To read the texts click on the texts:Acts17:15,22-18:1; Jn 16:12-15
The Paraclete is mentioned
for the last time in the Farewell Discourse in these verses. Jesus has taught
the disciples all that they are to know and understand about the present time.
There is nothing more about the present that he can say to them. What they need
to know about the future will be revealed to them at the appropriate time and
when the Spirit that is sent comes. This means that, even when they are faced
with the future which is uncertain, God’s presence will be with them. They are
not alone. The Paraclete is the “spirit of truth” since he comes from Jesus,
who is “the truth” and will guide the disciples into the way of truth, into the
way of Jesus. Since the Paraclete will be sent by Jesus, he will only explicate
and make clearer what Jesus has already said. He will not give a new teaching
but will continue what Jesus has begun. As Jesus taught what he heard from God,
so the Paraclete will teach what he hears from Jesus.
He will also declare “the
things that are to come” which here means the preparation of the disciples for
the time after Jesus. This also indicates that the words of Jesus are not time
bound, but available anew for every succeeding generation of disciples. The
Paraclete always makes the teachings new and relevant for the times. Just as
Jesus made God visible through his words and actions, so the Paraclete will
make Jesus present through the inspiration and support he provides to the
disciples.
The Paraclete thus makes
Jesus present even after his death, resurrection, and ascension to the Father.
He is the teacher and witness of all that Jesus has said and done. That is, the
Paraclete enables the Christian community, at any time in its life, to reach
back to the teachings of Jesus and “remember,” and bring Jesus’ teachings to
life afresh with new understanding. However, the Paraclete’s role as teacher is
also creative. The Paraclete enables the word of Jesus to move forward from its
moment in history to the present life of the church. The Paraclete gives new
meanings to the teachings of Jesus as the changing circumstances of faith
communities and the world demand.
The Paraclete that
Jesus sent two thousand years ago is the same Paraclete that is available to us
today. The presence of the Paraclete will be seen and felt when we make the
teachings of Jesus relevant and alive today. The idiom, symbols, and language
that we use have to be understood by contemporary hearers. All too often,
language about Jesus is too pious and even outdated and so, does not touch the
lives of many. If we open ourselves to the working of the Paraclete in our
lives, we will be able to make Jesus present even now.
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