Sixth Sunday of Easter
According to John, the world cannot receive the Spirit of Truth because it does not see or know him, but believers can see and know this Spirit, because the Spirit abides in us and with us. It is hard for us to accept that we have some special knowledge, some special ability to see what others cannot.
Does this ability set us, as Christians, above “the world” (whoever that is)? I think not. Rather, it puts us in service to the world. Through obedience to the commandments—which, in fact, are to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind and to love your neighbor as yourself—we are given the ability to see. We have a vision of the Spirit of Truth and an awareness of a Living Christ. We sense something HOLY is with us and in us.
This creates in us a desire to love this world as God did when he sent his Son. I believe this indwelling of the HOLY gives us a power and a courage to face the world as it is and to love it. We love this world so that the Spirit of Truth can be received by all, in whatever way God reveals that awareness of the HOLY to all of humanity.
Condemnation is counterproductive to love. We love fiercely in the face of injustice, unafraid. We sense the indwelling of the HOLY; we speak with the Spirit of Truth. We expect and nurture Christ’s transformational work in the world—the world that may not see him clearly or at all, but is still loved by him. This is why we can find JOY in the midst of justice work; we are not orphaned or abandoned, but are filled with the HOLY Spirit. We see the Living Christ at work in the world, and we lean in for the long haul.
Amy Gohdes-Luhman, pastor, Waconia Moravian Church
Waconia, Minnesota