Scripture: John 14: 23-29
23Jesus 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. 24Whoever 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.
25 “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 26But 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. 27Peace 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. 28You 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. 29And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe.
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Sermon: “The Mothering Work of the Holy Spirit
In a couple of weeks it will be Pentecost, when we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit. I will be away on that day, so I thought I would preach on the Holy Spirit a couple of weeks early—because it seems to me there is a strong connection between the Holy Spirit and the work of mothering…
Although my own mother passed away 22 years ago, I can still remember many of the things she would say to me on a regular basis:
- “Beware of bacteria—always wash your hands!” (She was a nurse, always mindful of good hygiene, as we all are, these days…)
- “Don’t wear underwear with holes in it—just in case you’re in an accident and have to be taken to the hospital.”
- “You can’t always get what you want.” (I think my mother got that one from the Rolling Stones rock group.)
I’m sure that each of you can think of things that your own mother or grandmother or mother-figure said to you that have stuck with you over the years. (In fact, perhaps during coffee hour today, you might want to share some of those sayings with each other.)
For lots of us, our mother’s sayings have stuck with us over the years and have guided our behavior even years after we’ve become adults. (Even if sometimes we’d prefer that the sayings wouldn’t stick quite so much, there they are!)
Each time I read today’s Scripture text about the Holy Spirit, I am struck by how much the Holy Spirit functions like a loving, caring mother.
Today’s scripture is from the Gospel of John in the New Testament. The New Testament was originally written in Greek, and in today’s reading, we find an interesting Greek word that is used to refer to the Holy Spirit; the word is “paraclete.” (I remember the first time I heard this Greek word in seminary, I thought the professor was saying “parakeet!” which immediately sent my mind off on a tangent. I mean, I’d heard the Holy Spirit compared to a dove, but a parakeet!?)
But, of course, the professor was saying, “paraclete,” which is a word full of meaning. It is found in verse 26 of today’s reading, and it is translated here as “Advocate.” But, actually, it means a lot more than just that. It can be translated as “counselor,” “comforter,” “helper,” “advocate,” “teacher,” and “friend.” (I remember the words by remembering their first letters: CCH, ATF. Counselor, comforter, helper, advocate, teacher, friend. One commentator suggests that “perhaps the true meaning [of the word] lies in a combination of all these meanings together.” (from Whole People of God, “Biblical Background” section, May 13th, 2007.)
So, in other words, the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, is the spiritual presence of God that counsels us, comforts us, helps us, advocates for us, teaches us, and is a friend to us. All of these things are what Jesus did for the disciples when he was physically present on earth. And they are now the things that the Holy Spirit does in Jesus’ physical absence. They are also the things that a loving mother does for her children. In fact, one ancient translation of today’s text from John 14, a translation written in Palestinian Aramaic, dates back to the 2nd or 3rd century and actually refers to the Holy Spirit in the feminine gender. Verse 26 of that ancient translation of John 14 reads,
“But She—the Spirit-the Paraclete, whom He will send to you--my Father-in my name—She will teach you everything; She will remind you of that which I have told you.” *
(So, apparently, I am not the first one to make the connection between a loving mother and the Holy Spirit of God!)
Why would the Holy Spirit need to play the role of a loving mother for us? The answer, of course, is obvious: because, there are times when we all could use a Heavenly Mother! Life is fraught with difficulties. There is just no way around it. Each of us has our fair share—and sometimes more than our fair share--of pain, distress, dysfunction, illness, loss, and financial troubles-- just to scratch the surface of the things we have to deal with in this life. Sadly, none of these things can be fixed overnight. In fact, sometimes they can’t be fixed at all—only managed. In my job, I often wish that I had a magic wand sent from God that I could wave over the congregation during the benediction and say, “Everything is fixed now; go in peace!”
But we all know life doesn’t work that way. God doesn’t work that way. Yes, sometimes there are miracles, and we thank God for them! But, most of the time, we don’t have a magic cure-all. What we have instead is a Paraclete, a Holy Spirit, a Heavenly Mother who doesn’t fix things, but rather walks beside us as “counselor,” “comforter,” “helper,” “advocate,” “teacher,” and “friend,” through all that life can bring, even through the “Valley of the Shadow of Death.” This loving presence doesn’t take the pain away, but she helps us bear it.
And this, my brothers and sisters in Christ, brings us to the crux of this passage. Because the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, our loving, Heavenly Mother, walks with us, we are able to live a life characterized by Peace. As Jesus says, this Peace is not the same as “the world’s” definition of peace. It is not a “false promise of security…nor is it the end of conflict.” (New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. IX, p. 751.) It is a “peace that passes all understanding,” a Peace that is grounded not in circumstance, but in the loving presence of God with us.
Let me give you an example of how this works. Many years ago a small group of people from a church I was serving decided that we would do the 26-mile “Walk for Hunger” together in Boston, a walk that I am guessing some of you have done as well. This year I heard that it is being held virtually, like so many things…Our group of walkers, back in the day, consisted of a spry woman in her 50’s, an athletic man in his 40’s, a spunky teenage girl, and me—I was in my early 30’s at the time. I thought I was in pretty good shape when we started the walk, but by the time we were half-way through, 13 miles in, my feet hurt so bad, I thought I was going to keel over! At first, I tried to hide my pain from the group, because I didn’t want to seem like a wimp when the rest of the group was doing so well, but after a while, it was hard to hide the fact that I was limping from my blisters.
So, at my request, we all sat down on the lawn of a church we were passing at the time, and I took off my sneakers. The woman in her 50’s opened her back-pack and handed me a zip-lock baggie full of ointment and Bandaids; the athletic man confessed that he was glad I wanted to stop, because his feet hurt too, but he was too embarrassed to admit it; and the teenaged girl pulled a candy bar out of her pocket, broke it in 4 pieces, and shared it with all of us. It reminded me of communion! Then somebody told a joke and we all laughed so hard that our bellies hurt. All of this didn’t take away the pain in my feet, but it completely transformed my attitude and gave me a sense of Peace that words aren’t quite able to explain. And, amazingly, with the support of the group, I was able to walk the remaining 13 miles.
This is what the Holy Spirit does for us—what she is for us. A counselor, comforter, helper, advocate, teacher, friend. She hands us spiritual Bandaids: she doesn’t take away our pain, but she helps us bear it as we go along. So, on this Mother’s Day, as we give thanks for the love we have received from our own mothers—and/or from others who have been like mothers to us, may we also give thanks for the Holy Spirit of God, whose loving presence “mothers” us through all that life can bring.
Let us pray: (first part of prayer adapted from Touch Holiness)
O God our Mother, for the miracle of continuing creation in the conception and birth of a child, we give you thanks.
For the miracle of our own birth and the lessons we have learned about your love from a mother’s tenderness--whether that person was our biological mother or someone else you brought into our life to be there for us--we give you thanks.
And, God, even as we are thankful for the ways people have mothered us, we are also aware of the pain that occurs in our human families, the pain of grief and loss, the pain where there has been neglect or abuse, the pain when one is not able to have a child, the pain when a child dies. O God, sometimes this pain feels unbearable. May your Holy Spirit step into the gap in these times, that we may feel her--your--loving presence holding us and healing us through the heartbreak.
O God, hold us all in your love, and continue to shape us all into the people you call us to be.
Hear now our prayers for our world:.
· We continue to pray for the people of India as they work to combat Covid 19. May they get the help they need from the international community. And may they be able to get more vaccines to the people who need them.
· We continue to pray for all who face prejudice and racism--and racist violence... We think especially of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, LatinX and African Americans. May we all work together peacefully to change our racist systems and may those of us who identify as white humbly look at our own behavior and make the changes we need to make to treat people of all races with respect.
· We pray also for police, for the vast majority of the officers who do their best to protect and serve… pray for safety… for respect…
· …school bombed in Afghanistan… girls who lost their lives…families grieving their loss…
· We pray now for the people we know and love…
· For the family of former church member, Randy Priesing, who had Downs Syndrome, who moved to North Carolina years ago with his elderly parents, who passed away last week….We particularly hold in prayer Randy’s brother Bobby, who asked for prayers from FFC.
· Lyn Pickhover’s Star Island roommate Ellie Duhamel and her husband Marcel. Ellie has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and faces 4 months of chemo and then surgery.
LORD’S PRAYER
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An earlier version of this sermon was written and preached by Marlayna on 5/13/18 in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA.
*Quote is from “…the most ancient of the rare Old Syriac copies from the 2nd or 3rd century, written in the Palestinian Aramaic, the then common language of Israel. It was named the Siniatic Palimpsest. It was found by Mrs. Anes Lewis in the Covenant of St. Catherine in the Sinia and purchased in Cairo. It was then transcribed by Syriac Professor R.L. Bensly of Cambridge University in 1892…Translation courtesy of Danny Mahar, author of Aramaic Made EZ.” This quote is from an article by Steve Santini entitled, “The Feminine Gender of the Holy Spirit.” http://www.musterion8.com/feminine.html.
Rev. Dr. Marlayna Schmidt
Franklin Federated Church
Franklin, MA
