IN Two Places at Once

In Two Places at Once

John 13:15-18

            There have been many famous farewell speeches in history.  George Washington’s farewell address is a letter written to the American people as he finished his second term as president and prepared to retire to Mount Vernon.  Another famous president, Abraham Lincoln, gave a farewell speech as he left Springfield, Illinois for his inauguration in Washington, D. C. Interesting that we remember the farewell of one man at the end of his presidency, and the leave-taking of the other at the beginning of his.

            In his address, Lincoln used the phrase, “Him who can go with me and remain with you.”  We don’t often think of our leaders bringing God into political situations in any meaningful way, but Lincoln certainly did here.

            “Him who can go with me and remain with you:”  Lincoln was asking for God’s blessing for himself as he began the duties of what was to be a difficult task—that of leading America through trying times.  He also wanted to assure his listeners that, even as God went with him, God would also remain with—and bless—them.

            In perhaps the most famous farewell address in history, Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, summed up his earthly life for his disciples and prepared them for what lay ahead.  John records Jesus’ words at length, beginning at 13:31 and carrying all the way through the 17^th chapter.    

Jesus promises that he will not leave them alone.  They don’t have to worry about his absence from them because he will send them a Comforter—a Presence who will be with them wherever they go.  I’m sure this promise didn’t mean much to them until the Day of Pentecost, when like a sudden storm the Holy Spirit burst upon the disciples, and through them upon the world.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in one of the letters he wrote from prison as he faced execution by the Nazis, said that God allowed himself to be pushed out of the world and onto the cross.  The Hebrew Scriptures are a record of God’s interaction with humankind.  We read of God’s interventions in human history, both through mighty acts of power, and through sending angels to deliver God’s words.  It’s clear, as we read through the history of God’s chosen people, that God is constantly involved with humanity.

Then, as we near the end of the Hebrew Scriptures, God seems to be personally absent.  We hear God’s words delivered by the prophets, but God doesn’t seem to be as directly involved with the people as in the past.

When we turn to the New Testament we find God present with humanity once again, this time in the person of Jesus Christ.  We see God not as a transcendent being, but as an immanent figure—God incarnate in human form.  This God, however, is limited.  Jesus can only be in one place at one time.  It seems he can move easily across space, but can’t divide himself.

This is where the Holy Spirit comes in.  After God allowed himself to be pushed out of the world and onto the cross, God was freed, through the person of the Holy Spirit, to be everywhere at once.  This is what Lincoln meant when he said “He who can go with me and remain with you.”  This is what Jesus meant when he said, “And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Helper to be with you forever.”

How wonderful to know God can always be present with us wherever we are.