When the Holy Spirit Comes!

John 14:21-26

Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. “All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

Food for the thought!

As he begins to end his earthly ministry, Jesus begins to introduce the Holy Spirit; as he begins to go, Jesus begins to speak of the Holy Spirit to come; as one goes, the other comes. «All this I have spoken WHILE STILL WITH YOU», he says, «BUT THE ADVOCATE, THE HOLY SPIRIT, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things AND remind you everything.»

Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit will begin from where he will leave off; Jesus has spoken, the Holy Spirit will remind us; one speaks, the other reminds us. Thanks to the Holy Spirit that we don't forget Jesus' teaching. The Holy Spirit reminds us also of all the things Jesus said. When we become discouraged, the Holy Spirit in our soul reminds of a some words of Jesus, of some phrase of the Bible, which encourages us to go on. Do you remember of some time when, being in some difficulty or going through a crises the words of Jesus kept sounding in your ears and strengthened you? Well, it was the Holy Spirit at work.

The Holy Spirit encourages us to keep on running, to keep on going, to keep on living for Jesus. He inspires us to press forward for the glory of the Lord. Indeed, we are neither alone nor lonely because the Holy Spirit is busy within us!

The Holy Spirit will teach us all things.

When all is said and done, a Christian like you and me, must be a learner, so that the Holy Spirit lead him deeper and deeper into the Words of Jesus. The Christian who feels that he has nothing more to learn is the Christian who has not even begun to learn. The Christian with a shut mind is a contradiction. This is why, before you read the Bible, before you listen to a sermon, you do well to pray for the Holy Spirit for yourself, that your mind open up to the Holy Spirit.

Did you realize that as we listen to or read a sermon, we all hear equally the same voice of the person speaking to us, and yet, we each have a different perception of the meaning; we understand different things according to what the Holy Spirit wants each one of us to know. That is why, we come out of Mass with different inspirations, despite having listened to the same preacher, the same Bible reading. In other words, as we listen to the outside voice of the preacher or as we read the Bible or a sermon like this one, we at the same time do listen as well to the inside voice in us of the Holy Spirit.

Do you remember those two disciples who were going to Emmaus? They said to one another, «Were not our hearts burning within us as he spoke to us on the road and explained the scriptures to us» (Lk 24,32). These disciples heard the voice of Jesus, but inside them the Holy Spirit was busy working in their hearts.

Nearly all of us have this sort of experience in life. We are tempted to do something wrong and are on the very brink of doing it, when all of a sudden back into our mind comes a saying of Jesus, the verse of a Psalm, the picture of Jesus himself, the words of someone we love and admire, a teaching we received when very young. In the moment of danger these things flash unbidden into our minds. That is the work of the Holy Spirit.