Today we reflect further on the departure of Jesus. He suggests to the disciples that his leaving will not result in them feeling lost. Rather it will mark the beginning of something new, which will result from the coming of the Paraclete. The central message is the result that follows loving or not loving Jesus.

Paraclete meant ‘legal assistant’ or ‘advocate’, one who intercedes. Combined with ‘Spirit of truth’, it conveys the idea of guide, comforter and teacher. This other Paraclete, who will be with you forever, will not die, like the first Paraclete (Jesus). His presence will be ongoing and will remain forever as that of the Spirit who communicates Truth, who will assure those who love about all that God has revealed. This is because there is a part of the world that has rejected what Jesus has said about himself and about the Father, and now cannot receive, see or know the Spirit of Truth.

Every believing Jew recites daily the Shéma Israel: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one Lord: you will love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being and with all your strength. This is the expression of the Covenant. Jesus asks the disciples to love him, to keep his commandments but they can still say the Shéma, because He and the Father are one. The disciples were familiar with the prophet Ezekiel: I shall give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you; I shall remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh instead. [36:26] . Similar expressions can be found in what other prophets said. The disciples would have been aware of the promise of this new spirit. They would have been accustomed to the idea of God being present and abiding with his people: from the Tent of Meeting in the desert during the exodus from Egypt to the Temple in Jerusalem. Now in the New Covenant, God would abide in the heart of the believer, as promised: Sing, rejoice, daughter of Zion, for I am coming to dwell in the midst of you—it is the Lord who speaks. [Zechariah 2:14].

Part of the world has not recognised who Jesus is, but Jesus was sent not to condemn the world, but so that through him the world might be saved [John 3:17]. The spirit of the world is opposed to the spirit of love. The disciples are to bring about change “by contagion, neighbour to neighbour”. Mission impossible? But Jesus said: I will not leave you orphans; I will come back to you . . . you will see me, because I live and you will live.

• I will ask the Father and He will give you . . . Do I really believe that the Paraclete has been given? Do I ask the Lord in prayer to be led to a better understanding of truth, to see more clearly what the Word of God might have to say to me?

• I will not leave you orphans. Do I sometimes feel forsaken, lost or alone? Am I aware of anyone else who may sometimes feel this way?

• You know him, because he is with you, he is in you. Jesus’ departure was to be the beginning of something new! Given that he is with us, he is in us, what difference can this make to our lives? Everyone seems to talk and sing about ‘love’ nowadays. Can we hear Jesus clearly?