It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you

 

 "These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble.  They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.  And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father or Me.  But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them.  And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.

"But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, 'Where are You going?'  But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.  Nevertheless I tell you the truth.  It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.  And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:  of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.  

 

"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.  However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.  He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.  All things that the Father has are Mine.  Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you."

 

- John 16:1–15 

 

We are currently reading Jesus' Farewell Discourse to the disciples, which He began at the Last Supper.  Now Jesus and the disciples have moved to another location, where His final teachings to them continue.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught them, "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than that, than to lay down one's life for his friends.  You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.  No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.  You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.  These things I command you, that you love one another.  If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love its own.  Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.  Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.'  If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.  If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.  But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.  If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.  He who hates Me hates My Father also.  If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father.  But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, 'They hated Me without a cause.'  But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.  And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning." 

 "These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble.  They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.  And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father or Me.  But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them.  And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you."  Jesus has just preached both that His new command for His disciples is that they "love one another" as He had loved them, and that by this love the world would know them.  Moreover, He has taught that if the world first hated Him, it will also hate them.  It is in this context that He declares He teaches these things "that you should not be made to stumble," and gives clear warning of persecutions to come.  He speaks in a sense as a loving father or guide, as He says He did not say these things in the beginning, "because I was with you."

"But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, 'Where are You going?'  But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.  Nevertheless I tell you the truth.  It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you."   Jesus tells the disciples that "sorrow has filled your heart."  My study bible cites St. John Chrysostom's explanation of this sorrow, who says it is "extreme grief leading to despondency or despair," which is a sinful passion.  "Great is the tyranny of despondency," writes St. Chrysostom.  My study bible adds that this sin is constantly referred to in the writings of the Desert Fathers.  When the world persecutes the believer or when God seems to be absent, it says, Christians are called to fight against this despondency, taking comfort from the presence of the Holy Spirit.  Again, Jesus speaks here of the Holy Spirit, calling Him the Helper, or Paraklete in the Greek, one who comes when called, an Advocate.  This title can also mean "Comforter" and "Counselor."

"And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:  of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged."  My study bible comments that through the illumination brought by  the Holy Spirit, the world will be convicted -- that is, proven wrong.  It will be convicted concerning first of all, its sin, of which the ultimate is denying Jesus Christ.  Second, of righteousness, which it failed to accept from Christ with faith and thanksgiving.   Finally, there is judgment, for all who reject Christ will receive the same penalty that Satan, the ruler of this world has already received, my study bible says (see Matthew 25:41).  

"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.  However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.  He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.  All things that the Father has are Mine.  Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you."   My study bible says that because the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, and also because this Spirit abides in the Church, the Church is the guardian of all truth.

In today's reading, following up on His warnings about persecutions to come and even the hatred of the world, Jesus teaches about the essential importance of the Holy Spirit, the Helper He will send from the Father.  What is the role of the Holy Spirit?  Most frequently, it seems, many tend to think of the Holy Spirit not as a separate Person, the Third Person of the Trinity, to be exact, but as some sort of amorphous presence.  But the Holy Spirit is a Person, with a definite role and mission, although -- as the Orthodox pray -- He is "everywhere present and filling all things."    He is so much more than simply the "glue" between the First Person of the Trinity, God the Father, and the Second Person of the Trinity, God the Son.  But the Holy Spirit is a distinct Person, and I use the pronoun "He" because it helps us to understand this more clearly.  Jesus defines the role of the Holy Spirit in today's reading, at least partially for us.  Jesus says, "It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you."  This clearly sets out for us the immense value of the Holy Spirit to the lives of all in this world.  In this language, even the loss of Christ Incarnate is tempered by the vast gift of the Holy Spirit, an immeasurable gift to all who would be disciples of Jesus.  "And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:  of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged."  Here is the powerful role of the Spirit, set out in three dimensions:  it is the Spirit whose role is to convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment -- including the judgment of the ruler of this world.  These matters of sin, righteousness, and judgment are in some sense our concern only because we are the ones who must be aware of the state of our own sin, righteousness, and the judgment we will face.  But then Jesus adds what is most pertinent for His followers, "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.  He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you."  It is the Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth, who will speak Christ's words to us, and tell us things to come.  The Holy Spirit will relay to us whatever He hears and glorify Christ in so doing.  He will take from what is Christ's and declare it to us.  So, it would seem from the teachings of Jesus here, there is no way that we can possibly overestimate the gifts and benefits of the Holy Spirit to us.  It is easy for us to forget our Comforter, Helper, and Advocate.  In the words of the Orthodox prayer to the Holy Spirit, He is "Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth," who is "everywhere present and filling all things," the "Treasury of Blessings and Giver of Life."  He is the "Good One" who comes and dwells in us, who cleanses our stains and saves our souls.  Let us cherish our Gift who brings God's blessings to us.