Sunday, 17th May 2020 is ‘The Sixth Sunday of Easter’ in the Church’s calendar. This coming Thursday is Ascension Day, the time when the Church remembers Jesus rising up to heaven to be with God.
in our Gospel reading for this Sunday we read from John (Chapter 14 verses 15-21).
We witness Jesus preparing to leave his disciples and join his Father in heaven. He promises to ask the Father to give the disciples another Advocate who will be with them forever. Jesus was referring to the gift of the Holy Spirit, who would come down upon the disciples after he himself had finally disappeared from their sight.
An advocate is someone who stands up for someone else. The best advocates are true friends who will stand by you and respect you and value you and love you, even in the most difficult of circumstances.
In his earthly life, Jesus had stood beside humanity: loving, supporting, teaching, advising, encouraging, building confidence and promoting well-being. He knew that once he had gone to the Father there was the potential that his disciples would feel bereft, lost, confused and concerned about what was ahead of them. His explanation of God’s own Spirit, which had been inside him and which would now be inside them, brought the disciples hope and a sense of reassurance as they looked to the future.
It’s always reassuring to know someone is looking out for you, that someone has got your back.
With that in mind, we give thanks for all those Key Workers (and so many others) who have looked after us so well in the last few months and we give thanks for the many ‘advocates’ in our communities who have spoken up and acted on our behalf during this ongoing health crisis.
As the Government proposes plans for ‘exiting lockdown’ there are many uncertainties. In so many ways, it is all a big experiment! However, amidst the uncertainties and worries that befall us all at this time, be assured that there are many ‘advocates’ who will fight your corner and support you in the months and years that lie ahead, as we continue to battle Coronavirus.
This week is a very appropriate time to pray for them. We pray for Health Care professionals, teachers, MPs, clergy, trade unions, community activists and so many more people in our society who will hold those in authority to account for their decisions and who will force those in authority to remember that their overwhelming priority is to look after and care for the people above everything else.
This Sunday and throughout this coming week, we give thanks for God’s gift of the Holy Spirit to be our Advocate. We give thanks for the gifts of love, support and encouragement that the Holy Spirit offers to us all. In his time of great change, we should also remember that the gifts of the Spirit are gifts that we, too, can offer others through our concern for their welfare and we’ll-being and as we seek to build a society of love, justice and equality for all, a society that is better than the one we lived in before lockdown.
Every blessing,
Christian