The Divine Advocate: The Shalom of the Spirit

Photo by Matthew L on Unsplash

Rev. 22 & John 14:23-29

In December 2017 a middle school in Dallas was organizing a “Breakfast with Dads” event for the boys of the school. They realized that not all their students had father figures in their lives. So they put out a request for 50 men to volunteer. And instead of 50 men, 600 showed up to mentor the boys! Due to this incredible influx of support, the school moved the event from the cafeteria to the gymnasium to accommodate the large numbers. One teacher recalled seeing boys talking with 4 or 5 new mentors each. They did icebreaker activities, and the boys learned that they were special and important and worthy of adults’ time. The day was so successful that it has become a yearly tradition and inspired a movement of similar events across the country. That day, and at the annual events since, those boys gained new father figures, mentors, and advocates in their lives.

I remembered this news story when I thought about what might be a good example of what Jesus means by the word Advocate in our Gospel reading today. He uses it to describe the Holy Spirit. A presence that the disciples did not yet know, but which would be arriving soon as their new supporter, helper, and advocate. The word advocate is one of the common translations for the word paraclete that Jesus uses to talk about the Holy Spirit in the scripture lesson from John 14 this morning. It can mean helper, supporter, or advocate. This passage is part of the farewell discourse, the long conversation Jesus has in John the night of his arrest. He knows he is about to die and he is preparing his disciples for the world without him. He also knows that after he dies he will rise again and eventually ascend into heaven, and that even though he will live on, his relationship with the disciples will never be the same. And so he is preparing for them the new way God will guide and support them—and that is through the coming of the Holy Spirit, this divine advocate. The Holy Spirit will be their new way of interacting with God’s presence after Jesus is no longer with them in the flesh. The Holy Spriit will show them the way forward and guide their lives. And with the help of the Holy Spirit, the early church will grow in faith and wisdom and commitment and will spread throughout the world.

In this passage Jesus says that this Advocate will teach them everything and promises to leave them with peace, peace that comes with the Advocate. Jesus says this is not the peace that the world gives. The peace of Jesus, the peace of the Advocate, is not the peace of the world. Not the peace of Rome—the pax romana—peace through oppression of others. Not the peace promised by prosperity preachers who say if you follow Jesus your life will be full of wealth and blessings and all the material benefits you can imagine. His peace is not even the peace we think of that comes to us on a nice relaxing day. This peace Jesus is the peace of God which surpasses all understanding. Peace that is undefinable and unaffected by external circumstances. Peace that doesn’t need things to be right in order to be felt. Peace that remains when the disciples would be persecuted or imprisoned or fed to lions. Peace that remains in all of life’s ups and downs and joys and sorrows. That is the peace Jesus wants to give us.

The Greek word for this peace is eirene (e-ray-nay). But even though the New Testament was written in Greek, the language Jesus said this in was Hebrew or Aramaic and that word for peace is perhaps you are more familiar with: Shalom. So this is what the Holy Spirit brings to us and encourages us to share with the world: the peace of Jesus, the shalom of the Spirit. The peace and wholeness and harmony and divine wellbeing that that word entails.

We may not all feel this peace, this shalom, all the time. I doubt any one of us is lucky enough to constantly feel the shalom of God continuously, but I hope most of us have at least had a glimpse of it. And even though we might not always feel the Spirit’s presence and peace, the Spirit is always present and God’s shalom is drawing us forward. Drawing us forward as individuals, as the church, and the universe as a whole.

Becoming more aware of this peace of Jesus, this shalom of the Spirit, is foundational to the journey of discipleship. The journey of discipleship deals with paying attention to the Spirit’s presence in our lives. Being mindful of the Spirit’s movements throughout the day. The shalom of the Spirit can found in the joyful hymns of worship. In the beauty of a sunset or the rustle of leaves. In the smile of a child or the eyes of a beloved elder. The Holy Spirit’s peaceful presence is all around us at every moment, even in the most trying times. And it is our spiritual practice to be attentive to it. To be mindful of the Spirit’s peaceful presence. To be notice the subtle movements of our divine Advocate, who is always present but rarely fully seen or felt.

It is in becoming more conscious of the divine presence in our lives, that we grow more attuned to the shalom of the Spirit, become more aligned with the will of God in our lives. Through practices like centering prayer or meditation, through participating in worship and bible study, through hearing the Word of God and receiving the Sacraments, through serving those in need or teaching children about God’s love—all of these are ways we can connect to the Spirit and grow closer to God.

In each of our lives individually, and in the church and the world collectively, the Holy Spirit is at work transforming us. Transforming all people into the mature children of God we were created to be. To be grown up Christians who eat solid food, not spiritual infants, as Paul says in First Corinthians. And when this shalom of the Spirit becomes our way of being, we are able to embody God’s presence and peace for the world around us. When we do this individually we help set others at ease, we help others heal, we help others grow and transform. And when we the church embody the shalom of the Spirit, we model it for the surrounding world, and are a powerful catalyst of change for humanity.

This week I had a conversation with someone who brought up Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail in which MLK wrote that far too often the church has been a taillight when it should be headlight. My friend added a new metaphor saying that the church should be a thermostat not just a thermometer: a community that sets the temperature for the society, and doesn’t just reflect society’s tendencies. That is the mission of the church in the world. To love our neighbors, feed the hungry, welcome the foreigner, care for the sick, and advocate for the poor. To be a light shining on a hill, as Jesus said, to be salt for the earth. Not to acquiesce to the ways of the world, but not to abandon the world either. To be so loving and peaceful and committed to the shalom of the Spirit that the world is transformed by it.

Another friend shared a prayer with me this week. It was a prayer of Ludig van Beethoven who prayed: “We must praise your goodness that you have left nothing undone to draw us to yourself. But one thing we ask of you, our God, not to cease to work in our improvement. Let us tend toward you, no matter by what means… for the sake of Christ our Lord Amen.”

Entrusting our spiritual improvement to God is known in theology as sanctification. It is the work of the Holy Spirit in us. And as individual Christians and the church as a whole are transformed by the Spirit, we become the headlights of the world, the thermostat that guides humanity. And as the shalom of the Spirit fills us more and more, the world will eventually experience what is described at the end of Revelation.

The end of John’s Revelation vision describes a new heaven and a new earth. In the final two chapters of Revelation John talks about a transformed world where God will make God’s home with humanity. We see magnificent images of this new home: A river flowing through the city containing the water of life. The tree of life with leaves for the healing of the nations. And John says there is no darkness in this new reality, only the light of God illuminating all things. The prophets of the Old Testament often proclaimed a day is the coming when God will make the world whole. John’s vision expresses this same truth. A new heaven and a new earth. A world completely filled with the peace of God, the shalom of the Spirit.

This reality may be soon or it may still be a long way off. But we have access to it right here, right now. The shalom of the Spirit is with us in this place. God’s peaceful presence walks with us through life, strengths us in trouble, and inspires us to manifest the love of God in our lives. Our divine advocate, the Holy Spirit, has guided and supported all Christians of every time and place. This same Spirit that comforts us in our grief. This same Spirit that empowers us to do God’s work in the world. This same Spirit that affirms us of God’s love and forgiveness. This same Spirit that makes a home in us in the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. An experience that Liam will have in just a few minutes.

And so, while we long for the fullness of shalom that awaits the world, we also know that our divine Advocate is present right here and now. Supporting us. Comforting us. Inspiring us to greater levels of trust and love and growth. We have the gift of the Spirit now, as the Advocate for our lives. Thanks to be God.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.