John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15 (NRSV)
Read John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15 on biblegateway.com
Verse 26"When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. Verse 27You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning. Verse 4But I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them. "I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. Verse 5But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' Verse 6But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts.
Verse 7Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. Verse 8And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: Verse 9about sin, because they do not believe in me; Verse 10about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; Verse 11about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned. Verse 12"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. Verse 13When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. Verse 14He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. Verse 15All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
Devotion
What do you think about the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit is kind of a tricky topic for Lutherans. It conjures images of hand raising, speaking in tongues and (gasp!) people moving around during worship – things better left to the Pentecostals.
But the Spirit is much more than that. The Spirit keeps us connected with Jesus some 2,000 years after his death. The Spirit gives us the words we pray, and conveys to God what is in our hearts even when we can’t find the words. The Spirit is how we come to know right from wrong, and what guides us as we choose between the two.
We Lutherans hesitate to call ourselves people of the Spirit, but you know what? We already are. Jesus tells his followers that even when he returns to the Father in heaven, we will never be alone. "I am with you always," he says. The Holy Spirit makes it so.
Prayer
Lord, help us claim your Spirit as the source of power and mercy in our lives, and then, help us live so the whole world knows it. Amen.