“The Work of the Spirit, Part 5: The Advocacy of the Spirit” by the Rev. Dr. Don Wahlig, May 17, 2026, Year A / Easter 7 – Psalm 93:1-5 ¨ John 14:15-19, 25-27
THEME: The Holy Spirit is Jesus’ continuing presence with us.
Do we have any Shakespeare fans out there? What is your favorite play? I suspect many of us would pick Romeo and Juliet, and for good reason. It is widely regarded as one of Shakespeare’s most popular works. There have been numerous productions on the stage, on TV, and on film. 30 years ago there was even a movie made about the writing of Romeo and Juliet. It was called Shakespeare in Love. My favorite movie. It is a testament to the enduring power of love in our lives.
I recently ran across a story of an Italian woman who had a unique perspective on the power of love that Shakespeare tapped into. Her name is Anna Ruggeri. Anna lives in Verona, Italy where Romeo and Juliet is set. Her family runs a small bed and breakfast there. She is frequently called on to give guests advice on which sites to see. One of the main attractions in town is the Casa di Giulietta. It is an ordinary medieval house on the main square. Back in the 1930s, the enterprising homeowner added a balcony and gave the house its current name. It was a genius move. Tourists flocked to the courtyard below and the balcony above, taking turns pretending to be Romeo calling up to their Juliet. There is absolutely no evidence that Shakespeare ever visited this house, or even knew about it. But over time, its name alone convinced people that it must be the home of Shakespeare’s heroine, Juliet Capulet. Then the letters began to pour in.
Today, lovelorn people from all over the world send letters addressed to Juliet Capulet of Verona Italy. They typically begin “Dear Juliet, I am writing to you because you are the only person who can understand how I feel.” As you might suspect, they are from people who are lonely, or were too young or two shy to open their hearts to another, and now regret love lost. Every year, thousands of these letters arrive at the Casa Di Giulietta. The sheer volume is proof of the universal power of love. Our reading today from the Gospel of John is telling us about the source of that power.
Today we conclude our sermon series on the Work of the Spirit. Over the past four Sundays, we have traced the Spirit to the original Pentecost event. We saw that the Spirit first changed the hearts and minds of the disciples gathered there. Then it formed them into a faith community of mutual care and unusual generosity. Then we saw how the Spirit inspired early Christians to witness to the gospel in powerful and remarkable ways. We saw Stephen’s courageous witness in both word and action, testimony that cost him his life.
Finally, last week we saw Paul’s ever-so-clever witness in Athens. We marveled at the wisdom and inspiration the Holy Spirit gave him. We saw how he adapted his approach to a foreign culture so that Gentiles could hear and receive the gospel for the first time.
This sermon series has given us an overview of the Book of Acts. This is Luke’s picture of the Holy Spirit as it works through the disciples. These early disciples are ordinary folk like you and me. The Spirit inspires and empowers them to do extraordinary things. Today, we are going to locate the source of that power. Jesus is at the last supper with his disciples. He has just finished washing their feet. Now, he is preparing them for life without him. Understandably, they are confused, anxious and afraid.
The question in their minds is how can we go on without you? How can we go on without our teacher, friend, and Lord? To reassure them, Jesus makes three promises. First, his separation from them is not permanent. He is going to the Father in order to prepare a place for them. Then he will come back to take them there. Second, he is one with God and one with them. “I am in the Father and the Father is in me,” Jesus tells his disciples, “And I am in you and you are in me.” As a result of this unity, he promises they will do great works, greater than any they have witnessed before. Finally, to help them keep his commandment to love God and one another, Jesus will send them a helper. This helper is the Holy Spirit. The Spirit will guide them in being his faithful disciples, just as Jesus himself has done this for them up to now.
The way John’s gospel reads, the lines between God, and Jesus and the Holy Spirit are blurred, blurred to the point of being non-existent. There is a reason for that. I will spare you the technical details of the Trinity, but suffice it to say that where one member of the Trinity is present, the others are also present. By sending the Spirit to his disciples, Jesus is assuring them of his ongoing presence even when he himself cannot be with them in person. The Spirit will then help them live life through the lens of love, just as Jesus taught them to do. That was no easy task back then.
There was oppression from without and dissension from within. The disciples, like everyone in Palestine, lived under the heavy boot of Rome. The threat of violence and the reality of poverty were everyday facts of life for them and everyone they knew. Jesus’ disciples also had to deal with internal religious conflict. The first generation of Christians were all Jewish. As their Christian identity became more distinct, conflict arose within their synagogues. Eventually this internal conflict led to their expulsion from the synagogues. This painful separation from their community of fellow Jews is the backdrop of John’s gospel. Trying to live with love under these circumstances was a supreme challenge for the early disciples. And it is no easy task for you and me today.
We, too, face a culture which condones greed and violence, and which blames poverty on the poor themselves. Even among Christians, there is a sharp divide about what Jesus calls us to do about the social, economic and political ills that plague our society, and what constitutes a faithful response. But we are to love others anyway. Christ’s command to love one another did not come with an out clause. There was no footnote that said, “You only have to love the people who agree with you.” Such love as he commands is the fruit of the Spirit within us. In other words, the Spirit within us is the power source for our love, because the Spirit is the divine presence of Christ in us. This is what John teaches his disciples when he says that God is love.
Wherever we see the power of love, we are witnessing the power of the Spirit. The power of the Spirit is the power of the presence of Jesus Christ. This was the power that Anna Ruggeri encountered when she learned more about the Casa Di Giulietta. Even though she was raised in Verona, Anna had no idea about all those letters arriving at the Casa di Giulietta. But one day, an American guest at her parents’ bed and breakfast told her about a group in town called the Juliet Club. Anna was curious, so she went to see them. She learned that the Juliet Club was founded by the local baker 30 years before. The members of the club are all volunteers. They describe themselves as Juliet’s secretaries.
They are a group of men and women of all ages. Some are single, some are married, and some are divorced. They work in teams to carefully examine each letter. Together, they decide on an appropriate response and which of them will write the reply. Each year they send 6,000 handwritten replies. Anna was so overwhelmed by the care and effort taken that she decided to volunteer. She was struck by all the different kinds of love expressed in these letters - happy love, tentative love, sad love, lost love, unrequited love. She soon realized that they are all seeking the same thing.
It is the kind of comfort that comes from a friend or loved one who truly listens, and then says “I hear you and I understand. I will be there for you and love you, no matter what.” These letters are from people seeking romantic love. The responses that Juliet’s secretaries send offer a different kind of love, a higher love. It is called agape love. It is the same kind of self-giving love that Jesus shared with us. This kind of love is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the presence of Christ that never leaves us.
And it is the same kind of self-giving love that Jesus wants us to share with each other.
May it be so.
