the Father only, or from the Father and the Son. (The Nicene Creed in the Book of Alternative Services reads, “We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son”.) 

Feminist theology has also weighed in on the gendered language of Father, Son and Spirit and argued forcefully for the more inclusive language of Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier.

So, the following comments are only one way of approaching this significant text and the associated issues. 

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Jesus’ phrase, I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now, is open to different shades of interpretation.  

Using a psychological lens, one might interpret Jesus as saying that ‘you do not have the resilience… or the experience… to understand what I could tell you’. It would take the coming of the Spirit to give them that wisdom.

Another interpretation, emphasizing the word now, is that Jesus’ teaching was not finished by the time of the last supper. His yet-to-come resurrection was an emphatic lesson of his Father’s total support. But it required his hard, painful death. The many things included virtually incomprehensible events that were soon to unfold. His subsequent acts of appearing alive again, his rising into the clouds and the arrival of the Holy Spirit as tongues of fire were the fulfillment of the promises that made them real and demonstrated the approval of his Father. These were the ‘truth proof’. 

Another reading is that his disciples could not imagine the future reality that Jesus had in mind for them after he had departed. They would need the support and guidance of the Holy Spirit, whom he promised in the next sentence, When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. Navigating the future “Christ project” would involve using Jesus’ teaching but doing so in novel situations. Jesus, himself, would not be present, but his Spirit would be.

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Jesus then reused a phrase from earlier in the last supper… I do not speak on my own… this time applying the phrase to the Spirit of Truth. Jesus said, for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears… The parallel phasing indicates a similar source for the words and implies that the source is the Father. So, Jesus and the Spirit will express the same Truths. 

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The title, Spirit of Truth, describes the truthful quality … he will guide you into all the truth.. of this other advocate. The focus of the phrase is on the Spirit, an animating person. The preposition denotes a possessive. A paraphrase might be ‘The Spirit who holds the truth…”  

But the truthfulness of the Spirit is only one way of reading the title. The other interpretation is as the Truth’s Spirit, with Truth being an alternate title for the Father. Both are accurate readings, but they put the emphasis on different words.* The word Truth describes the ultimate reality. Truth tells of a fact that gives meaning. In this case, the Truth is the cosmic certainty that governs all of existence and provides relational meaning. 

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This gospel concludes, He (The Spirit of Truth) 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. 

The Spirit of Truth will be Jesus’ functional equivalent in declaring the Father’s gifts and teachings.

At the same time the Spirit will glorify Christ by referencing him as the perfect vehicle of God’s communication. Jesus’ words and deeds represent the truth. Christ’s life will be honoured as the source of inspiration when the disciples …and the rest of us….base our actions on his instructions.

A paraphrase of these phrases might be, ‘The Spirit of Truth will glorify me by taking the words and gifts that I, Jesus, received from the Father and imparting these to you, my disciples. The sharing will be complete. And I will be glorified by the recognition that I have spoken the Father’s truth.’ 

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  • What truths do the gospels speak to you that are hard to bear? Loving your enemies? Resurrection and life after death? Ultimate justice? 
  • St. Patrick used a shamrock with one stem and three leaves to describe the three persons in one God. Others have used an equilateral triangle with each side representing one of the persons but the triangle representing the one God; or water in its three forms of ice, liquid and vapor as the symbol of Trinity. There are others, too. What is your preferred image?
  • Rather than gendered language… Father, Son and Holy Spirit… some use the more generic Parent, Child and Spirit….or roles of Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier. How are you most comfortable in referring to the trinity? 

Peace

Michael.

* These interpretations of the English text, based on a Greek source, that was itself a translation from Jesus’ Aramaic statements may or may not be a linguistically correct reading of Jesus’ original words, but the variations DO describe an intimate relation of the Spirit to the Truth.