May 27, 2012 Ellen Fowler Skidmore Forest Lake Presbyterian

Dont Go!
John 15:26-27 and 16:4b-15
J.B has been dead for a number of years now. But, when we moved to Columbia, 22 years ago, our next door neighbor was a recent widower. He had lost his wife of many years to cancer. Over the years, we became good friends and J.B told me many stories about Sis. He remembered the first time he had ever seen Sis she had been 3 years old sitting in the back of her fathers horse drawn wagon in rural Aiken county. He was older than Sis, but they had grown up together. J.Bs father died when he was 12 and JB never had more than a 6th grade education. But J.B. was smart. He worked hard his whole life and built his own business. Sis had been his best friend and loyal supporter. She kept the house and the family books. He did the yard and the business. They had known each other all their lives and to hear J.B. tell it they operated like two arms on the same person. So, when she died, he was a one-armed man. He would tell me that many days, he would be working in the yard and go inside to ask her opinion about something, only to find that she was no longer there. Evenings were the worst. Sometimes he just talked to her chair. I wonder if that is how the disciples were beginning to feel when we find them listening to Jesus here at the end of Johns Gospel. It was clear that Jesus was leaving them. He tells them that he is going away. And they were confused: Peter said, Lord, where are you going? (Jn 13:36) Thomas said, Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way? (Jn 14:5). They were worried. They were grieving. They were afraid. Dont go! Dont go! Dont leave us! Forest Lake Presbyterian Church has lost a lot of its Saints in the six years I have been here: Important people who lived the Christian faith and who built the foundation on which this church rests. I have stood with too many of you as we experienced the heart wrenching, fearfilled reality of having someone you loved leave you. We know what it feels like to look into a future where we dont know what will happen or what we are to do next. We can identify with Thomas plea, We do not know where you are going! How can we know the way!? Dont Go!

And into the anxiety and fear that the Disciples felt, and into the anxiety and fear that we feel, Jesus promises to send The Advocate, The Holy Spirit; The Spirit of Truth. Loss creates a space in us. Whether it is the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, a divorce or any other significant loss our first experience is of this gaping hole where there used to be substance. At first, grief is a raw, ragged-edged hole that feels like it will never be filled. Sometimes we try to fill the hole with things, experiences, alcohol and drugs, or even other people. But, people of faith have an alternative. We have The Advocate; The Holy Spirit; The Spirit of Truth. And The Spirit of Truth doesnt come until the space is there. Jesus only breathes the gift of the Holy Spirit upon his followers after his death. They have to experience the gaping, gut-wrenching, Dont go, this cant be happening, before they can receive The Spirit of Truth, The Advocate, The Holy Spirit. And Jesus says that the presence of this Spirit will testify remind and instruct them about the truth. They know who Jesus is and they know Gods love. In their grief, the Spirit will remind them of this love and this truth and their job is to speak about it to others. Jesus tells the Disciples, 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. (Jn 16:7) The Holy Spirit cant come in fullness until Jesus is gone. I think that when grief and loss are fresh and raw, there is no way to understand what Jesus is saying. But those who have lived with loss for some time are in a better position to understand this truth. Grief, loss and sorrow create a space in us into which the Spirit of Truth can speak and a space out of which the Spirit of Truth will guide and lead us. There are some things that Disciples of Christ can only learn through the reality of sorrow and grief. Just as relationships continue to guide and shape us, even after someone dies. So also does our relationship with God through Christ continue to guide and to shape us even when we cannot touch him or ask his opinion about something. But it is more than being left talking to an empty chair. Instead, the promise of our faith is that the Spirit of Truth Gods Holy Spirit will come into our emptiness and lead us into truth and guide us into a living relationship with God. It is like talking to an empty chair and having it talk back to us. The relationship continues even though we cannot see or touch Christ. Disciples of Christ have a way to feel the presence of the Risen Christ. It is this supper this meal. After the Disciples met the resurrected Jesus, they remembered that last supper with Jesus, before he was betrayed, crucified and buried. But, this meal is more than just a pleasant

remembrance. Scripture says that into the Remembrance comes the presence of the living God the Spirit of truth who will teach, guide and lead us. The bread we break and the cup we drink remind us of the love God has for us and the truth that we are to proclaim. The Spirit of Truth teaches us and leads us into truth. We are not guaranteed safety or guaranteed that those we love will not die. But we are guaranteed that into the space created by the suffering and loss, God will come in the form of the Holy Spirit. We are promised that we will not be left like orphans. We know that our relationship with Christ is not bound by time, space or physical proximity. We are not left alone; we have with us the Spirit of Truth, the Advocate, the Holy Spirit. Remember.