| Do you ever feel lonely and wish
you could have someone just be with you? You wish you could have
someone who would listen. They wouldn't have to solve your
problems. They simply would provide assurance that you were not
alone, assurance that others have made it through times like you
are presently experiencing. You really don't want someone
to tell you what to do but someone with whom you could think out
loud and get reactions to some feelings or ideas you are having.
Sometimes all you want is for them to just quietly be with you
without having to say anything at all. Have you ever had moments
like these? Most people have.
Have you ever had to share another person's final days
on earth? It is one thing if they are too ill to talk. It is
an entirely different matter if they are alert and open to conversation.
What do you say to them? What do they say to you? How many times
have you had a friend move away? While you both promise to keep
in touch the reality sets in fairly rapidly that life isn't
going to be the same.
We read stories about children leaving home for the first day
of school. Before we know it they are leaving for college or
some other activity after graduation. Parents feel alone; often
the ones leaving feel some isolation and loneliness as well.
There are lots of ways loneliness enters our lives. You can
feel lonely in a crowd when you sense you don't fit in
and others don't seem to notice or care that you are present.
This fear of being lost in the crowd often keeps churches from
growing because present members fear they will lose their identity
or place of importance. Larger churches attempt to combat this
by having small groups for those who want greater intimacy.
The apostle Paul experienced loneliness. Toward the end of his
life he was in prison. He wrote to Timothy asking him to come
and visit and bring Mark with him. Paul felt like everyone had
deserted him. In 2 Timothy 4:17 he writes, "but the Lord
stood by me and gave me strength ... I was rescued from the
lion's mouth."
At one time or another all of us need to have a friend, companion,
mentor or coach. Jesus was certainly aware of this. He, too,
had experienced loneliness or He sensed it was coming. He would
be abandoned by His friends in the Garden of Gethsemane and deserted
by them when He went to the cross. However, His love for them
was so strong that He wanted to assure them He would not abandon
them.
So he promised them He would ask God to send another Advocate
or Helper. The Greek word for this is parakletos.
This definition comes from Richard Donovan who posts materials
for sermon writers on a Web site.
Parakletos is used only five times in the New Testament,
four times in the Gospel of John to refer to the Spirit. In
I John 2:1 it refers to Jesus. Parakletos can refer
to a lawyer who pleads your case or a witness who testifies on
your behalf. It can refer to a person who gives comfort, counsel
or strength in times of need. The literal meaning is, "someone
called in; but it is the reason why the person is called in which
gives the word its distinctive associations ... Always a 'parakletos'
is someone called in to help when the person who calls is in
trouble or distress or doubt or bewilderment" (Barclay,
194 The Daily Study Bible —; Gospel of John). Parakletos has
been translated Advocate, Counselor, Comforter and Intercessor,
but each of these expresses only one facet of the word." When
Jesus uses the word translated as "abide" He is talking
about a deep, ongoing relationship. Both Jesus and the Holy Spirit
abide with us and invite us to abide with them. The Parakletos Jesus
invites is to have a deep, ongoing relationship with us.
Perhaps this story helps us to better understand the role of paraclete.
It is from an unknown source. "People translating the New
Testament into the Karre language in equatorial Africa were having
difficulty coming up with a word to translate parakletos.
How could they describe the Holy Spirit?
Then they noticed porters walking in line along a path, each
carrying a heavy burden ... except for one person. That
person was carrying nothing. When they asked why, they learned
the man carrying no burden was expected to help anyone who became
too exhausted to carry his own burden. They called this man "the
one who falls down beside us." That gave the translators
their word for parakletos—"the one
who falls down beside us."
The Holy Spirit is God's way of being beside us to help
lift the burdens of life that sometimes are too heavy for us
to carry alone. You and I need at times to invite that Spirit
to "fall down beside us." At other times we need
to be the flesh of that Spirit as we "fall down beside
others" when they just need someone to be there for them.
One example of this involves Derek Redmond who ran the 400 meter
race in the 1992 Olympics. A little over halfway into the race
he injured a hamstring and fell over in pain. Determined to finish
the race he stood up and stared hopping on one leg. His father
was seated at the very top of the stadium. He started moving
toward the track and his son. He had to elude security guards
but was determined to get to his son's side. When he did
he put his arm around his waist and his son put his arm around
his father's neck. Together they circled the track until
a few feet from the finish line where his father let go of him
so he could finish the race on his own which he did to a standing
ovation.
The story reminds me of another father. He ran through town
to welcome home his prodigal son. God is like this. God does
not want us to journey alone. God cannot physically be present
with us except for how we are present to each other in God's
name. God does not wish to be left out so God sends us the Holy
Spirit, the source of life to "fall down beside us" and
pick us up, to show us the way, to help carry our burdens, to
remind us we are not alone. The Spirit comes to bring us truth
which we can understand when we are caught up in loving God and
one another.
I know the journey can have difficult moments. Sometimes these
moments are intense and feel like they will never end. Sometimes
we feel completely alone with no idea of where to turn. God has
never promised that we will not have these times. God only promises
that we will not be alone; that God will be there with us. God
or someone God brings to us will "fall down beside us and
lift us up."
In this place our love for God and each other always needs to
be such that when one stumbles two others are present to lift
them up. The Holy Spirit is one. The other one may well be you. |
