Holy Spirit Promises III

The speaker discusses the Five Holy Spirit Promises in the Gospel of St. John. They focus on the third promise, which involves testifying and witnessing to Jesus in a world that rejects Him. The speaker explains that the world, as described by John, is a system that resists the truth about God and His love. The Holy Spirit is promised to help the disciples stand firm and bear witness to Jesus, even in the face of persecution. The Spirit brings to life the experience of Jesus and helps the disciples have faith in a hostile world. The speaker encourages listeners to reflect on this promise and ask Jesus to reveal His faithfulness in their lives. Greetings, friends. What a joy to share the Gospel. As we continue to celebrate the Easter mystery moving toward the culminating Feast of Pentecost, we have already begun our reflection on what are commonly called the Five Holy Spirit Promises in St. John's Gospel. First, we take a moment to prepare our hearts to yield to the promise of our Lord, mediated to us in John's Gospel, by quieting our inner selves. If you will, take a deep breath, slowly in and slowly out. Come, Lord Jesus, allow your Holy Spirit to bring your Word to life in me. May I hear your voice, Good Shepherd. Turn with me now to the third promise of Jesus concerning the Paraclete in the Gospel of St. John. That promise is found in John, Chapter 15, verses 26 and 27. Jesus said to His disciples, When the Paraclete comes, whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me, and you will also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning. The word testify stands at the forefront of this promise. To get at this promise, we need to delve into this word in the context of John's Gospel. The Greek use of the word places us in a legal defense setting. Once again, Fr. Ignace de la Poterie helps us in our understanding. He says that this term evokes a climate of protest, a hostile environment, a true trial between Jesus and the world. Before we can appreciate the nature of this promise, we must first recognize the warning of struggle the promise foretells. Jesus is here warning His disciples that they will live their lives of faith in the midst of a world that has resisted God and now rejected His own Son. This brings us now to the reality of world as understood by John in his Gospel. Just prior to the verses of this promise, in chapter 15, 9, Jesus tells His disciples, if you belonged to the world, the world would love its own. But because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you. The New Testament scholar, Fr. Francis Martin, describes John's understanding of world within the context of this promise. He tells us that John the mystic discerns behind the human forces that reject the message of salvation, a demonic universe of refusal and rejection that put Christ on trial and kill Him. This explains the constant use of the verb to witness, to testify, in the Johannine literature. Fr. Francis goes on, he says the Christian is a witness driven by his or her own experience of the saving act of God and the conviction that this act is meant to give life to the world. So the world, in the sense John uses it often, is the intellectual, economic, technological, emotional systems demonically orchestrated to resist the truth about God and His saving love in Jesus Christ. Now be clear, the promise of the Holy Spirit is directed specifically toward the disciples as they stand off with this universe of refusal and resistance. Again, Fr. Francis tells us, in this situation, when the disciples are on trial before the tribune of the world and are enduring persecution, either mental or physical or both, the paraclete, the spirit of truth, will witness to them concerning Jesus and will preserve them from falling away, even while they are bearing their own witness. Fr. Francis goes on to insist, what sustains the disciples of any age, including our own, and friends, this now is so crucial, is the living experience of the reality and majesty of Jesus Christ who is with the Father. You see my friends, this is what the Holy Spirit does deep within the spirit of the disciple. He brings to life the experience of Jesus present, living, faithful in friendship, in truth, in beauty. In the verse that follows the promise we are looking at, chapter 16, verse 1, Jesus says this, He says, I have told you this so that you may not fall away. Having faith in the midst of a hostile world, we are often tempted to doubt the truth and present reality of Christ. In a world seemingly trapped by war and terror, by famine and disease, by greed and resentment, the disciples' minds and hearts are assaulted by the thought that perhaps there is no God, or perhaps God is not all-powerful, all-loving, or maybe Jesus has not really overcome the world. In another direction, how often it seems that the cunning and deceitful, the aggressive and violent, the rich and powerful are the ones who experience true success in life, while the humble, the honest, the generous and just suffer nothing but defeat. It is precisely into this trial that the Holy Spirit promised by Jesus comes to aid the disciples. It is in this context that, as Father Pottery says, the testimony of the Spirit must here be considered as an interior reality meant directly for the disciple. Within this third promise, then, Jesus warns us, His disciples, that we will struggle to know and live the truth of the gospel. Jesus, though, will send the Holy Spirit from the Father in order to bring to increasing clarity, deep within us, the truth of His gospel. The Spirit will act within us to make present the reality of God's saving, life-giving love accomplished in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We will know within us, in the face of the temptations and trials inflicted on us by this present evil age, as St. Paul calls it in Galatians 1.4, that God is faithful and can be trusted to draw those who love Him into abundant life. Once again, let's read together from John 15, verses 26 and 27. Jesus said to His disciples, When the Paraclete comes, whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to Me. And you also testify, because you have been with Me from the beginning. Let me encourage you, friends, to sit with this promise for the week ahead. Claim it peacefully within your spirit. Ask Jesus to reveal His faithfulness to bringing this promise to life in you. Notice how He closes the promise, It's you who have been with Me who will receive this Holy Spirit. Let's remain with Jesus. And friends, it is indeed a joy to share the Gospel with you.