I Will Not Leave You Orphaned

‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. ‘I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.’ Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, ‘Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?’ 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. 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. ‘I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 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. 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. 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. And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me; but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us be on our way. John 14:15-31

When my mother passed away in 2015, there was a deep sense of abandonment and loss that overwhelmed me. I said to a friend, "now, I am an orphan!" She and I had played together as small children, often imagining ourselves as orphans, when we weren't being pirates, queens or schoolteachers. Jesus understood how bereft his disciples would be. He felt their grief and pain even before they experienced it. And his promise to them and to us, that we are not orphaned, abandoned or neglected, even when we feel that way. He promised the advocate, the holy spirit, to be with us in every breath and every moment. We are invited, when we feel lost, abandoned or orphaned to know that Jesus is always near and the holy spirit is with us in every moment.  And his peace, given to the anxious and terrified alike, is with us, even when we know no peace.

Gracious Creator, you plant us in villages

surround us with family and community

teaching us how to live in peace together

and binding us with your blessed holy spirit.

Too often we forget to follow your commandments

we forget to love the stranger, feed the hungry

we fail to visit those in prison and who are sick

and we focus on satisfying our selfish needs.

Lord Jesus, you gave your life for our sakes

you took our sin, pain and sorrow to the cross

help us to live as your family and community again

making your love and service our way of life. Amen.