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Day Ten: Thursday

PROMISE TRANSLATED INTO LOVE

Read John 14:15-21.

“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.

I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you” (vv. 16-20).

Eternity has been an emerging theme in my thinking about Lent, which is not surprising, considering that Jesus’ mission consisted in large part of erasing the lines of distinction between this world and the kingdom of God. But death remains a persistent fact of life. The reality of the death of loved ones is often difficult for us, but at the same time the experience can speak to the mystery of eternity with comforting clarity.

The story I recounted yesterday about my cousin reminded me of the summer I just missed saying good-bye to my grandfather Fred. We knew he was ailing, and all the Mauls (including our son, Andrew, just fourteen months at the time) were heading to England for a rare, four-generation photo. Instead, we made it just in time to attend the memorial service.

I remember sitting in Grandpa’s study with my Aunt Gladys. We were all missing him profoundly and trying to connect with his memory. She took a book from his desktop and opened it up. It was his Bible. I noticed that instead of replacing the worn scriptures, my grandfather had had his Bible rebound, perhaps several times over the years. Consequently, all of his carefully written notes and annotations were preserved, from the day in the early 1920s that he first opened its pages through over sixty years of faith, family, business, and struggle.

Inside the front cover my aunt found a series of important dates—birth, death, declarations of war, celebrations of peace—and my grandfather’s prayers and observations. And there, in my grandfather’s distinctive handwriting, she found the record of her own birth: “Born today, a beautiful baby girl; we shall call her Gladys. Dear Gladys, one day you will read this. . . .” Following were more words of hope, encouragement, consolation, and peace.

TIME BEYOND TIME

We caught my grandfather’s spirit that afternoon. Warm, tangible, timely. Through his words we all felt a significant measure of his love and intention; the effect was real.

Jesus promises us so much more than the run of the mill or the mundane. He promises the comfort of the Holy Spirit, God with us in every small detail of our lives. There is no magic to this concept, simply the promise of Jesus translated into love.

“God will abide in you,” Jesus assured his friends. “God will take up residence within the very essence of who you are. This is my gift; this is my power; this is my comfort. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, you will know completely that I am alive and that I am vitally involved in your every moment. I love you. Be comforted” (John 14:17-20, author paraphrase).

That promise is often translated into love through the people God brings into our lives. When and how have you felt the working of the Holy Spirit in your life?

Prayer: May the beauty of your holiness rest in each one of us; may the assurance of your love comfort us; may the active presence of your Spirit take up residence in our consciousness. Amen.