John 14:15-21
“I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” (John 14:18)
Today’s Gospel is part of the farewell discourse that Jesus shares with the disciples as part of the Last Supper. Jesus has washed the disciples' feet, predicted His death, foretells Peter’s denial, and now begins to comfort and reassure the disciples. He knows that His death will shake the world, so he reassures us, “I will not leave you orphans.”
Although Jesus is not with us physically, He shows us His immense love for us day by day. His love is exceeding and expansive. God seeks to be with us always, thus He promises the Holy Spirit to remain with us. In the Gospel, Jesus said: “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows him. But you know him, because he remains with you.”
The first “Advocate,” often translated to Comforter or Counselor, is Jesus himself. The Holy Spirit that Jesus promises carries on Christ’s role as intercessor, helping us practice His teachings. This Advocate reminds us that even when Christ is not among us physically, nothing will separate us from God. It matters to hear that the God we know, will not abandon us. God’s work and presence in the world will continue, as it has always been. We are not alone. God is within us.
There will be times when we, too, feel alone or even abandoned. We may feel lost, wondering if there is anyone who is listening. When that happens, we can remind ourselves that the Holy Spirit abides in us and we should call out to Him.
This heavenly advocate within us makes us into an earthly advocate as well. We are an advocate of Jesus every time we do what Jesus did. The Holy Spirit can guide us and give us strength to follow the Commandments and live by the Lord’s teachings. I pray that we invoke the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives each day, so we can love one another and Him more fully.