Readings
Old Testament: Exodus 16:23-36
Psalm 16
Gospel: John 16:1-15
Epistle: 1 Pet. 3:13-4:6
Devotional
There’s a reason the “buddy movie” is such a popular genre in Hollywood. Countless permutations of it have been made, and each has a common theme. You know what the “buddy movie” is. It’s the misfit duo off on a collective journey to secure some task or goal for one or both of them. You also know that the formula doesn’t quite work if both characters are the same. Because at some point throughout their journey, one of them will encounter some hurdle that they are insufficiently equipped to solve on their own, which creates the perfect circumstance for the buddy to lend his particular contribution to solve the dilemma and send the duo continuing on their way. The formula is so familiar that you know it’s coming, yet in spite of its unsurprising emergence, we still flock to them. Why?
It must reveal something about our nature and our desires. Instead of denying our weakness, we long to acknowledge it and seek the help of a companion to aid us where we are helpless on our own. Is it any wonder, then, that in Jesus’s final hours, He makes a promise to His people that they would never be without a helper? Jesus is preparing to go to the cross and leave the world, but He isn’t leaving His people alone. The promise of His Holy Spirit’s presence was true for the disciples, and it is true for us. I wonder how much we would be transformed if we considered that reality: for every believer, God dwells within you wherever you go. And this Helper doesn’t just pick up the slack of an otherwise pretty good attempt at life. This Spirit equips for every good endeavor. All that is good in us is good because of the Holy Spirit, and it is the same Spirit upon which Jesus relied when He was tempted in the wilderness by Satan (Matt. 4).
The purpose of this Spirit dwelling with us, Jesus explains, is simple. He is to convict us of sin, and lead us to righteousness. That isn’t how we often think about the Holy Spirit. Frequently, our requests of the Spirit revolve around decisions of vocation, relationships, or calling. But the liberating news of Jesus’s description is that it takes the guess work out of following God’s will for our lives. Not only that, but He also empowers us to do it! The same Spirit upon which Jesus relied for obedience is the Spirit that dwells in us. Sin doesn’t have the final say in your life no matter how helpless you feel. In the best buddy movies, you realize that the opposition was no match for the buddy all along. So it is with our Helper.
Hymn
O Christ Our King Creator Lord
Prayer
Pray Psalm 16 aloud.