5 “Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. 7 But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; 10 in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. (NIV)
There are times when our greatest losses turn out to be our greatest gains. When Arthur Wellesley was given command of an army in India rather than Europe, he was heartbroken; he thought his career had taken a turn down a dead-end street. However, he found himself constantly fighting in India, and during those years he learned priceless lessons in supply, tactics, local politics, and even the most important lesson a commanding general needs: to trust himself. It made him the solider that the free world needed when Wellesley, soon to be the Duke of Wellington, was recalled to Europe and was the one man who was able to defeat the unstoppable Napoleon.
Jesus told his disciples, “Unless you lose me, the Holy Spirit won’t come, so I’m on my way, and he’s coming.” The Holy Spirit was going to enter into the hearts of each of Jesus’ disciples at Pentecost. And more than that, the “loss” of Jesus himself would mean an end to our sinful status before God forever.
Notice how Jesus spells out the work of the Holy Spirit in verses 8-11.
After reminding us of these things, Jesus will soon show us our grief turning to joy.
Thank you for sending us the Counselor, your Holy Spirit.
Strengthen our faith, and turn us always toward you, in faith, in hope, and in love.
Something extra:
Ecclesiastes 9:17-18
17 The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded
than the shouts of a ruler of fools.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
but one sinner destroys much good. (NIV)
Verse 17 gives more than one contrast. Not only is one ruler “wise” and the other “a prince among fools” (the Hebrew phrase includes the ruler among the foolish group), but one is also calm and collected, giving his “quiet words” in wisdom, whereas the foolish prince has to shout, and we get the idea that his court is a chaos of pandemonium.
Verse 18 sums up a great deal of wisdom about war. The Holy Spirit does not tell us to avoid war at all costs, but quietly teaches us that wisdom is better; whether that wisdom takes on the form of cooperation, negotiation or compromise. Sometimes wisdom may even tell us when it is time to leave a place, such as when some of our Lutheran ancestors were faced with the dictates of a madman (“one sinner destroying much good”) and left Germany altogether more than 150 years ago.
It would be a mistake, however, to think that war should always be avoided. Imagine the outcome if a president with the lowest approval rating in history took a stand and pressed the United States into a war that almost everyone opposed, which senators, congressmen and even generals spoke out against. Although that war finally cost President Lincoln his own life, it meant the end of legalized slavery and the reunification of the country. I know of very few people today who disagree with Mr. Lincoln’s choice, although few were in favor of it then, especially when the war lasted longer than a year and began costing thousands of young lives in every battle.
The unfortunate truth of verse 18 is that, just as one quiet man may divert a war, one loud and wicked man may push a nation over the brink, and destroy much that is good. We can’t keep madmen from their madness, but we can keep one another grounded firmly in the word of God. This is the word that comforts and consoles, that instructs and inspires; that guides and gives eternal life. Whatever evil oozes around us, the word of God stands firm forever, and the victory of Jesus can never be snatched away.
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. His wife, Kathryn, attended Chapel from 1987-1990 while studying Secondary Education (Theater and Math) at UW-Madison. Kathryn’s father, John Meyer, was also the first man to serve as a Vicar at Chapel.
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