6^th Sunday of Easter

Gospel – John 14:15-21

Family Connections

Dad

As I read over today’s Gospel, 3 words kept popping up in my mind: commandments, love, and Advocate.  Keep my commandments, follow my words, I love you, and I will send you an Advocate.  On face value, they don’t relate; looked at together they don’t make any sense.  But maybe they do…

When I was in grade school, I was a pretty good student.  But the one subject I loved more than anything was Spelling!  From 5^th grade to 8^th, I got far enough into the qualifying round for the National Spelling Bee.  And every year, I lost and I lost to the same kid!  So when I got to 8^th grade, I knew this was my last chance.  I studied day and night, pored over the list of words and prepared myself better than I ever had before.  So when the qualifying round began, I was confident and ready!  And as other students slipped up and stepped down, I continued to progress, until it was down to me and my nemesis.  The next word I got was unfamiliar and I did the best I could; I thought I nailed it correctly.  I was wrong and the bell dinged. 

What I wasn’t prepared for was what happened next.  I saw my dad come running down the aisle from his seat in the auditorium, I saw him race over to the judges to plead my case, to stand up for me, to defend.  He didn’t win the argument with the judges.  But you know what, that didn’t matter to me at all.  I realized that some things are way more important than a spelling bee.  Life is more about commandments and love and having an Advocate.

Growing up, we had rules to follow, just like everyone does, and we knew there would be a parental response when the rules were broken.  My Dad was the enforcer!  And discipline was swift and effective.  But it wasn’t til that spelling bee in 8^th grade that I realized that rules were important and that enforcing the rules was done out of love and not meanness or hard-heartedness. 

That was the day I saw the reason for having rules, that was the day I saw the love my father had for me, that was the day I saw him not just as the enforcer but as my Advocate – my protector, my guide, my counselor!  I began to see what the relationship between parent and child is all about.  About rules, yes! But also about love and guidance!

And that is what Jesus is talking about today – our relationship with God the Father.  Are there rules?  Commandments?  Yes!  But the rules are there to guide us and give us direction.  And they are made out of love!  God calls us to a relationship of love, love between parent and child.  And He promises us that He will never abandon us; He will always be there to love us, to guide us, to counsel us.  Jesus says it Himself – I will never leave you as orphans. You are not alone!