John 16:12-15 (NRSV)
Read John 16:12-15 on biblegateway.com
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
You are caught up into the Trinity. What God is about in this world includes you. But surprise, surprise, Jesus tells us here that unpacking that "truth" is not like unpacking a box that has arrived in the mail. It is more like living into the reality of a package that has not yet arrived. Notice all the future tense verbs in Jesus' words in the gospel lesson for this week. They imply that God's work among us is not finished; it is an unfolding story. Certainly Jesus' life and ministry on earth are an important part. But Jesus says that even his resurrection is not the end of the story. He still has "many things yet to say;" he promises that the Spirit "will guide you into all truth," and "declare to you the things that are to come." God's work through the Spirit continues beyond the scriptures and beyond the tradition. God’s work even in Jesus is not pre-packaged, but is still unfolding. Because God is on the move in an ever-changing world, truth is never a present possession, but a future toward which we journey by the power of the Spirit. This requires imagination and attentiveness to what the Spirit will say and to what God may be about here and now in our world.
Prayer
God of Truth, help us to see that your truth made known in Jesus our Lord is never a finished product, but an unfolding story that continues to invite us and all your creation into its folds. Help us to keep our eyes, and ears, and hearts open to the leading of your Spirit that we may indeed join in giving glory for all the things that come into being through your love. Amen.