The Fifth Sunday of Easter
John 16:5-15
Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
What comfort this sweet sentence gives, what joy it is to sing! This is your song of victory, your song of hope, your song of truth. Although it is a short song, it tells a bigger story. Much of music is used to tell stories. It is used to express happiness and to comfort in sadness. As you grow older, songs that were sung as a child have a way of sticking with you. Others are passed down from generation to generation.
Many children, cradled in their mothers’ arms, have heard, “You are my sunshine.” There is so much joy in seeing a sleeping or giggling child, and comfort in knowing a child is safe in a parent’s or grandparent’s arms. But the song also acknowledges that life isn’t always peaches and cream; there are gray skies and storms of life. Women who never hold a child, mothers who reject motherhood, mothers who bury their own, or mothers who see their children grow old and drift away from faith can attest to these storms.
These are storms Christ died for.
Once protected within the unpenetrating arms of mother or father, children are thrust into a world full of unknowns as they grow and mature. Naturally, independence begins to emerge among young adults. Using the old saying, they spread their wings to fly away from the nest. Parents pray for their safety, that they will make wise decisions, and that they remember the one divine and eternal truth: that Jesus Christ entered this world as a child, died for their sins, your sins, and mine, defeated Satan, rose again, and ascended to the Father.
But children are curious, and no matter the age, we all ask at some point, “What is truth?” Seek an answer to the question, “What is truth?” outside of the Church and outside of the protective arms of God, and the world will send you on a wild goose chase.
Well-meaning friends, neighbors, and peers tempt us to seek truth in this world, as if searching for water in a desert without water. The repeated message from the false priests and priestesses of our time claims that there is no objective truth. Instead, they suggest living simply, relying on yourself, and following the way of subjective or personal belief, where gods, goddesses, angels, and demons all act according to personal wills and desires.
Without a doubt, you’ve heard it said or said it yourself, “I can’t believe in a God who would…. (Pick your disaster, let a child die, Alzheimer’s diagnosis, or judge someone based on their sexual orientation.)” However, with words like these, our god becomes our pronouncements; god becomes what we decide. God is no longer the creator; rather, He is the one being created in your image. Divine truth is lost — the truth that was given to you in the waters of your Baptism, the truth you were created in, is gone.
Having lost the clear confession of truth, churches often resort or are tempted to try gimmicks in the hopes of being relevant and enjoyable to the seekers of this world. However, in this quest, objective truth becomes secondary or dismissible.
What if you had a surgery scheduled this week and the doctor told you it would be an enjoyable experience? You might think twice about choosing this particular doctor and drive to Madison, Milwaukee, or even the Twin Cities. The doctor’s job isn’t to bring you immediate enjoyment but to provide lasting healing. Today, worship has become a matter of lifestyle, light on substance, and not a matter of life and death. Instead, it’s something of the here and now, not of the eternal and forever.
The words of Jesus in the Gospel, however, state that there is an objective truth.
These words explain how we will recognize this truth and how the Holy Spirit will guide us in the way of truth. For this reason, Jesus must go to the Father to send the Holy Spirit, the “Spirit of truth.” It is He, Jesus says, who will guide the disciples and you.
Let’s be honest, we feel nervous when talking about the Holy Spirit. Some churches speak in tongues and claim to possess the Holy Spirit, but we don’t want to be associated with them. However, in these situations, we can rely on our confirmation instruction and recall what is taught in the small catechism, especially the third article of the Apostle’s Creed. More importantly, we should understand its meaning: “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified, and kept me in the true faith.” These are the ways the Holy Spirit works—not something mysterious, but the concrete means of grace, the forgiveness of sins.
So, what is the truth the Holy Spirit will guide you into, to know and confess? Jesus said in John 14, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Truth is not just an idea; it’s a person—it’s Jesus Christ. It doesn’t end with simply knowing who He is, but it’s found in Him, who brings you into a relationship with God through daily surrender of the Old Adam, dying to sin and being raised to new life. It’s found in the forgiveness of sins, rescuing you from death and hell, and restoring you as image-bearers of God.
Truth is found in Jesus. He’s not an emotion or idea. He’s not an invisible friend or make-believe relationship. He’s the child born of Mary, the Son sent by God the Father, whose heroic course brought Him back to the Father’s right hand, granting you access to your Father in heaven and always sending the Holy Spirit.
But the Holy Spirit, Jesus says, also comes to convict the world of sin. Of what sin? Unbelief. Not just the disbelief that Jesus exists or existed, but it reveals your unbelief and rejection of Him as Savior.
The Holy Spirit also comes to convict the world of righteousness. Christ is not referring to worldly righteousness or justice, where people give others what is owed. “The Holy Spirit convicts those who do not hold onto Jesus or receive Him because they try to justify themselves with their own poor and miserable works and merits.” Instead, it is Jesus’ blood that is the sacrifice. His ascension to the Father demonstrates His righteousness and brings us into the presence of the Father.
The Holy Spirit comes to convict the world of judgment. Not our judgment, but the judgment of this world’s prince, the devil. He is the father of lies, and like your first parents, he desires to tempt you and lead you to reject the Truth found in Jesus Christ. He wants you to believe you can be God, and you are inclined to act as if you are — just as your first parents did in the Garden of Eden.
In a world full of schedules and commitments, everything today seems to be compartmentalized. Like food on a plate, nothing is allowed to touch; our church lives occupy one corner of the plate, and the rest of our lives take up the remaining portions. Sunday is reserved for God and church, while the rest of the week is for worldly things. Our lives are conducted from Monday through Saturday, as if one life doesn’t inform the other. Sunday is the day of resurrection, and Monday begins everything else for the week.
Everything throughout the week feels like a struggle, a fight. Even though this world has been judged through Christ’s victory on the cross, we live as if we must fight for ourselves. We must succeed in this world and make a name for ourselves. Yet, despite the many changes in this world, we always pray that our eyes may be fixed where true joy is found.
Near the end of today’s Gospel, Jesus says the Holy Spirit will guide you in all truth and take everything that is His to declare it to you. What is declared to you is something greater than anything you have in this life. It’s Him making you a child of His heavenly Father; it’s you being placed in His protective arms. The lullaby He gives you is yours to sing in the liturgy of the Church. It’s this song that you carry with you into the busyness of the week and the chaos of each day. When the days of sunshine fade, and gray skies appear, this song gives you the words to call on your heavenly Father with boldness and confidence. Trust that He hears you, live as His child, and know that He will carry you through this life and bring you to Himself in heaven. +INJ+
Alleluia! Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!
Rev. Noah J. Rogness
Pastor, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Tomah, WI
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Website: www.goodsheptomah.org
The Shepherd’s Voice Podcast: https://goodsheptomah.podbean.com/
