John 14:23-29
The vestry met on Thursday. This team of leaders, people you elected to
help make the decisions necessary to care for this people and this place, gather
each month to do the business of the church.
For the past three months we have
committed time to Bible Study. Our text
comes from the upcoming week’s lessons. So
far, we’ve focused on the Gospel.
We take three interpretations of the
verses and study them. One is the New
Revised Standard, which is what we regularly read on a Sunday. The Episcopal Church has given us permission
to also use The Common English Bible and The Message in our worship, so we look
at those interpretations, too.
You might think this is a sneaky way
to do some preparation for my sermon, and you’d be right, but it is also a
great way for us to pay attention to God’s Word as it comes to us through the Revised
Common Lectionary.
The Revised Common Lectionary is the
Scripture source most Episcopal, Catholic and Lutheran clergy use each week. The lectionary is in a three-year cycle,
which we identify as years A, B, and C. We
are currently in Year C.
Doing a Bible Study during our vestry
meetings means we have pretty long meetings.
We spend at least 30 minutes on this study. We read one of the interpretations and ponder
a specific question. Generally, with the
first read-through the question is “What words or phrases jump out at you?”
This question helps us get into the words. Sometimes, the story being told is very
familiar, so it is interesting to try to find something that jumps out, and
often, individuals are surprised by what they hear or see.
The second read through might include a
question about what the passage means to each person on an individual
basis. The third is about what it might
mean to St. Alban’s at this time in our history.
You would think that devoting time to
a Bible Study in a vestry meeting would be met with some push back. I mean, this adds a significant chunk of time
to our meetings after most of the vestry members have already put in a full
day.
But what is happening is the members
of the vestry are bonding with one another through scripture. It is amazing to me what they are sharing
about themselves through their deeper dive into a few verses. More than once I’ve been told that this is
becoming a favorite part of our meetings.
It becomes a way to spiritually and theologically prepare for Sunday’s
worship.
These deeper insights into the actual
words and phrases help this group better understand what it is God intends us
to know-- for the individual, for St. Alban’s and for the Church in the world.
I will say that it does take a bit to engage
with the texts. The first read through
is often met with a moment or two of silence as we ponder and look for a word
or phrase—or we internally debate how much we are ready to reveal. By the third read through, folks are looking
for insight gained, for different use of language to provide clarity where there
might have been confusion, or affirmation that they had it right all along.
There is always at least one person,
however, who has a real A-Ha moment.
This week, there were a few of those.
In each of the versions, the
descriptor for the Holy Spirit was different.
In the New Revised Standard Version, the one we read this morning, Jesus
calls the Holy Spirit the “Advocate.” In
the Common English, “The Companion.” In the
Message, he calls her “The Friend.”
We had a lively discussion about what
each of those mean to us. For some, “Advocate,”
felt more legal, like a lawyer or maybe a health worker. “Companion” was more familiar, like a spouse
or a dear person in one’s life. “Friend”
really changed it up, encompassing the depth of relationship. Yet, each of those words are good descriptors
for the Holy Spirit, don’t you think?
The Holy Spirit is the third part of
the Trinity—that odd way of describing the broadness of God in the world. While we have one God, we have been taught
that there are three ways of being in relationship with God—directly, even
though we are not able to see God’s face; through our relationship with Jesus—God’s
incarnate, God made flesh, God on Earth to teach us how to know God and to be
in relationship with God; and through the Holy Spirit—that ethereal,
ever-present expression of God in the world.
The Holy Spirit—the feeling of the holy around us.
It’s important to know about her. In so many ways, the Spirit is the emotion of
the Holy. The Spirit is an advocate—a way
of helping us stay connected with God, perhaps standing up for us with God,
protecting us. I see this role much like
I understand the role of a family member or a hospital employee who helps a
patient receive the care and information they need.
In today’s Gospel, the Holy Spirit is
tasked very specifically with continuing to teach the followers of Jesus all
they need to know to do the work of Jesus in the world. The Spirit is also there to remind them what
Jesus taught them, especially in those moments where they will, inevitably,
forget.
Another phrase that caught the
attention of your vestry was verse 27: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give
to you.” In a world where peace is
sometimes elusive and hard to find, we can find comfort in these words. Yet, one of the vestry members was perplexed
by the language of “peace” in our first reading. By the time we got to the Message, we learned
a little more about what this kind of peace is.
In the Message, there is a line
included: “I’m leaving you well and whole.”
This kind of peace helps us to know that Jesus, when he dies, when he ascends,
trusts that those he leaves are ready for what lies ahead for them.
But it is deeper than that. This peace Jesus is talking about is, in the
Jewish language, Shalom. Shalom is a
much bigger kind of peace. It is not
only about “the absence of conflict.”[1] It is also about the well-being of each person
— “I’m leaving you well and whole.” — and of the community — “I’m leaving you
well and whole.” Shalom brings our
unique, individual lives into community.
And this is very important for the group of people to hear at this
moment.
Why?
Because Jesus is preparing them for the upcoming moments he will be
leaving them. Those moments include his
arrest and crucifixion and they include his ascension.
In our liturgical calendar, the
ascension occurs this week, on Thursday.
For us, these words help us know that we, too, can rely upon the Holy
Spirit to help us maintain an attitude of Shalom.
One of the biggest A-Ha moments that
came at our vestry meeting came after reading the Message. I think it is worth sharing here. You see, language matters. Experiencing the Gospel in three ways can
deepen our understanding and clarify questions we might not know we have.
This A-Ha came to a couple of us this
way. We had heard it from the NRSV: “…and
the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.”
We heard it from the Common English: “The
word that you hear isn’t mine. It is the
word of the Father who sent me.”
Then, we heard it from the Message: “The
message you are hearing isn’t mine. It’s
the message of the Father who sent me.”
It took us three ways to get it. And we wonder why it was so hard for those
who walked the journey with Jesus to get it.
What did we finally comprehend, even
though, deep inside we truly knew it?
Jesus’ life, his ministry, his words, all that he did as God incarnate, was
God, living and true. God sent Jesus to
show us God.
I know that might sound ridiculous. Of course, we know that Jesus is God and God
is Jesus. But there was something about
this phrase that changed the way some of us comprehended Jesus’ life. Jesus came into the world to create Shalom. The kind of peace that brings the world into
unity and community, because that is God’s desire for creation.
Now, I’m going to give you an
invitation. Beginning sometime this
summer we are going to offer a Bible Study, much like what we do in our vestry
meetings. We will explore the Gospel for
the upcoming Sunday, creating an opportunity for you to have your own A-Ha
moments and deeper relationship with Scripture.
This study will be facilitated by vestry members and will happen on
Sunday mornings during coffee hours. Keep
watch for more information in the coming weeks.
This will be another way of bringing
Shalom to life here at St. Alban’s, and I hope you will join in.
Let us pray.
Jesus, you
prepared your followers for your departure from this earth. While we were not with you in those exact
moments, we are here, now, more deeply understanding what it was you wanted us
to know: that the Holy Spirit will be
with us, teaching, guiding and reminding us of all it is you want us to be to
create a true meaning of Shalom in the world.
We forever pray to you, Jesus, to you our Creator God and to you, the
Advocate, Companion, Friend and Comforter, that we may fulfill your desire for
perfect peace. Amen.