As Eastertide draws near to its close, our Gospel reading today introduces the theme of Jesus’ departure, his return to the Father.
But the disciples will receive two gifts, distinct but related. First, the Paraclete will come from the Father and will continue Jesus’ mission of teaching the disciples, leading them into an ever-deepening appreciation of his message as they remember all that Jesus has said to them. The Paraclete will maintain Jesus’ presence among the disciples. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, will be the second Paraclete, just as Jesus was the first, so that might help us to understand the role of the Spirit once Jesus is no longer physically present.
The second gift is that of peace, but it is Jesus’ peace, something that the world cannot match. It is connected with the gift of the Spirit, the Paraclete, and is from God. It is not the absence of strife in human relations, but rooted in the Spirit of truth, and Jesus goes on to talk about how the disciples should not be distressed at his leaving them, as he is going back to the Father, an idea which we find only in the fourth Gospel. Jesus’ departure may be marked by violence and malice on the part of his opponents, but he accepts this as his way of returning the Father’s love for him. This should not be a cause of fear for the disciples, but rather one of joy.
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REFLECT
The Easter event is not simply about the Resurrection of Jesus: the final act of the Paschal mystery is the conferring of the Holy Spirit on the disciples. In our Gospel reading today, we are invited to look forward to the consequence of Jesus’ going back to the Father, which will be the giving of the Holy Spirit who will continue Jesus’ presence among us and within us.
But we will not benefit from this gift unless we are open to the Holy Spirit and prepared to allow the Paraclete to influence our thoughts and actions. The peace – shalom – which Jesus promises flows from Jesus’ union with the Father and our union with Jesus. The gift of peace was associated in the Hebrew scriptures with the Messiah.
Jesus is not promising a trouble-free existence for his followers (then or now) but rather a rooted way of being which can cope with the troubles which arise in human life. “Peace” in the Hebrew sense is more a matter of total well-being, of having a firm anchor of faith within ourselves which helps us face the problems which we encounter. This is one of the reasons for the giving of the Holy Spirit, the other Paraclete. But the Spirit can only function in our lives if we are open to the Spirit. Soon we will celebrate the feast of the Ascension of Jesus; we might ask ourselves in the next few days how we appreciate the ongoing presence of Jesus with us and what that means.
learn
- The Easter mystery includes the events surrounding the Resurrection of Jesus, the Ascension and Pentecost.
- The giving of the Spirit is the fulfilment of Jesus’ promise to his disciples.
- The word “Advocate” in today’s reading is an alternative to the term Paraclete.
do
Try invoking the Holy Spirit the next time you are faced with a difficult situation and see what happens