Come, Companion, Come: 6th Sunday of Easter

“I will ask the Father, and he will give another Defender, Counselor, Companion, to be with you all forever.” (John 14:16)

What’s an advocate? You see them all the time on TV news shows. They’re paid to appear on those shows and promote their point of view. Or they may just be promoting the point of view of the organization they’re paid to represent. That usually includes casting the opposing view in the worst negative light. There they sit in front of you on your TV screen. Both advocates determined to repeat their “talking points,” no matter what the question, and determined to discredit the other, or just talk over the other. Is this what Jesus means by “advocate?”

Of course there are other kinds of advocates that you see all the time in the commercials. Those are the lawyers who promise to get you what’s yours by right, to restore what has been damaged by those more powerful than you. And you won’t have to pay unless they win, assuming of course that they decide you have a chance to “win.” Is that what Jesus meant by “Advocate”

There is no one English word that can capture all the wonderful ways in which this 3rd person of the Trinity loves us, encourages us, advises us, and defends us. But all of those things, the Paraclete does for each of us, individually and together as a church. “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another paraclete to be with you all forever,” Jesus promises his disciples. The Greek word means, literally, “one called alongside.” And it was used to describe someone who acted as a legal advocate. But a Greek philosopher wrote of how God did not need a “paraclete” to help him make this word and govern it.

So there are almost as many translations of paraclete as there are English translations. In the King James version, it is the “comforter,” which back in 1611, meant someone who strengthens you, who encourages you. Perhaps today, we might say that the Paraclete is your coach, who picks you up, who reminds you of what is good about you, and encourages you to learn from your successes and your failures. The Paraclete is the ultimate motivational speaker.

In the New International Version, it is the “Counselor.” Sometimes we need someone who will sit down with us, patiently listen to us, and without judging us, gently keep asking questions until we face the truth of who we truly are, as God knows us and loves us.

Today you heard that it is the “Advocate” who will be with you forever. Not the kind of advocate who only cares about winning the argument by whatever means necessary; or the advocate who will only take your case if he thinks he can win. No, this Advocate will defend you, no matter the odds or the numbers aligned against you. When you’re not sure what to say, if you will listen to the Defender that is in your mind, your heart and your soul, the Defender will give you the words you need at that moment.

Last week, I said that this 14th chapter of John’s Gospel is Jesus’ “Farewell” to his disciples. He has just told them that where he is going, they cannot come. And yet, later in this final lesson, he tells his disciples, “I assure you that it is better for you that I go away. If I don’t go away, the Companion won’t come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.” That’s a new translation called the Common English Bible. We believe that God became a human being. He walked with people. He talked to them, he embraced them. He loved them. But what Jesus wants us to understand is that he still walks with us, talks with us, embraces us, loves us.

We have a Companion, who is the Holy Spirit who comes from the Father and the Son, and who encourages us, who coaches us, counsels us and defends us. Our Companion has come to us, and will come to us again on Pentecost Sunday. Get ready for your Companion to come to you.