“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.

“I have said these things to you to keep you from stumbling. They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, an hour is coming when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are offering worship to God. And they will do this because they have not known the Father or me. But I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them.

“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned. (John 15:26-16:11 NRSV)

***

Last Sunday's message from the Gospel of St. John the Evangelist
is important to remember today
as we look , again,
at the life of the Holy Spirit.
The message last Sunday was simple:

The Holy Spirit maintains the connection of Love
between us and the Father
A love which the Son opened for us
in his presence, ministry
Death and Resurrection.
And, even though the Son has Ascended into heaven,
We have not been left desolate
We have not been left as orphaned children
without a Heavenly Father.
We have not been left to walk this Christian Life
alone and without God
No, God is present to us,
and within us,
through the glorious power and indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.

Today, the Evangelist opens for us the role of the Holy Spirit
relative to this present, evil world.
"When he [-- The Holy Spirit--] comes,
he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment."

Would you pray with me?

Almighty Father, move among us by the power of Thy Holy Spirit so that we may feel and sense Thy divine presence, for we need to know that we are never alone. And speak to us this in such a way that we may hear, understand, remember, and employ Your words, which mold and shape our living. For we pray in Thy Holy and Gracious Name. Amen.

The Holy Spirit maintains the life of divine love between
the Heavenly Father and us,
a life which the Son opened for all believers.
It is the Holy Spirit, therefore, who makes us Christians.

The Holy Spirit is not so easy on the World, however.
The evangelist tells us that our master said:

"The Holy Spirit will prove the world wrong about sin
and righteousness
and judgment:
Sin, because they do not believe in me.
righteousness, because I am going to the Father
and judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.

The Holy Spirit, who is so gentle,
loving,
and "comforting"
to those of us who believe,
proves and convicts the world of its error
relative to the Son and the Father.
In this way, the Holy Spirit lives up to his name in
the Gospel of St. John.
Here, he is called the "Parakletos"
not the “Parakeet” but the "Parakletos" Literally translated from the Greek,
it might be best to render his name as-. "The Lawyer."

Now, I know that most of us don't particularly like lawyers.
in our culture, Lawyers are like atomic weapons.
The enemy has them,
so you have to have them,
But if you use them,
they ruin everything
and cost more than they're worth.

The old, country term for Lawyer was "Counselor,"
and that is the name of the Holy Spirit in the Gospel of St. John.
For those who believe,
He is our defense attorney.
He defends us against the evils of the world
And speaks for us before God the Father.

For those who do not believe,
He is the prosecuting attorney.
He points out sin,
un-righteousness,
and evil.
The Holy Spirit reveals to the unbelievers
exactly what they have done
to God the Son.

And that is exactly what
Jesus meant when he said:

"He will prove the world wrong about sin, . . .
because they do not believe in me."

What is sin?

The Greek word for "sin" is "Harmartea"
It is, in its essential meaning,
"missing the mark of God’s glory."
Sin is "not-living" in the will of God.
And the most important component in living in God's will
is having faith in Jesus Christ, God the Son.

Have you ever heard of Occam's razor?
William of Occam was a philosopher in the middle ages.
He said that any solution to a mystery
should be reduced to the simplest combination of factors.
In other words, the shortest course to a conclusion
is, usually, the one that you should take.
Don't clutter up your argument with
too many extraneous points.

And, so, to apply this principle to Sin:

If you don’t believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior
nothing else you do matters.
All your other sins simply build the Holy Spirit's case against you.
But, if you do believe in Jesus Christ,
then the Holy Spirit can handle all your other sins.

This makes belief in Jesus Christ more important than anything else, doesn't it?

And this is exactly where the world went wrong.
Because the world didn't believe in Jesus they had Him put to death.
But Jesus,
in his resurrection and ascension,
proved the world wrong by sending the Holy Spirit
to maintain the link between us and the Father.

This is what Jesus meant when he said,
"The Holy Spirit will prove the world wrong
about righteousness
and about judgment,
because the ruler of this world has been condemned."

The world thought that it had succeed in killing Jesus.
The world thought that it had gotten out from under God's judgment
by putting to death the one who came to reveal the Father to the world.
But the world was wrong.

The Son's resurrection and ascension,
and the sending of the Holy Spirit proved the world wrong,
and vindicated the Faith of Jesus ...
and, hence, the Church.

This is what the Holy Spirit does
with,
for,
and to the world.

For those of us who believe,
he comforts,
guides
protects
and maintains our love connection
with the Father.

For those who don't believe,
he prosecutes
judges
and convicts
them of sin.

Next Sunday, on Pentecost Sunday,
let us all hear the voice of the Holy Spirit,
calling us to conviction of our sins,
and to the way of divine love
which Jesus Christ, the Son,
opened up for all believers.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
--Amen