Empowered
John 14:1-21, 25-27[1]
In some ways, our
world has gotten much smaller than it was when many of us were children. Today
we can know instantly what is happening anywhere in the country, and all over
the world. But at the same time, I would say this means that our world has gotten
much bigger. Growing up in a small town in Texas, our concerns were fairly
limited to our family, our friends, our church, and our town. We had the news
for “bigger” matters, but there was no 24-hour news channel, and “breaking
events” wasn’t even a thing. Now, we have instant access to major events
happening all over the world. Our world has gotten a lot bigger.
For many of us, this
can leave us feeling overwhelmed. There are so many serious problems in our
world coming at us every day. I think it can lead to a kind of “information
overload.” We hear about so many troubling things in our world that we may
wonder what any of us can do about them. This great big world of ours with so
many crises happening so fast may convince us that we’re too weak, too small,
too helpless in the face of it all to make a difference. But now, as always, I
think we make the biggest difference when we can step away from the great big
world and focus on the people in our lives each day. I would say that’s where
we have a chance to do something meaningful in our world.
Our gospel lesson for
today relates to this feeling of helplessness. This week, we’re returning to a
chapter we talked about recently. As I mentioned at that time, in this whole
section of John’s Gospel, Jesus was preparing his disciples for the fact that
very soon he was no longer going to be with them. He knew that his “hour” was
at hand, and he told them in a variety of ways that he was going to be leaving
them and returning to the Father. I mentioned previously that the disciples
were confused by all of this, but I think we can say that they were also upset
about it. There’s an edge to what Thomas said to Jesus: “Lord, we do not know
where you are going. How can we know the way?” (Jn 14:5).
That’s why Jesus started
this chapter with words of assurance: “Do not let your hearts be troubled” (Jn
14:1). The reason for this was that he was about to tell them that he would be
leaving them, and he knew it would upset them. Despite all appearances, Jesus
promised them that “I will not leave you orphaned” (Jn 14:18). He wanted them
to know that they would not be left on their own to carry on without him.
Finally, he said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not
give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not
let them be afraid” (Jn 14:27). All of this was meant to address their sadness
and fear over his leaving.
We talked a couple of
weeks ago about how this would relate to
their potential feelings of abandonment. But I think there’s more to it than
that. I think Jesus also wanted to help them understand that they would not be
left to their own efforts to carry on the work he had begun and that he
commissioned them to take up. In the first place, they would be empowered to
carry out that work because of their relationship with Jesus and the Father. He
promised them that when they saw him again, they would know that “I am in my
Father, and you in me, and I in you” (Jn 14:20). Jesus promised his disciples
that they would be embraced into the relationship of love that Jesus and the
Father have shared from all eternity in order to empower them to carry out
their work.
More than that, Jesus
also promised that he would send them “the Spirit of Truth” to help them with
their task. The Holy Spirit would be for them “another Advocate” or “Counselor”
or “Helper” who would be with them forever (Jn 14:16). Not only would the
Spirit “teach” them “everything” and “remind” of all the Jesus had said to them
(14:26), he would also “declare” to them “the things that are to come” (16:13).
The purpose of this would be to “glorify” Jesus
by taking “what is mine” and “declaring” it to them (16:14). And “what
is mine” includes “All that the Father has” (16:14).
The result of all of
this is that not only would the disciples be empowered to carry on their work,
but in fact they would do much more. Jesus promised that their sharing in the
love between him and the Father and the constant presence and guidance of the Spirit
would empower them to “do greater works than these” (Jn 14:12). It may seem
impossible, but Jesus promised that his disciples would carry out his legacy of
fulfilling God’s work in the world. That would include bearing witness to
Jesus, but also it would include lives of faithful discipleship that would have
effects that would reach more widely than any of them could likely imagine.
There are a lot of
ways in which the helplessness we feel about the world relates to what’s
happening in the church. Churches across the country have been in decline for
decades. And two years of the pandemic has only sped up that process. It can
seem like all our efforts to turn that around have been frustrated by the
changes that are sweeping through our world. But despite our feelings of
helplessness, Jesus’ promises to his disciples apply to us as well. He has not
left us to carry on the work of ministry by our own efforts. The love we know
in relationship with him and the Father and the presence and guidance of the Holy
Spirit empower us all to go out and do “greater works” than any of us can
likely imagine!
[1] ©
Alan Brehm 2022. A sermon delivered by Rev. Alan Brehm, Ph. D. on 6/5/2022 for
Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.
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