Ye Also Bear Witness

In Nomine Iesu!

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Sermon Text: St. John 15:26-16:4

“‘But when the Comforter is come, Whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall bear witness of Me: and ye also bear witness, because ye have been with Me from the beginning.’”

Prayer in Pulpit before Sermon:

Almighty God, Who hast given us commandment to pray for the gift of the Holy Ghost, most heartily we beseech Thee, through + Jesus Christ, our Advocate, to grant us Thy Holy Spirit, that He may quicken our hearts by Thy saving Word, and lead us into all truth, that He may guide, instruct, enlighten, govern, comfort, and sanctify us unto everlasting life; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior + Jesus Christ. Amen. 

My dear friends, this Sunday was anciently known as Dominica expectationis, that is, the Sunday of Expectation, or to say it another way this Sunday is known as “Waiting Sunday.” Consider where this Sunday comes within the Church Year. This past Thursday we celebrated our Lord’s ascension, and next Sunday we will celebrate the Feast of Pentecost, also called Whitsunday, the coming of the Holy Ghost. The Apostles have witnessed their Lord’s ascension, and are now in Jerusalem (as He instructed) waiting for the Holy Ghost to come. The Gospel of St. John, the Apostle and Evangelist, reflects upon Whom it is the Apostles are waiting. They are waiting for the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth. He will be sent by the Father after our Lord ascends.

Therefore, today, the Church waits with the Apostles in this time between Ascension and Pentecost for the out-pouring of the gifts of the Holy Ghost. Our Lord, when telling His Apostles that the Holy Ghost would come, calls Him “The Comforter.” The word used for “Comforter” in the original Greek language is “Paraclete.” What is a “Paraclete?” The word “Paraclete” is actually a compound word, where two words make up one word. It comes from the Greek words “para,” meaning “from” or “around the side” and “kletos,” meaning “to call.” What this means is that “parakletos” literally means “to call to one’s side” as one would call a “helper,” or “comforter,” or an “advocate,” or “intercessor.” In short, a “Paraclete” is someone who comes to the aid and support of another. He is someone who pleads on behalf of someone else for help, comfort and strength.

Our Lord is a “Paraclete” for He intercedes for us to His Heavenly Father; He is our Advocate to the Father pleading to Him to not count us unworthy on account of our sins. The Holy Ghost is also a “Paraclete” for He comes to the aid of the Holy Christian Church by comforting and supporting her by His gifts of Word and Sacrament. This is also why this Sunday is more typically known as “Exaudi.” Exaudi means “to hear.” The title comes from the first line of the Introit, “Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice.” The Church, between Ascension and Whitsunday, waits in eager expectation for the Paraclete, the Helper and Comforter, Who the Father and the Son will send out to the Church in answer to her cries for help.

So then, this begs the questions, “How does the Holy Ghost help?” Or, “How does the Holy Ghost give comfort?” Or, “How is the Holy Ghost our advocate?” The answer is simple. The Holy Ghost is our help, comfort, and advocate by doing exactly what our Lord said He would do in today’s Gospel: “He shall bear witness of Me.” The Holy Ghost comforts and helps the Church by giving witness to our Lord + Jesus, the Christ. Indeed, our Lord even says that the Apostles would also bear witness of our Lord, for they would be filled with the Holy Ghost. This continues even today, for the Holy Ghost, through the preaching of the holy Gospel, calls, gathers, enlightens, sanctifies and keeps the holy Christian Church on Earth. The Holy Ghost gives us help and comfort for He works through the means of grace to fill our ears with good news of a Savior; the One and only Savior, our Lord + Jesus, the Christ.

This is the One whom the Apostles preached into all the world. This is the One whom the Church preaches of today. This is the One to Whom the Church cries, and finds help and comfort from her sins, for our Lord has sent us the Holy Ghost, to speak into our ears the good news that our Lord has fulfilled the Law for us, and has suffered our punishment, so that we have been freed from the power of death and the devil. Our sins have been paid for; we are washed clean and free in the Blood of the Lamb. Whenever we hear the Gospel, the Holy Ghost is there, comforting and helping us; He is coming to our aid. He reminds us of our Savior, that we have hope and eternal life; that we have been freed from sin, death, and the devil, and that, even though we may die, we will be raised again on the Last Day with all believers in Christ.

This is now what the Church awaits and expects—our eternal home with our Lord and Savior. This is what the Church cries to her Lord for, that He might come quickly and relieve our pain and suffering in this life; that He will free us from the burden of sin and temptation, and that He will guide us into the way of truth.

When our Lord hears our cry, He gives us comfort by sending to us His Holy Ghost, to speak into our ears His holy Word; to remind us that we have a Savior, Who loves us, and Who suffered and died for us. This is why we gather together as often as we can to hear this message over and over again, for we are assailed on every side, every day, by trial and temptation, by persecution and hatred. We suffer because this is what our Lord said would happen. We suffer because the world hates the Church, and it hates Christians. It would have Christianity and all Christians wiped from the face of the Earth if it could. And just as our Lord said, they think that when they attack Christianity and Christians, they “offereth service unto God,” because the world wants to call that which is evil good, and that which is good evil.

The world, which is ruled by the devil and sin, cannot stand that our Lord and Savior + Jesus, the Christ is proclaimed as the One and only Savior of mankind, to the exclusion of all other religions. The world would rather have everyone “coexist” and consider every religion to be just different variants of the same path to some ambiguous god. This the Church can never tolerate! There is only One God; there is only One Savior—our Lord + Jesus, the Christ; and there is only one path of salvation. All other gods and messiahs are false gods and messiahs, and they do not lead to life, but to eternal death and damnation. It is no light matter, for it is a matter of life and death—eternal life and death.

This is why too, the world would have all believe that everyone goes to heaven, regardless of what they believe, teach, and confess. For, in their mind, there is no hell, there is no condemnation, and if they allowed themselves to believe that there is a punishment for unbelief and sin, they would have to admit their unbelief and sin, and repent. This is something the world will not, and cannot do, for it is ruled by its father the devil, and it will only seek to hurt and harm Christians and the Church.

This is why our Lord sent us His Holy Ghost—His holy Helper and Comforter; His Paraclete. Therefore, let us be diligent in gathering for worship, for it is in this holy house that the means of grace—the Word and the Sacraments—are given out to us poor, miserable sinners. It is here that we hear of our Savior, our Lord + Jesus, the Christ, through the pure preaching of the holy Gospel.

It is here where we are brought into the Christian faith, through the washing of the Holy Ghost in Holy Baptism, and sustained in that Christian faith whenever we remember that we have been baptized. The Old Adam—our inherited evil foe—is drowned and killed daily through contrition and faith so that the New Adam—our Lord + Jesus—may arise in us, so that we may be considered holy and sinless in God’s sight, for by His dwelling in us we bear His righteousness.

It is here in the Church of our Lord that we hear the Absolution, proclaiming into our ears that our sins are forgiven, not because of anything we did, or did not do—not because we are a good or better person that anyone else, but because our Lord + Jesus, the Christ, fulfilled the Law perfectly and suffered in our place, so that we might have forgiveness of sins.  

It is here in the Church where we receive on our lips our Lord’s true Body and Blood in bread and wine. So that we may indeed taste and see that the Lord is good, and that we might remember what our Lord did for our salvation, and that we might learn from this Blessed Sacrament to love God and our each other. 

It is here in the Church where believers gather together to hear our Lord’s Word, and to help and comfort one another through the sharing of our faith and our life in our Lord + Jesus. And as our Lord promised, He is present with us whenever two or three are gathered together in His Name. For wherever two or three are gathered together in our Lord’s Name, there the Holy Ghost is present also, coming to our aid with His gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation. 

It is here in this Church we, a gathering of two or three, come to hear this preaching, we receive His Holy Baptism, we are proclaimed by Him to be absolved, and we receive His Body and Blood in bread and wine from His called ministers, who serve us by giving us the Holy Ghost through these means of grace, so that our sins may be forgiven, and we might receive eternal life and salvation. And thereby, we may find comfort and aid in this vale of tears, and know that our Lord will never leave us nor forsake us, even though we may, like the Apostles during this time between Ascension and Pentecost, wait expectantly for our Lord. But while we wait for the Lord to come again, He has sent us the Holy Ghost, to comfort, help, and intercede for us. Let us therefore, my dear friends, continually give thanks unto the Lord for His great gift to us until He calls us into our eternal home in heaven. In the Name of our Lord + Jesus, the Christ. Amen.

Prayer in Pulpit after Sermon:

Almighty God, be pleased to accompany Thy Word with Thy Holy Spirit and grant that Thy Word would increase faith in us; bring into the Way of Truth all such as have erred; turn the hearts of the unrepentant; and for sake of Thy Name grant succor to all heavy hearts and those who are heavy-laden, that they may through the mercy of the Lord + Jesus Christ be relieved and preserved so that they succumb not to the temptation of despair but rather that they gain the victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil; through the same + Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with the Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.

The Votum:

The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ + Jesus. Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria!