DON’T FORGET YOUR COMFORTER | Sixth Sunday of Easter | 10. Mai 2026 | John 14:15-21 | David H. Brooks |

John 14:15-21 English Standard Version

15[Jesus said:] “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

18“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles

 

DON’T FORGET YOUR COMFORTER

 What part of the Gospel reading today was most reassuring to you? Which part was most disturbing? If you’re like most people, the promise of Jesus to send the Advocate—the Comforter—was probably the most, well, comforting part. I once knew a little boy who, as I finished a children’s sermon on this text, smiled great big and said “my Gramma sent me a comforter once! It’s got Batmans on it, and I take it wherever I go.”

It is a good thought, to know that Jesus does not leave us orphaned, but gives us the gift of the Paraclete; παράκλητος, a Greek word that holds together the several words we use in English—Advocate, Comforter, Helper.

So if comforters, whether sent by Jesus or Gramma are comforting, then the statement by Jesus that those who have and keep Jesus’ commandments are those who truly love him was probably a blast of cold air into that warm comfort. What kind of Comforter would come and remind us of what Jesus has commanded us to do, recall to mind for us all the ways we have not kept that other thing Jesus gave us—his word of truth.

No, our common preference is to cling to the comforter and hide from the command. Many in the Lutheran world take a key concept of Luther’s theology—the idea that the word of God is both Law, which demands, and Gospel, which promises—and proceed to slice and dice it into uselessness, declaring that God only wishes for us to be wrapped up in the warm fuzzy Comforter and that the stiff bitter wind of the command is for someone else.

Yet you may be thinking, well, didn’t Jesus also call this Comforter, this Paraclete, this Spirit of God a wind that blows where it will? And you are right. The Spirit which is called Truth is always on the move, and when that Spirit is given to us at baptism, it begins a lifelong work of prodding and pushing to move us. Much like the wind that fills sails, the Spirit fills us and pushes us onward, outward—out there.

In a sense, this push is all that the promise of Jesus contains. Jesus is departing, but the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, the Comforter is on the way. The disciples will not be left alone, but they will continue to experience the presence of Jesus through the Spirit’s power. But do not be fooled! The true power of the Holy Spirit is not found in the manifestations over which so many Christians obsess; the true work of the Holy Spirit is bringing a new being out of the grave of the Old Adam, the Old Eve. The Holy Spirit does this by turning our attention outward, to give us eyes, hearts to see life differently. Other gifts come with the Spirit, but the true work of the Spirit is finally to set us free for Christ. The incessant push of the Spirit is always outward, outside of ourselves. The Spirit pushes us out of the spiritual cul-de-sacs (tombs!) that we build for ourselves. The Spirit pushes us toward the neighbor, whom Jesus commanded that we love as we love ourselves. The Spirit pushes us toward the child, toward the stranger, the discarded and ignored, whom Jesus commanded that we welcome. The Spirit pushes us toward the enemy, whom Jesus commanded that we forgive. The Spirit pushes us toward God, who loves us so.

There is, of course a reason for this. And no, it is not so much because “tis good for us,” in the fashion of eating broccoli or exercising, even though that is most certainly true. No, the reason the Holy Spirit pushes us on is because Jesus is alive, and is on the move, and is out there—in the neighbor, in the child, in the stranger, in the enemy.  The Spirit, which is Truth, desires to show us this, teach us this, move us out there to where Jesus is. Jesus Christ, who is blessing, who is life, is out there! The Spirit gathers us here, constitutes us as the Body of Christ. Here we learn what Jesus is like, what he likes, what kind of person he is. Having learned that here, the Spirit sends us out on a mission—go find Jesus. He is out there, and where Jesus is, there is blessing, there is grace, there is God. When we arrive, the Spirit that has moved us there then gives us power, (God power, to be so bold) to speak—to be a prophet—and say something, give witness to Jesus Christ, tell others what this moment means and what the Lord is doing.

Suddenly, such a command as Jesus gives is no longer disturbing—challenging, but not disturbing. If a loved one told you, “I am coming to visit, please pick me up at the airport,” you would work to fulfill that command even if you found obstacles in the way! The risk and the effort find their fulfillment in the beloved. Luther talked of how the Law is meant to drive us to Christ, to cause us to cling to the Lord as our only hope. So the “things” that we do—give, pray, worship, teach/learn, read the Scriptures—all of these are meant to open up for us the reality that there is a true God at the other end of these actions—that we are not simply throwing time, money and effort away but that anything, anything done in the name of Jesus Christ and to his glory is never wasted.

Where is the Spirit blowing in your life? What truth is the Advocate speaking to you today, the Helper wanting to help you with? Pray for the Spirit to send you out, because out there is Jesus Christ, and he is waiting for you, waiting to do amazing things with you. You can take your comforter with you.

Amen.

©David H. Brooks
Pr.Dave.Brooks@zoho.com
Grace Lutheran Church
Durham, NC USA