JOHN 16:12-15

Jesus said to his disciples:

“I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.
But when he comes, the Spirit of truth,
he will guide you to all truth.
He will not speak on his own,
but he will speak what he hears,
and will declare to you the things that are coming.
He will glorify me,
because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.
Everything that the Father has is mine;
for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine
and declare it to you.” 

BACKGROUNDER 

Everyone wants to know the truth, but, we can’t always “bear it”. We want the truth because we want to know what to count on, what will guide us, what will help us when times are tough. But the truth may not be what we want to hear: we may overestimate ourselves and our abilities, we may prefer wishful thinking, preferring to believe that things will work out the way that we want, even when it’s not realistic. 

Jesus promises us the best of guides, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is unique in that he hears what God the Father says to Jesus, the Son of God. This divine conversation is completely beyond us, but the Holy Spirit hears and speaks, He tells us what only God can know. Jesus even says that the Holy Spirit will take what is His, which is everything that the Father has, and declare it to us – everything! 

But we also know that the Holy Spirit is the comforter, the advocate. That means that when he gives us the truth that comes from God, He does so in a way that we can handle, with His help. Truth and love are one in God. When we hear the truth that we need to hear, we hear the truth enfolded in His love. We are never left alone or defenceless, no matter how bad the situation we may be in. 

But Jesus came to proclaim Good News. In every situation of sadness, sickness, sin or death, every time when we are disoriented by darkness, Jesus will be our light. The Holy Spirit opens our eyes to see the Light of Christ. And He also gives us the strength to follow Jesus. 

The truth also sets us free. When we are free in Jesus, the Holy Spirit transforms us so that we can live in the truth, and even to share the truth of Jesus with others. We will become the people God calls us to be when we are so free. 

Jesus tells us that He is the way, the truth, and the life. The Spirit of Truth allows us to be open to Jesus, who comes to be with us, and make His home in us. The Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth, all the way home.