I remember my grandfather from a time when I was about five years old. He had come to Toronto to visit us. He was a contractor/bricklayer and had done physical work all his life. I recall him as a kind and strong person.

He died of a heart attack shortly after his visit, leaving me sad that I wouldn’t see him again and confused because he had seemed so vital.

Sometime after the funeral my uncle Phil, who had gone into the family business of contracting and bricklaying, came. I was stunned. Not only did he do the same work, but he looked and sounded so much like my grandfather that I thought my grandfather had come back to life. Even now, when I look at photos of both men, I am still struck by their similar appearance.  

I recalled this episode when I read the opening verses of the Pentecost gospel (John 14:8-17, 25-27). 

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It begins, Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’ 

Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? 

Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. 

How can you say, “Show us the Father”? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? 

The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 

Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. 

Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.

Jesus and his Father are distinct, yet they reflect each other’s identity so closely that the same spirit is in them. Their appearance, manner of speaking and their works are the same… Whoever has seen me has seen the Father …The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; …the Father who dwells in me does his works… I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Jesus understood and relished his identity with his Father. He admired him and sought to be like him… in his own way.

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One of Jesus’ promises in the gospel for Pentecost is, If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.. 

Spirit of truth recalls the opening words of John’s gospel: the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14) 

Like Jesus, the Spirit of Truth points to the ultimate reality, the hyper-relational God who knows us better than we know ourselves.

This Spirit of truth would be distinct from Jesus and would abide in the disciples after Jesus’ departure, in the same way that Jesus lived in the Father. The Spirit would communicate the truth and assist the disciples in interpreting how to love one another as Christ had loved them (John 13:34). 

As in Jesus’ own life and experience the world cannot receive (the Spirit), because it neither sees him nor knows him. This statement that the world could not receive the Spirit echoes the prologue of John’s gospel, He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.(John 1:10-13)

In a sense, the Spirit of Truth would be Christ’s identical twin: distinct in person and action in the world, but sharing the same relationship with the Father and in many respects ‘looking like’ him and doing the same work.

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‘I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. With these sentences Jesus seemed to acknowledge that he had said many things that would be hard to understand and that his disciples would need continuing guidance to help interpret his meaning in action. The Holy Spirit would guide this thinking by using Jesus as the reference point. 

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Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Peace was part of Jesus’ gift of the Spirit, not a separate gift. The gospel for Easter Sunday makes this clear. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’ (John 20:21-22) 

Peace was dynamic, personal, relational and insightful. In the reading from Acts for this day we get a sense of this dynamic peace: Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages… and they began speaking about God’s deeds of power.’ All were amazed …In response to the coming of the Spirit, the apostles went out and talked about God’s work in the person of Jesus. THAT is peace.  

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  • You have probably seen parents and children or twins who look alike. Beyond their appearance, their mannerisms, expressions and even their voices are close to identical. Is this a way to consider the relationship of the son and the Father, or the son and the Holy Spirit?
  • Part of a Lakota Sioux Great Spirit prayer reads, 
    Oh, Great Spirit,
    Whose voice I hear in the winds
    and whose breath gives life to all the world.
    Hear me! I need your strength and wisdom.
    Let me walk in beauty, and make my eyes
    ever hold the red and purple sunset.
    Make my hands respect the things you have made
    and my ears sharp to hear your voice.
    Make me wise so that I may understand
    the things you have taught my people.
    Let me learn the lessons you have hidden
    in every leaf and rock.
    While the etiology is different from a Christian source, the inspiration and yearning is familiar.
  • Catechisms define the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit as wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord as outlined in Isaiah 11:2-3 and Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologica. At the same time, it seems that Peace was also a joint gift of Christ and the Holy Spirit. (Christ mentioned both in his post-resurrection appearance.) Peace can be like a gentle supportive push in a specific direction: a breeze at one’s back. It is dynamic and encouraging. For the apostles, this peace meant being filled with the Holy Spirit and feeling compelled to tell the story of Jesus Christ. What are your synonyms? 
    Peace
    Michael