BIBLE STUDY:
TOGETHERNESS
A. BACKGROUND... As we near the end of John’s Gospel we near the end of Jesus’ human life and earthly ministry. He uses his final days (Holy Week) and final hours (Maundy Thursday and the Last Supper) to drive home a powerful message: You are not alone. With words, actions, and teaching Jesus assures us we are always together.
C. SUMMARY. From John 13-17 Jesus explains our togetherness. He introduces the Holy Spirit as the key link between God and us once the physical Jesus leaves our physical presence. That Spirit will function as comfort, truth, inspiration, guidance, and remembrance. Sometimes tangible (a person, a voice, an intervention), sometimes intangible (conscience, ideas, a nudge). Jesus likens our relationship to him (and to God) as being similar to a vine and branches. Every growing thing has a central force (a trunk, a stem, God) and something that represents it (branches, flowers, us). Jesus inaugurated Holy Communion/the Lord’s Supper with a single instruction: “Do this in remembrance of me.” Taken together, by actively remembering Jesus, by emulating his work (washing the Disciples’ feet), by seeking and welcoming the Holy spirit, we live the image of vine and branches.
D. KEY POINTS
1. HOW to stay connected? HOW to live “in remembrance” of Jesus? Even in daily life and family life it takes work and effort to stay connected. Put the phone down. Turn the TV off. Get together. Look one another in the eye. Listen up. Speak up. Take each other seriously. Use the technology you’re comfortable with: email, WhatsApp, Instagram. Go visit. Make a call. But this all requires some form of intentional effort. It is just as true for staying connected with God. Set aside time. Put away distractions. Focus. Talk to God. Pray. Listen. Read the Bible. Think about it. Practice. Practice. Practice. Don’t go it alone. Use your church.
2. What EXACTLY is the Holy Spirit? Well... The Holy Spirit is called a “Spirit”, but we also call it the “Third person of the Trinity”. Jesus offers descriptions of the Spirit’s work as our source of truth and comfort and guidance. Believe it or not, St. Paul does a better job of fleshing out the Holy Spirit. Paul’s “gifts of the Spirit” lists ways we are empowered. Paul’s “fruits of the Spirit” list results of a Spirit-filled life. In short, the presence of the Holy Spirit helps us to do things that surprise us AND to be the kind of person who fully represents God. The Spirit in us allows us to mirror God’s Spirit.
It is true that Protestant Christianity especially has complicated the Holy Spirit. The elevation of the Spirit has led to denominations and squabbles leading to divisions throughout Christianity – caused by excesses on one side, intransigence on the other. Both sides miss Jesus’ and Paul’s plans for the Holy Spirit: to keep us connected AND strong.
