Have you ever felt abandoned?
I once saw a religiously theme bumper sticker in Northern Ireland which read : “If God seems far away, consider who has moved.” There is of course some truth to that catchy slogan, but does it give comfort to a
person who has lost a loved one to cancer? Furthermore can such a cliche give comfort to a child who has just lost both parents in an air-strike?
There are times when our faith in God does become shaken especially in times of personal hardship. Our TVs are beset by disturbing scenes of human disaster and tragedy and one does wonder from time to time where God is in all of this?
Consider for a moment the personal traumas of a child orphaned in Ukraine or Sudan. The sudden absence of the familiar comforting voice of parental love. The warmth of those familiar voices replaced by the voices of strangers. It must be so frightening to be evacuated and re-homed so far from all that is familiar.
It is this feeling, the feeling of complete abandonment of an
orphan which Jesus began to sense in his disciples as his time to leave them came ever closer.
Responding to these feelings Jesus tells them: “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”
These words of comfort form part of what bible scholars call “The Upper Room discourse” which spans three chapters of John’s Gospel. They come on the back of the
plaintive cries by the disciple Thomas who says:
“Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
In response to the disciple’s angst, Jesus puts their minds at rest by telling them that though he must go, another advocate will come, one whom Jesus in v17 calls the Spirit of Truth. This “Spirit” is not some impersonal power or sociological phenomenon
as in the Zeit Geist or “Spirit of the Age”, but a divine person, whom only God’s children can discern (v17). It is through this Spirit that Jesus will become perpetually present to all his followers.
Whilst we would have loved to have been in the presence of Jesus of Nazareth in the flesh, we were not, but through the ministry of this Spirit, Jesus is more present to us than he was with the
disciples in that Upper Room. Why?, Because Jesus is not only with us, but in us. How? By the Spirit whom the Father was to send in his name.
Jesus said speaking of this Spirit in v17, “The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” Linking the coming of this Spirit at Pentecost to his perpetual presence with the disciples Jesus said in v20,
“On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”
In v17 Jesus refers to “another advocate”, but later in v26 he refers to “the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name.”
You may recall that the Greek word for Advocate is παράκλητος (paraklētos), literally “one called or sent for
to assist another” from the two Greek words Para, παρά“alongside” or “assist” and the the verb καλέω Kalleo, “to call.” Such a figure has obvious legal applications. A person’s Advocate assists them in court and speaks for them at the judge’s bench.
As a Christian you have the best defence lawyer no money can buy, but hear this. Not only is the Advocate with you, he is IN you. The Holy
Spirit doesn’t just speak for you, but through you.
So why is the world oblivious to the activity of the Spirit?
The first answer is that many people of the world have been blinded by satan to the activity of the Spirit. St Paul writing in 2 Cor 4:4 says: “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory
of Christ, who is the image of God.”
Secondly, many of the people in the world have grieved the Holy Spirit. (Isaiah 63:10, Eph 4:30). How do we grieve the Spirit? Paul gives and answer in Eph 4: 31: “bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.” In 1 Cor 6:19, St Paul writes of the human body as being “Temples of the Holy Spirit.” Clearly the Holy Spirit longs
to dwell with us, but he has firm house-rules.
So my friends next time God feels far from you it could be because you have moved and grieved the Holy Spirit, or it could be the “god of this age” is trying to blind you.
Some Christians have become perturbed when reading the phrase used by Jesus in Mark 3:29 in which he talks about the “Unforgivable sin” of
“Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.” My dear brothers and sisters if you are worrying about whether or not you have committed such a sin you will not have done so. It is those who twist the truth and believe and declare that Jesus is the incarnation of evil who may face that charge.
Does God seem far away from you? If so:
Firstly, you have not been, nor will you ever be abandoned by Jesus.
Secondly, Christ through the Holy Spirit is not only with you, but IN you.
Thirdly, remember the importance of keeping the Holy Spirit’s temple clean and free of clutter.
Fourthly, beware of the devil’s blinding tactics.
Next time we see a picture of an orphan on the news let us think of this passage and remember that we are eternally loved and will never be abandoned.
Amen