Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter
(Acts 16:22-34; John
16:5-11)
The Holy Spirit in
John’s gospel is often called “the Advocate.”
This rather technical term refers to a lawyer. But he is not just an attorney for the
defense. He also acts as a prosecutor. In today’s gospel Jesus tells his disciples
that the Spirit will convict the world of sin, righteousness, and
condemnation. What does he mean by this?
The word sin translates
the Greek word hamartia which means to miss the mark. Jesus is saying that the world will have
missed the mark when it accuses him of sin.
He acts in accordance with God’s Law.
The Advocate will also convict the world of arrogance and hostility in
prosecuting Jesus. He has shown righteousness in his care for others. But his enemies will have displayed prejudice
and injustice in bringing him to court. Furthermore,
the Advocate will show the world that it will have condemned the wrong man. Jesus is not guilty, but the world will have him
executed.
Perhaps we at times
have been misjudged. We may have been
accused of showmanship when we only wanted to offer a toast for a friend. Or perhaps we tried to defend someone
apparently in distress and then were accused of meddling. We should not stop doing the right
thing. Rather we should scrutinize our
motives and our actions. Then we proceed
to do what is right. The Advocate will help us.
