“When
the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will
not speak on his own, but he will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare
to you the things that are to come.” (Jn 16: 13)
The
sixteenth chapter of the Fourth Gospel depicts the work of the Holy Spirit, the
Advocate. Before Jesus enters into his Hour of passion, death, and resurrection
through which he will be glorified, he consoles the disciples by promising the Paraclete, the Spirit of truth. Paraclete means consoler, helper,
encourager or comforter. Jesus promises the spirit of truth to be with them
forever to continue the divine mission revealed by him. The history of the
Church shows that the accompaniment of the advocate empowered the disciples to
meet the challenges and persecutions of the early century and to remain
faithful to the abiding relationship with the lord till the last moment of
their lives.
“The
Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”(Jn 1:14) God himself tabernacle or dwelt
among us. God pitched his tent among us. In the OT, we see people went to tent
to meet God. A reflective reading of Nathanael meeting Jesus would enlighten us
to understand that Jesus is the new Bethel, the house of God, where we can
worship God. (Jn 1:51) After the
cleansing of the Temple, Jesus presented himself as the new temple where people
can worship God. John is offering a new place of worship for the people who lost
their place of worship, i.e. the Synagogue. Through Paraclete, we are invited to meet Jesus, the new tent, the new
Bethel and the new temple where we can worship God. Jesus said to the Samaritan
woman: “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will
worship the Father in spirit and truth. God is spirit, and those who worship
him must worship him in spirit and truth.” (Jn 4:23-24) Paraclete is the guiding force who will make us true worshipers.
John
presents the spirit as the rivers of life-giving water also. The flowing out of
blood and water from the side of Jesus could be seen as the source of the
sacraments. This could also be reflected
as the symbolic expression of the pouring out of the spirit. All these passages
underline the central theme of our reflection on Paraclete. Jesus very clearly promises that Paraclete will lead us into all the truth and he would declare to
us even those things that are to come. The Holy Spirit enables the believers to
experience and remain in the active presence of the risen lord. Without the
power of the Holy Spirit, no one can live out the Christian faith. The most wonderful promise of
Jesus Christ to His disciples was the promise of the Holy Spirit, the advocate.
Jesus wanted his followers to be clothed with the power from high, that is,
with the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Jesus offers us the same spirit which
was instrumental in the creation, incarnation, passion, death and resurrection
of Jesus. The promise of Paraclete enables
us to meet the new tent, the new Bethel, the new temple, Jesus, where we can
meet and worship God so that we may be true worshipers who worship God in
Spirit and truth.
Love,
Augustine Mlavarayil CMI
Love,
Augustine Mlavarayil CMI
