The Promise of the Holy Spirit

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The Promise of the Holy Spirit

Herb Montgomery | May 8, 2026

If you’d like to listen to this week’s article in podcast version click on the image below:

Our reading this week is from the gospel of John.

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.

“I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.” (John 14:15-21)

Our reading this week begins with Jesus’ words, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” I can appreciate the intent of this saying. It attempts to shift the idea of love from sentiment into lived, embodied practice and  intentional choices. Love is not reduced to belief, personal devotion, or worship but demonstrated through action. In the context of Jesus’ teachings on justice, this statement takes on a deeply communal and ethical dimension. To love Jesus is to align oneself with the values that shaped his life: compassion, inclusion, honoring the humanity of the other, and restoring those pushed to the margins.

So Jesus’ commandments are not abstract rules but expressions of relational justice. They call for feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, confronting systems that dehumanize, and standing in solidarity with the oppressed. In this sense, obedience is not about rigid moralism but about participating in the healing of the world. Love becomes visible in how we treat the most vulnerable among us.

Following Jesus, then, makes justice more than an optional extension of faith. Practicing justice is one of faith’s clearest expressions. When communities organize for living wages in the midst of dramatic inflation, when communities challenge racial or gender inequities, when communities advocate for LGBTQ inclusion or to protect our environment, they are enacting the kind of love Jesus describes. They are “keeping” his commandments in ways that transform both individuals and systems.

Importantly, this kind of love requires courage. It often places people at odds with dominant cultural or religious norms, just as Jesus himself was. Yet the call remains. Love that is faithful to Jesus cannot remain passive in the face of injustice. It must move, speak, and act. Ultimately, Jesus’ words invite us to redefine devotion, belief, and worship. To love him is not merely to affirm him, but to live as he lived, participating in the work of justice, mercy, and collective liberation.

Next in our reading, Jesus promises that the Father will send the Spirit as an Advocate to be with his followers. The word “Advocate” (paraklētos) carries legal, relational, and communal meaning. It means one who stands alongside, speaks on behalf of, defends, and strengthens. In the context of social justice, this image becomes profoundly relevant.

An advocate is most needed where there is injustice—where voices are silenced, where systems marginalize, where truth is distorted. Jesus’ promise of the Spirit signals that the work of confronting injustice does not end with him; it continues through a community empowered to embody the Divine’s solidarity with the oppressed in an unjust world. The Spirit is not distant or abstract but present in the struggle, aligning with those who are oppressed and equipping others to stand with them.

This reframes justice as more than human effort or moral aspiration and as participation in the ongoing work of the Spirit. When communities organize for equity, when they tell hard truths about injustice, when they defend the dignity of those excluded, they echo the role of the Advocate. The Spirit leads into truth, not only personal truth, but also social truth that exposes systems that harm and calls for transformation.

At the same time, the Spirit as Advocate challenges comfort. Advocacy is rarely neutral; it involves taking sides, often at a cost. Advocacy is standing on the side of those being marginalized, excluded, and harmed. To receive the Spirit is to be drawn into courageous action, to speak when silence would be easier, and to remain present when others turn away.

Lastly, the Advocate sustains hope. Justice work can be exhausting, marked by setbacks and resistance. The promise of the Spirit assures that this work is not carried alone. There is a sustaining presence that renews our courage, deepens our compassion, and continually calls us back to love expressed through justice.

In this way, the Spirit as Advocate is both comfort and commission. As Jesus followers, the 

Spirit as Advocate empowers a faithful, justice-seeking community to stand alongside the vulnerable and to persist in the work of social transformation as we work together to shape our world into a safe, compassionate, just home for all.

Next, in our reading, Jesus promises, “I will not leave you orphaned.” This speaks directly to experiences of abandonment, vulnerability, and disconnection that the early Jesus community had to face. To be “orphaned” is not only a personal condition but also a social one. Communities pushed to the margins, stripped of power, and denied belonging often live in a state of systemic orphanhood. Jesus’ words resist this reality and declare that abandonment is not the final truth.

“I am coming to you” refers to how much Jesus’ presence meant to the Johannine community of John’s gospel. To them, Jesus was not a distant, abstract presence, but One who stood in solidarity with them. This challenged any spirituality that was tempted to withdraw from others who are also suffering. Jesus’ promise calls us to a solidarity that, as Jesus modeled, draws near to those who are excluded and vulnerable. Justice begins not with detached solutions, but with incarnational proximity.

Then, when Jesus says, “because I live, you also will live,” he ties our life to his own resurrection. This is a vision of flourishing that stands in contrast to systems that crucify. Jesus’ resurrection was not simply about coming back to life but a response to an imperial cross. We are called to participate in this resurrection life, to dismantle structures that produce death-dealing conditions, and to cultivate systems where all can truly live and thrive.

Finally, Jesus’ words, “you in me, and I in you” reveals a profound interconnectedness. This mutual connection dismantles our tendencies to separate and dehumanize. If Jesus is present within each person, then injustice against anyone is a violation of Jesus too. “Inasmuch as you have done it to the least of these, you have done it to me.” In John’s gospel, following this connected Jesus calls us to see Jesus in every person. Each of us is connected to one another and in a shared life.

As we wrap up our discussion on this week’s reading we are once again brought to love being framed not as sentiment or belief alone but as embodied practice: “They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me” shifts the focus from internal devotion to lived commitment. In the context of following Jesus in the work of justice in our world today, this becomes a powerful ethical lens: love is measured by what we do, how we respond to injustice, how we treat the marginalized, and how we participate in repairing the things that are broken in our world.

Keeping these commandments is not about rigid rule-following but about aligning one’s life with the values we see the Jesus of our gospel stories consistently taught, values such as compassion, solidarity, mercy, and justice. To “keep” these is to enact them in real, material, concrete ways. It means advocating for those whose humanity is denied, confronting systems that perpetuate harm, and building communities rooted in equity and care for one another. Love, in this sense, becomes public and political, and not confined to private spirituality.

The promise that “those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them” is a paradigm within the Johannine community that suggests a reciprocal, relational dynamic. As people engage in justice work are grounded in love, they come to experience a deeper awareness of the Divine. This revelation is encountered in the faces of those we work alongside in solidarity with, in acts of courage, and in collective movements for liberation. The presence of Jesus takes form in the struggle for justice itself.

This passage also challenges performative or superficial approaches to justice. It is not enough to claim love or alignment with a cause. The call is to sustained, faithful action. Love that keeps commandments is persistent, even when the work is difficult, slow, or costly. It resists apathy and refuses neutrality in the face of oppression. And the promise of being loved and accompanied also offers sustenance. Justice work can be exhausting and disheartening, but this passage roots that labor in deeper relationship. It reminds practitioners that they are not alone; their work participates in a larger movement of Divine love unfolding in the world.

Ultimately, this teaching in the gospel of John reframes justice work as a spiritual practice. To love is to act, and to act in love is to encounter the Divine. The work of justice is not separate from faith. It is one of the primary ways that love becomes visible, transformative, and real.

Discussion Group Questions

1. Share something that spoke to you from this week’s podcast episode with your discussion group.

2. How is this week’s reading informing your own justice work? Share and discuss with your group.

3. What can you do this week, big or small, to continue setting in motion the work of shaping our world into a safe, compassionate, just home for everyone? 

Thanks for checking in with us, today.

I want to say a special thank you to all of our supporters out there. And if you would like to join them in supporting Renewed Heart Ministries’ work you can do so by going to renewedheartministries.com and clicking donate. 

My latest book Finding Jesus: A Fundamentalist Preacher Discovers the Socio-Political and Economic Teachings of the Gospels is available now on Amazon in paperback, Kindle and also on Audible in audio book format.

As always, you can find Renewed Heart Ministries each week on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram and Meta’s Threads. If you haven’t done so already, please follow us on your chosen social media platforms for our daily posts. 

If you’d like to reach us here at Renewed Heart Ministries through email, you can reach us at info@renewedheartministries.com.

Right where you are, keep living in love, choosing compassion, taking action, and working toward justice.

I love each of you dearly,

I’ll see you next week.

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New Episode of The Social Jesus Podcast

A podcast where we talk about the intersection of faith and social justice and what a first century, prophet of the poor from Galilee might have to offer us today in our work of love, compassion and justice. 

This week:

Season 3 Episode 20: The Promise of the Holy Spirit

John 14:15-21

Our reading also challenges performative or superficial approaches to justice. It is not enough to claim love or alignment with a cause. The call is to sustained, faithful action. Love that keeps commandments is persistent, even when the work is difficult, slow, or costly. It resists apathy and refuses neutrality in the face of oppression. And the promise of being loved and accompanied also offers sustenance. Justice work can be exhausting and disheartening, but this passage roots that labor in deeper relationship. It reminds practitioners that they are not alone; their work participates in a larger movement of Divine love unfolding in the world. Ultimately, this teaching in the gospel of John reframes justice work as a spiritual practice. To love is to act, and to act in love is to encounter the Divine. The work of justice is not separate from faith. It is one of the primary ways that love becomes visible, transformative, and real.

Available on all major podcast carriers and at:

https://the-social-jesus-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/the-promise-of-the-holy-spirit

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Finding Jesus: A Fundamentalist Preacher Discovers the Socio-Political & Economic Teachings of the Gospels.

 

by Herb Montgomery

Available now on Amazon!

In Finding Jesus, author Herb Montgomery delves into the profound and often overlooked political dimensions of the gospels. Through meticulous analysis of biblical texts, historical context, and social discourse, this thought-provoking book unveils the gospels’ socio-political, economic teachings as rooted in a profound concern for justice, compassion, and the well-being of the marginalized. The book navigates the intersections between faith and societal justice, presenting a compelling argument for a more socially engaged and transformative Christianity.

Finding Jesus is not just a scholarly exploration; it is a call to action. It challenges readers to reevaluate their understanding of Christianity’s role in public life and to consider how the radical teachings of the gospels can inspire a renewed commitment to justice, equality, and compassion. This book is a must-read for those seeking a deeper understanding of the social implications of Christian faith and a blueprint for building a more just and inclusive society.

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