Topic: THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT/PARACLETE
1. STORY
John was a young Native American Indian who had to pass a test to become
a full member of his tribe. His father
took him into the forest, blindfolded him, and left him alone. He had to sit on the stump of a tree all night
and was not permitted to take the blindfold off until the sun rose the
following morning. He was by himself, he
could not cry out for help. John was
terrified as he could hear all kinds of noises. Beasts were all around him. Maybe some person would harm him. The wind blew the grass and earth and even
shook the stump. Yet John sat there
quietly, not removing the blindfold. It
was the only way to pass the test to become a full member of the tribe. Finally, after a horrific night, the sun
appeared and he removed the blindfold. It
was then that he saw his father sitting on the stump next to him guarding him
the entire night. We are never alone. Even when we do not know it, the Holy Spirit/
Paraclete is protecting us.
2. GOSPEL, JOHN 14:15:21
A) THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT/PARACLETE
Jesus tells us that his Father will give us another Paraclete who will
be with us always. The Holy
Spirit/Paraclete will protect us from the devil and from those who wish to harm
us. The Holy Spirit / Paraclete will
comfort us when life becomes difficult, when we fall or when we suffer.
B) HOW TO RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT
Jesus tells us the way to receive the great gift is that we must love
him by obeying his commandments. It’s
like John who loves his father knowing that his father deeply loves him.
3. APPLICATION TO LIFE
A) The Holy Spirit helps us
The Holy Spirit is like a compass guiding us by keeping us on the right
path as journey through the vast, dangerous and difficult forest of life. We must follow the guidance of the compass,
the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is like
a watch giving us accurate information about what is right and what is wrong. It would be difficult to know what time it is
by just guessing. It would often be
difficult to distinguish between what is right and what is wrong if we only
depended on ourselves.
B) LOVE JESUS BY OBEYING HIS COMMANDMENTS
In the story John knew by his father’s actions that his father loved
him. It was natural that he would love
his father in return. We know that Jesus
loves us so it is natural we love Jesus. We love Jesus by our actions such as being
kind, patient, and forgiving others. We
love Him by being grateful, encouraging and understanding.
4. CONCLUSION
In the story, John’s father loved his son and stayed with him the whole
night though John was not aware of this during the night. The Holy Spirit is always with us protecting
and comforting us though we may not be aware of his presence. With the help of the Holy Spirit we are able
to love Jesus by carrying out his command to love God, neighbour and self.
