Liturgy

Today’s gospel spells out how we should prepare to receive the Spirit. The disciples have finally understood that Jesus is about to leave them; they are sad and are asking themselves how they can continue to be with him if he goes away. Jesus promises not to leave them alone, without protection or guidance; he says that he will ask the Father to send his Spirit who will always be with them.

Jesus says, (Jn 15, 17) the Spirit is for those who love him, those who keep his commandments, who practice love of all their fellow men and women, as he taught them. The “world” cannot receive the spirit of God. What does Jesus mean by the “world?” Does he mean those who do not practice our faith or share our way of thinking? The “world” is that part of our hearts that still harbours evil; it is where we store hatred, vengeance and evil thoughts, and the Spirit cannot enter that part. The Spirit of God urges us to love, to be generous, and to serve others.

The gospel gives two names to the Spirit that the Father will send us; the Paraclete (Advocate) and “the Spirit of Truth.” These describe what the Spirit does for believers.
The title Paraclete (Advocate) is a term used in courts and means the one who stands beside the accused. In Jesus’ day if one was accused and prosecuted for some crime, it could happen that a well-to-do person would come forward and without even saying a word, stand beside the accused. In such cases prosecution would stop there, nobody would dare go on with the case. That noble, upright and irreproachable person was called “paraclete,” that is, “the one who stands beside somebody who is in difficulties.”

This name “Paraclete,” given to the Spirit, means that the Spirit is the protector of the disciples in their time of difficulties. Christians who believe and know that the Spirit is always near them do not lose their peace of mind and heart. There is no place in the Church for people who are sad or tired or afraid or dispirited. Jesus’ disciples were not disheartened by persecution that come from outside, or by the difficulties that come from within the community, and not even by their own sins and frailty or their own personal evil inclinations. Those who believe in Jesus’ promise of the Paraclete believe that they will not be defeated by any difficulty however great it may be.

We all know what happens when a piece of news is repeated by two or three different persons. It ends up changed and distorted. The message of Jesus has to be preached to the whole world. What guarantee have we that it will not be corrupted, changed or distorted? The Church which transmits the gospel is made up not only of human elements, but also enjoys the presence and strength of the Spirit of Truth, promised by Jesus. The proof of the effective presence and assistance of the Spirit of Truth in the Church is that down through the centuries there were priests, bishops and even popes who misbehaved, but none of them cast doubt on the words of the gospels. The Spirit does prevent error in the transmission of the message of Jesus and also introduces Christ’s disciples to the fullness of truth.

For John the evangelist “truth” always stands for God who manifests himself through Jesus. To introduce to the “truth,” means to act in the hearts of every person so that one may freely accept the revelation of God as manifested in Jesus. The Spirit will break through even the hardest of hearts... no form of iniquity can withstand the Spirit.
The Spirit will also make clear things that Jesus did not say explicitly, because the disciples were not then capable of understanding them (Jn 16:12-15). Jesus knew that down through the centuries new situations would arise... The Spirit steps in to help us discover the truth. He will not say anything new, or contrary to what was said by Jesus, but helps us to understand the message of Christ to the full.

Christians have a duty to follow the inspirations of the Spirit leading them to discover new things. The Spirit is the one who renews the face of the earth. When we Christians are afraid or unable to accept all that is new, are we really open to the Spirit of truth? Should we always give old answers to new problems? The Spirit helps us to accept innovations that foster the life of the community, increase our joy and peace, help us to pray better, dispels from our hearts useless fears and wrong interpretations of the word of God.

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