HOW THE SPIRIT TEACHES

Wednesday in the 6th Week of Easter
Jn 16:12-15

When our time is almost up and still we have many things to say or do, we always end up frantic. Panic leaves even more things to say and do unsaid and undone.

The earthly time of Jesus is almost up and still, as He says in the Gospel today, He has many things to tell His disciples. But Jesus is not panicking. He is a picture of a cool man even under pressure. He is not worried about tomorrow. He does not over feed His disciples with His teachings, lest they suffer from spiritual indigestion. Did He not already say in Mt 6:34, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Jesus has confidence on the other Two Persons of the Most Blessed Trinity. He trusts the Father to send the Holy Spirit and He trusts the Holy Spirit to fulfill His role in the economy of salvation. The Holy Spirit teaches.

The Holy Spirit teaches in two ways. First, He teaches by clarifying what Jesus already taught His disciples through inner illumination. Second, He reminds the disciples what they forget among the teachings of Jesus. Evidently, the Holy Spirit teaches nothing new. This is because Jesus is already the final, complete, and definitive revelation of God. There is nothing new after Jesus. The Holy Spirit’s role as the Teacher of truth is to enlighten and to remind us about Jesus. Then being enlightened and reminded of Jesus – who He is and what He stands for – we come to grasp the teachings of Jesus. Thus, the tremendous significance and indispensable role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of all believers.