Another Counselor – June 4, 2023, Trinity Sunday

Isaiah 61, John 14:15-27
June 4, 2023

We’re backing up a couple of weeks chronologically.  We’re going back to the Upper Room.  Last week it was Pentecost, and we talked about of the coming of “the promise of God,” meaning the Holy Spirit.  Jesus told his disciples to wait for that promise at the beginning of the book of Acts.  But here in John’s Gospel we find the place where he first told them about it.

As we think about what he said that night with his disciples, I think we’ll see that this is the beginning of the doctrine of the Trinity.  And that’s what we celebrate Today.  This is Trinity Sunday.  (And that’s what we celebrate in this sacrament!)  In Matthew’s Gospel we hear Jesus’ promise that “Lo, I am with you always, even to the close of the age.”  And this is how!  In John we hear him say that the Father would send “Another Counselor,” meaning the Holy Spirit.  And if you’re a King James afficionado, you may remember that being translated as, “Another comforter.”

That’s almost a better way of seeing this.  Because yes, the Holy Spirit is about guiding and directing and teaching, but there’s also that “comforting” aspect!  And when Jesus was with his disciples in that upper room, part of what he said to them was about preparing them for the devastation they would feel in those next three days.  And no, they probably didn’t realize that this was going to be the last evening, the last supper with him.  But I’m sure they were very much aware that things were taking a turn for the worst!  Remember what was happening then!

So, that “comforter” he told them about was an important part of this!  And those disciples would certainly need that comfort in those next three days!  And we need that, too!  When we go through tough times, when the world around us seems to be falling apart – when our own world seems to be falling apart – we need that same comfort of the Holy Spirit.  We need that same sustaining power.

And sometimes in our lives we feel anxiety and we can’t put our finger on what it is.  We just have this feeling of dread, of hopelessness, of despair – or nervousness.  Have you ever felt that way?  And we need to know the comfort of the Holy Spirit at those times, too.  We need to know that peace he gives.  And, as Jesus said, it’s peace “not as the world gives.”

So, there’s that “Comforter” aspect of the Holy Spirit.  And then there’s the part here where Jesus says that the Spirit, “will teach you all things, and help you remember all that I have said to you.”  And that’s a great thing about the Spirit, too.  That’s where we see the “words jumping off the page” when we read scripture.  You’ve heard me talk about that before.  That’s the inspiration part of the Spirit’s job.  That’s the teaching part.

As I heard years ago, and you’ve heard me say this, you should never open this book [the Bible] without first praying for the Spirit to guide you.  Even if you’re just taking a quick look, then make it a quick prayer of, “Show me, God!”  Look for the Spirit will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I Jesus said.

There’s one other part of this I’d like you to see here.  I was wondering if this word, which we translate “Comforter” or “Counselor,” comes from the same word used in other places in the New Testament.  Well I looked it up, and it is the same word!  It’s the Greek word “Paraclayton” or  “Paraclete.”  That’s a word that literally means  “to call alongside”  (It never ceases to amaze me how these things come back to me after all these years!  That’s the whole “bringing all things to your remembrance” that Jesus was talking about!)

That word “Paracleyton” has come to be understood as one who speaks on your behalf, often in the context of a court of law.  So when we say, “Another Counselor,” there is that sense of the word counselor going on here, too.  It’s a word that is similar to our word “lawyer.”  In fact, the judge in a courtroom will address a lawyer as “counselor.”   But the idea here is that the Spirit is “one beside you.”  One who is “on your side.”  We can also use the word “Advocate.”  And some translations actually do!  “I will pray to the Father, and he will send you another advocate.”

The Spirit is your Advocate.  He is your counselor.  He’s not just sitting with you, comforting you with his presence, like the people behind you in the courtroom.  He’s not just there for “moral support.”  He is there for that, but it’s more!  He is on your side.  He is “in your corner,” to use a boxing analogy.  He’s one who has come alongside you!  He is one who is supporting you!  Do you get that?

Casting Crowns sings an amazing song called, “God is with us.”  It’s a beautiful song, but it’s kind of “Christmas-y,” or else we would have sung it [earlier] today.  The song tells of God coming to earth to be with us.  And it has a refrain that ends this way.

“He’s the Savior we’ve been praying for,
In our Humble hearts he will dwell.”

And then this.
“God is in us, God is for us, God is with us, Emmanuel”

The spirit is all those things.  He is God, not just comforting us with his presence, he’s not just guiding us, and teaching us.  He is for us.  He’s on our side.  He’s our advocate, our counselor.  (He’s our cousin Vinny defending us!)

Now, I think this is something that’s hard for us to accept.  I think sometimes we’re in the mode of “How can God possibly love me?”  How can God possibly be on my side?”  We feel unworthy of God’s love.  We don’t feel like we deserve it.  And the simple fact it that we don’t!  But God’s love is such that he loves us, anyway, he is with us, anyway, he is for us, anyway – even though we don’t deserve it!

Sometimes we think “I wish I could be a better person – so that God could love me!”  Did you ever feel that way?  Well, it doesn’t work like that.  Paul reminds us that “It was while we were yet sinners that God loved us and sent his son, and that Christ died for us.”  And if you remember, Paul felt like he was the most unworthy person of all!

But God does love us.  He is in us!  But even more, he is for us!  He’s on our side!  And sometimes I feel so sorry for people in this world who think God is impersonal, and aloof, and just kind of there, but has no presence or power – at least not for them.  That’s so sad to me.  Because that couldn’t be farther from the truth!

Now I know that this is Trinity Sunday, and I’ve only focused mainly on the Holy Spirit.  But that’s good.  Because I think the Spirit is the least understood part of the trinity.  Think about our creed!  It is Trinitarian in form.  But think about what it says about each of the three “persons” of the trinity.  It says something about God the Father.  “I believe in God the Father, maker of Heaven and Earth.  And then of the Son it says, “And in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord…” and there’s a whole paragraph, there.  And then for the Spirit, it’s just, “I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic church…”  That’s itfor the Spirit!  Six words, and on to something else.

So I’m glad to focus on the Spirit for today!  Because the Spirit is so important!  And, if you think about it, the Holy Spirit is the person of the Trinity that we deal with the most!  Or at least it should be.

So, as we move into this sacrament, keep all of this in mind.  Let the Holy Spirit comfort you.  Let the Spirit bring to your remembrance all that Jesus said.  God the Father sent his son, and now his Holy Spirit, so that he can be among us, and with us, and in us, and for us.

Prayer

Eternal God, we thank you for being in us through your Holy Spirit.  Help us to feel your Holy Spirit in a special way as we celebrate this sacrament, this symbol of your great love for us.  And help us to know that we are worthy of your love, because you have made us worthy.  For this we pray in our Savior’s name, Amen.