Sixth Sunday Of Easter- Advocate

A man named Norm Williams went to the library and requested two books by author Deborah Tannen, who is a communication researcher.

One of her most popular books is titled “That’s Not What I Meant.”

Another is titled, “You Just don’t Understand.”

“What’s the first book?” the librarian asked.

“That’s Not What I Meant,” he said.

“Well, what did you mean?” the librarian asked.

“That’s the title of the book,” he replied.

“Okay, and the other book?” asked the librarian.

“You Just don’t Understand,” he replied.

“Excuse me?” said the confused librarian.

It took a while, but Williams finally got his books.

Talking about the Advocate, the Holy Spirit can also be confusing and really abstract. That is because we can only sense or feel the Spirit’s presence guiding us by certain effects. It is mysterious, but this is the new medium introduced by Jesus whereby he will send another Advocate at our side to help us, for example:

e.g. In an interview with a magazine, a Pastor recalls how unsure and unprepared he felt in his early years at his church. He says,” in the beginning, there were so many times when I wanted to quit. I would pray, “Lord, you made a mistake.” But he stayed where God had led him and waited for some kind of an answer. And one day that answer came. A family was visiting, and their ten-year-old kid came up to the Pastor and asked, “How long you gonna be here?” The Pastor was honest and said that he really did not know. Then the kid said, “Don’t go anywhere. If you’re here, I’m going to make it.”

When we are open to the promptings of the Advocate at our side, we can be like that Pastor I mentioned. He knew he got the answers he was seeking, which were “yes” and “no.”

When we sense the Advocate with us, we are going to make it. It’s MORALITY AS REMEMBERING. The Advocate helps us feel an interior drive to want to walk in conviction. Because the spirit of error is so prevalent, powerful, and appealing even to believers, we must "test the spirits." “Whoever loves me will keep my word”, and “Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.” Jesus says.

Those who believe they can live in sin and still think they flow in the power of the Holy Spirit are headed for disaster.

Too often, the devil’s lies go unrecognized in our own heads. We mistake them for our own voice or even the voice of God. The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible says, “The Advocate also defends disciples against the prosecutions of the devil, who is the accuser of the family of God.” The Advocate’s job is to remind us of the atoning sacrifice of Christ on our behalf. He satisfied the justice of God.

In Jewish thought, every commandment that one fulfills procures him one advocate; every sin he commits raises against him one accuser. Nevertheless, according to one view, one Advocate is worth more than 999 accusers, " The Accuser and the Advocate, In Jewish Liturgy, CHARLES L. FEINBERG, Bibliotheca sacra, January 1, 1959.

“Yes” you are going to make it. And “No, God did not make a mistake in sending you to the place where you are at.”

Amen.