The Spirit is our Advocate
Living Stones
This morning the redbirds’ eggs / have hatched and
already the chicks
are chirping for food. They don’t / know where it’s
coming from, they
just keep shouting, “More! More!”
As to anything else, they haven’t / had a single
thought. Their eyes
haven’t yet opened, they know nothing / about the sky
that’s waiting. Or
the thousands, the millions of trees. / They don’t even
know they have wings.
………….
And just like that, like a simple / neighborhood
event, a miracle
is taking place.
—Mary Oliver
Beloved
Ones, as we move into the season of Pentecost, we celebrate the birth and
growth of the Church in the world. We
celebrate the stirring of the Holy Spirit within and among us. We celebrate our call to bring people
together in new, creative, and life-giving ways; to work for the common good of
all Creation; and to shape life practices that allow all to thrive and flourish. This is truly good news! This is good news, even—and especially—in the
wake of the heartbreaking news about terrorist attacks in Manchester and
Jakarta. Even—and especially—when those
old fears seep in at the seams and our anger rises and we have a hard time
believing the callous injustice we witness in our world. Even—and especially—during these times, we
have to trust and draw on the spiritual reservoirs of our faith community. We have to remember that the Holy Spirit is
our Advocate—and that the Holy Spirit is present with us now.
Like I mentioned last Sunday, the
Greek word used in John’s gospel for Spirit is paracletos. And it is often translated as “Advocate,”
which can function in a legal sense—literally referring to one who advocates
for you before a court of law. And it
can also function more relationally—referring to one who brings help,
consolation, comfort, and encouragement when you really need it. But in any case, the most essential
understanding of paracletos must include its most basic meaning, which is “to
come alongside another.” So, according
to John, the Holy Spirit is an advocate
that comes alongside us, and stands up for us when we need it, speaks on our
behalf when we can’t find the words, lends a helping hand when we can’t carry
everything on our own, and stays with us when we’re struggling so we will know
that we are not alone. The Spirit
will manifest Jesus’s promise that he will not leave us orphaned but will come alongside
us. . . .
The
Spirit will be by our side when our car stops running, when our anxiety spikes,
when we feel bombarded by tragic news, when the pipe bursts, when we can’t get
back to sleep, when our health triggers concern, when the job feels elusive,
when we’re grieving the loss of a loved one, when work is contentious, when we
fall out of touch with family, when we are uncertain about the future. The Spirit is our Advocate—coming alongside
us in comforting, encouraging, consoling, and caring ways that help us see and
know an otherwise invisible God—and also encouraging us and guiding us to come
alongside others. Luring us onward and
outward and toward the world. With
greater and expanding love. Because this is what the Spirit
does: It slows us down, cracks us open,
creates meaningful change in our lives, transforms our hearts, reassures us
that we are not alone. It reminds us to
look our neighbors in the eye, to really see those around us, and it invites us
to stand up and speak out and demand justice for both friends and
strangers. In other words, the Holy
Spirit creates miracles all around us—and it invites us into those
miracles. Let’s celebrate them together!
See you in church,
Christy