May 27, 2012
John 16: 7-11
Everyone has experienced going to the
cupboard or counter and finding an old stale role. It is crusty and
dry and usually a bit more hollow then it started. It is tasteless
and sometimes no amount of toasting and covering it with honey makes
it any better.
Well that is exactly what Jesus is
talking about here. Jesus is talking about the Jewish church, but it
could just as easily be our church right now. Jesus is talking about
how the people have been trapped in their own traditions, thoughts
and practices. The people have been trapped by their own ideas. He
came in order to break that down, and now he is promising “the
Advocate” the one to help us through this transition. The trap
that we have run into is thinking that it was simply the transition
from Judaism to Christianity. Sometimes we don't realize that it is
the same thing that we are facing right now.
Do you ever feel that your spiritual
life is in a rut? You do the same things each week? You go to
church, you may do a Bible study once a week either by yourself or
others and you pray. You try to live by the rules set out in the
Bible, and be a good person. You know exactly what you are going to
do, and how God talks to you and that is what you expect.
The Jewish people knew that. Jesus
says he is sending the Advocate to help us. That the advocate will
prove the world wrong about sin, righteousness, and judgment. When
we see that we always think the outside world. The other, everyone
else will be proven wrong. We are set aside so of course we are
right. Go ahead Advocate prove that stubborn self centered world
wrong.
But here Jesus is referring to the
Jewish church, and could just as easily be referring to our church as
I said before. Last week Pastor Dale talked about the scoffers.
Those who can't see the good, who think they know what they need to
know and feel it their duty to tell the other idiots in the world why
they are idiots. This is what Jesus is talking about with the
Advocate proving the world wrong with sin. Jesus tells us that the
Advocate will prove the world wrong for not believing in me. That is
his definition of sin. That is the most basic definition I have
heard and yet, if you asked any of us before listening to it you
would have a very detailed list of examples and where they came from
and why. The scoffers were the ones not believing in Jesus. The
scoffers are choosing to believe in what they think is right. They
choose to know what is a sin, and separation from God. Scoffers
think they have this down, but Jesus is reminding us that it is our
belief in him that will open our eyes to sin. We can never assume we
know what others are doing or how separated from God they are. For
that is sin being separated from God, doubting God. I think if you
are honest with yourself every person here has had sin as Jesus
describes it here.
Then Jesus goes on to tell us about
righteousness. That the Advocate will help us to prove the world or
the church wrong with the idea of righteousness “because I am going
to the Father and you will see me no longer,”. Righteousness is a
difficult word to define, but the most basic definition I have had my
seminary professors give me is being right with God. So what is
Jesus speaking to here. People thought they knew him. The Pharisees
get a bad rap in the Bible, but if we look at them they are men who
devoted their entire lives to studying the Bible and following the
rules every rule. They found the rules, categorized the rules and
attempted to live perfectly for God. They were not bad guys, but
they trapped themselves in their own thinking. They thought they
could make themselves righteous. Self righteous. If they could
only follow the rules, and then all would be well, and then comes
this young upstart saying no,"Love
the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with
all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor
as yourself.” Luke 10:27. Do we do this? Are we more like the
Pharisees? Do we settle into our way of doing things and our
expectations on how things are done? Do we get upset when things
aren't going the way we expect them? If someone decides not to do
something in the traditional way? Do we get so used to doing the
same things every year that the thought of stopping, re-evaluating
and may be changing projects is as foreign as another language. Are
we trapped in our expectations – trying our hardest to be holy, but
missing the Advocate entirely because it is not in our normal mode of
operation?
Ahh
and finally the Advocate will come to prove the world wrong in
regards to judgment, because the ruler of this world has been
condemned. The world, both Jewish and Roman condemned Jesus to
death. They put themselves in the seat of judgment. How many of us
do that now? How many churches do that now? Jesus walks with us
today. He has told us that we feed, cloth, or help the least we are
helping him. How do people react to the poor, the homeless, those
with drug addictions, alcoholism, mental illness, the elderly, the
orphaned, the “punks” and “thugs”, the “Goth” teens, the
single parents, the teen age moms, the disabled. How do we respond
as a church?
We
may see ourselves in this passage, but we need to also see our hope.
Jesus sent the Advocate. It was not a one time deal. That Holy
Spirit sent 2000 years ago is here in this room, present for us right
here and now. Jesus promised the Advocate, Wonderful Councilor, Holy
Spirit to come and be with us and during Pentecost with tongues of
fire and a wind like no other the Holy Spirit swept through a room of
123 people and converted 500 more from the streets. That amazing,
hard working Holy Spirit is calling us, is with us, surrounding us
and helping to open our eyes to the ways we have become trapped by
our own culture, our own thinking, our own expectations if we are
simply open to that movement. Listen. Hear! Do something
different!
Thank
you God for your Advocate. Move through us now, kindle our hearts
with your tongues of flame and help us to do your work in our world.
Amen.
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