Finding Faith ... in the assurance we are never abandoned thanks to the Spirit

EDITOR'S NOTE: On Oct. 23, 2021, I was ordained as a minister of word and sacrament in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and installed as pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. I also served the same church for four years from October 2017 to October 2021 a synodically authorized minister. The journey together these past four years has been an amazing one, full of learning, growing and a deepening of my theological mind. This sermon took place on May 22, 2022.

This week's gospel: John 14:23-29

23 Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words, and the word that you hear is not mine but is from the Father who sent me.

25 “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Advocate,[a] the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur you may believe.

The message:

This morning, I’d like you to consider this question: Where do you find peace?

The answer will likely be different for each of us. For some, it might be a place -- an actual physical location -- where you find peace.

For instance, for me, my place that brings me peace is right here, early on Sunday mornings, sitting in the Pastor’s office, seeing the sunrise and listening to classical music on the radio while I prepare for the day’s worship. … For me, I find that a very peaceful moment.

For others, you might find peace in an activity.

Again, for instance, for me it’s when Shelley and I get to go canoeing. Gliding along the small lakes we choose where no one else is present, and all you have around you is the water, the wind, the sun, the sky and maybe some wildlife. … Now, that is a moment when I feel peace.

And there are probably a lot more answers to that question if I were to poll you. … Because, after all, we all find peace differently.

But now the … “BUT!” … Because you knew one was coming, didn’t you!

But … now that you’ve pictured the place or the activity that brings you peace, I want you to think about what inevitably happens soon thereafter.

For me in the Pastor’s Office … inevitably I will hear those front doors to the church open, and I will hear the people start coming in for service. There’s the metallic sound of the door opening, and the stomp of feet up the stairs.

And then I know that my moment of reverie will be interrupted, and my mind goes from bliss to immediately focused back on the concerns of presiding over a worship service. … Poof! … My moment of peace is gone. … It is transitory.

Or the same thing happens in that very first foot I set on land as Shelley and I pull the canoe ashore. … The magic disappears instantaneously, as I forget immediately the peace … the joy I felt on the water.

And my mind turns to what has to be done. … The moment is busted, and my concerns turn to loading the canoe, getting all the gear in the back of the pickup, getting back to town, feeding the kids, etc.

Faith Family, it seems that our moments of peace always are fleeting. Doesn’t it? … Here one minute. Gone quite quickly the next. … And why is that?

Well, deep down we know the answer. … It’s because those moments are fleeting, superficial just as all else that the earthly kingdom consists of. … So, then is it any wonder that if our moments of peace are based on earthly places or earthly activities, they will be fleeting?

No, there shouldn’t be any surprise in that.

But, in today’s gospel text -- one that seems to confuse the disciples surrounding Jesus -- we learn about actual peace. … God-given peace. … Because that is exactly what Jesus is talking about.

To understand this text fully, we need to know a couple of things. … First, this text is part of a section that is much, much longer than just the few verses we see today.

And, second, that longer section is known as Jesus’ “Farewell Discourse,” the section of dialogue in the gospel of John in which Jesus is trying to explain to his disciples that he isn’t going to be around much longer. … That the old prophecies will be fulfilled, and that he will be taken from this world.

So poor Judas, and some other disciples in the verses beforehand, are trying to get Jesus to speak more plainly about what he means that he is going away. … And Jesus is trying his best to get through to humans, like us, that are having such a difficult time understanding what he means.

“I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”

And that brings us to the core of Jesus’ message in today’s gospel.

He knows that the disciples’ questions are inevitable. After all, they are human, and Jesus’ talk about him leaving them all alone is frightening. … Remember, this is the first century church, and it wasn’t exactly easy to be a Christian then. Lives were at stake.

So, it’s easy to understand why the disciples would be frightened about Jesus’ talk about leaving.

So, to calm his disciples’ fears, Jesus promises them that, in fact, they still will never be alone. … And, not only will they not be alone, but the Father -- our God -- will send in Jesus’ place another advocate to watch out for them and intervene in their lives.

Jesus tells the disciples that God will send them the Holy Spirit -- the very active presence of the Trinitarian body of God -- to be our advocate when Jesus is called home. And that Holy Spirit will teach us and remind us all of the lessons that Jesus taught us while he was alive.

That is what he means when Jesus shares this very memorable line: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”

Faith Family … Jesus is giving us the gift of peace from the Kingdom of Heaven. … Not the momentary peace we find through our earthly places and activities.

No, there is no comparison, because God’s given peace will not fade. … This peace will not desert us in life’s most challenging moments.

This is not the fleeting peace of a canoe trip or a stolen moment in the Pastor’s Office. … No, this peace -- Jesus’ peace -- is something altogether holy and unimaginable by us mere humans.

In this speech, Jesus is keenly aware that it is our nature to cling to what we know here in this earthly kingdom. And the peace that we know here; the peace offered to us through superficial places or activities, doesn’t last. … And so Jesus knows this is why the disciples are fearful that Jesus is leaving.

But in the peace given through faith in the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus is telling us that it is available to us anytime and anywhere, and that it does not fail. … Jesus’ peace is not fleeting, and if we believe, it does not abandon us … ever.

It is the kind of peace which the world cannot give, but can only come from God. This gift of peace accompanies the gift of the Holy Spirit, which Jesus breathes into his disciples as he sends them out into mission. … As he sends us out into the world.

As Jesus seeks to prepare his disciples -- and therefore us -- for what is to come, he tells them that if they loved him, they would rejoice that he is going to the Father, because the Father is greater than him.

In other words, the disciples shouldn’t be afraid that Jesus is leaving because the Holy Spirit will be here to provide for them.

However, as humans, we know it is understandable that the disciples would not be in a rejoicing mood upon learning that Jesus would soon be leaving them.

After all, we’ve all been through difficult times in our lives, times upon when we trusted in earthly things to bring us peace. … And those earthly comforts failed us every time. … So we can absolutely understand the disciples' fear of Jesus’ leaving.

But in this text, Jesus is trying to reassure the disciples -- and us -- that he is not simply leaving. But, in fact, there is a purpose in his leaving, and that is that he is going to be with the Father.

So, Jesus continues to say that it is to the disciples’ -- and our -- advantage that he is going away, so that he can send the Advocate, who will bring further understanding and be with them always. … And this will bring us the peace so unobtainable here on earth.

Above all else, it is this profound love of God that Jesus has made known to his disciples and that the Holy Spirit continues to make known to us.

The Spirit assures us that we are never abandoned, even in the midst of the loss, pain, and sorrow that are part of life in this broken world. The Word who became flesh and lived among us continues to make his home with us, even as he prepares our eternal dwelling with God.

That is from where we should draw our peace, Faith Family. … And that is the Good News for this Sunday, the sixth Sunday after Easter, May 22, 2022. … Amen.