The Comforter and Spirit of Truth
Pentecost 2022
Fr. Tim Nunez
The first time I experienced the power of the Holy Spirit, I was just a kid, 13 or 14 years old. I was at the home of Bill and Joanie Yates. (This was years before he became a priest. Bill and Joanie were young teachers and leading the youth group at All Saints in Lakeland.)
A friend had invited me to their youth group’s Bible study where things were quite different. We dug into the Bible, of course. And we sang a lot. But the thing that was really different was the way we prayed. I was used to praying. My parents taught us to pray at meal times and before we went to sleep. We went to church regularly so I was used to the liturgy and we’d pray in Sunday school.
But this was different. Bill and Joanie prayed very specifically for the issues we brought up. They prayed for our healing and spiritual protection. But even more than what they said and how they said it, there was a power in it that was magnetic, electric, one might even say “as tongues of flame.”
One day someone asked me if I wanted to receive the Holy Spirit. I said yes, because, well, everyone was doing it and it seemed like a good thing so why not? (I was a teenager, after all.) So they sat me in a chair in the middle of their living room and everyone in the youth group, I’d say 8-10 of them, laid hands on me.
They prayed for the Holy Spirit to come upon me and, as far as I am able to understand my experience that evening, he certainly did. I felt an incredible warmth, not of temperature but of spirit, wash over me. I knew it was real, I knew God loved me and that God was with me. And he has been ever since, even when I haven’t paid him much attention and in those moments when I’ve felt terribly alone.
What do we really need from God? He provides everything, of course, but the Holy Spirit fulfills a vital need. What we really need most from God is God himself.
One word we use in reference to Jesus is Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.” Jesus promised to be with us always, to the end of the age. He promised that when 2 or 3 gathered together in his name he would be in the midst of us.
The word that Jesus uses repeatedly in describing the Holy Spirit is Παρακαλεω (parakaleow or paraclete), which is a very versatile word. It literally translates as “one called to your side;” para = with + kaleow = called. It can mean comforter, advocate or guide.
How blessed are we if in the midst of a hard time or struggle or grief we have someone to come alongside us and simply be there with and for us? We often don’t even need to speak. The presence, the hug, the tears say plenty. That’s the aspect that would cause us to think of the Holy Spirit as the Comforter. He brings that peace of God which passes understanding.
Then there is the Advocate. We may think of that in terms of our standing before God, that there will be a time of judgment when Jesus himself will stand in our place and the Holy Spirit would act as our representation. But we also see this plainly in the ways God calls us to hear the voices of the voiceless; the poor, the hungry, the defenseless.
Reports are circulating through the UN, governments and nonprofits that there is an impending international food crisis due to the war in Ukraine and supply chain issues and inflation with fertilizers. Friday I received confirmation from Fr. Victor in Honduras that our sister church is again in dire need.
The Holy Spirit is advocating for the hungry people in Honduras. We cannot feed the world, but we can help them.
And the Holy Spirit as Guide? One could see that as just two guys communicating, I suppose. But clearly the Holy Spirit had everything to do with this church responding to a call to cross-cultural mission and in the way it did under Fr. Tom’s leadership. The Holy Spirit had everything to do with Fr. Tom being here at all, with Fr. Victor being there, with Jeannie Loving (our liaison) being called to her ministry, with me being here now to receive that text.
The Holy Spirit had everything to do with Tommy Phillips feeling called to lead our Golf Outing a couple of weeks ago that raised over $8,000, for Fleet Ryland, Melody McKenna and Denise Stembridge and others to joyfully help the cause by volunteering, playing and sponsoring holes.
I was at Bill and Joanie’s house because a friend had invited me. I suppose God had me anyway, that somehow some way he would have nudged me into this life of ministry. He certainly, shall we say, had more work to do. Even so, I’m most thankful for the life he has given me and I hope you’re able to see the blessings in the life he’s given you.
It’s helpful to know about the Holy Spirit. It’s vital to embrace and engage that vital personality, vital aspect of God. We don’t tend to think of ourselves as a charismatic expression of faith, but that is absolutely part of our tradition. It is deeply woven into our liturgy. We, as individuals and as a community of faith are always in need of renewal in the power of the Holy Spirit. We baptize with water, yes, and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Sometimes when I pray I realize what I really need is the Holy Spirit to come alongside me, to refresh and restore me, to guide and comfort me. If you never have, try it and see how God might touch you.
Let’s pray for that right now. Please put your hand on the shoulder of someone close to you. If no one is close to you, move a little.
AMEN!