Trinity Sunday June 3, 2007
Scripture	John 16:12-15 12“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
Devotional	We continue one more Sunday in the Gospel of John. John has one further word to say about the Holy Spirit. This is the fifth and final saying about the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ farewell discourse. As we examine these words carefully, we find these are the final parting words of Jesus to the disciples and the present words of the risen Christ to us, his church today. God’s guidance is the Spirit of truth. The Spirit is like a messenger conveying what is heard from God to us. The Spirit keeps God’s truth before us the people of God and it urges us to respond in faith and hope. What does all this “God stuff” mean on one’s life? The “truth” the Spirit communicates can be hard to bear. Jesus has many things to say but you cannot bear them now. Is Jesus saying that we learn little by little? As one who finds process theology as basic in my theological world, this is really “God stuff.” Is Jesus telling us that life with God is not static but always changing? The Spirit will guide us to all the truth that is given to the Spirit by Jesus. Today there is the temptation to adopt a static interpretation of this gospel message so we can protect ourselves against culture change and a continually changing world view. “I still have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” I would interpret this as anything but a static belief system that defies new ideas, learning and change. How open to God can we be if we have a closed mind to society and the world around us? When we are not close to all new learning, how can we be open to God? What does God want me to do? How can I know for sure? We yearn for divine guidance, especially when voices within us seem to conflict. How do we tell the difference between self-deception and God's leading? "Our decisions and our search for guidance take place in the active presence of a God who intimately cares about our life situations and who invites us to participate in the divine activities of healing and transformation ." Frank Rogers Jr Prayer: Lord, we know there are words we do not like to hear and it takes time for us to hear these words. Keep putting this “God stuff” before us until we hear and understand.