I will send the advocate to you

Introduction
The life of Christ which the community of Christ leads and the mentality of Christ alive is in the Church, will bear witness against the world as far as it is still unredeemed and full of evil. The world accuses Christ to be a sinner, finds him guilty in its trial as an unjust man and condemns him. But who is the sinner? Who is found guilty? Who is condemned? Not Christ but the world. Who will prove this? The Spirit of Christ alive in the Church. If the Church lives the life of the just Christ, the works of the world will stand out as unjust, and the life of Christ led by Christians will be a condemnation of the world and its powers of evil.

1 Reading ACTS 16:22-34
The crowd in Philippi joined in the attack on Paul and Silas,
and the magistrates had them stripped
and ordered them to be beaten with rods.
After inflicting many blows on them,
they threw them into prison
and instructed the jailer to guard them securely.
When he received these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell
and secured their feet to a stake.

About midnight, while Paul and Silas were praying
and singing hymns to God as the prisoners listened,
there was suddenly such a severe earthquake
that the foundations of the jail shook;
all the doors flew open, and the chains of all were pulled loose.
When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open,
he drew his sword and was about to kill himself,
thinking that the prisoners had escaped.
But Paul shouted out in a loud voice,
“Do no harm to yourself; we are all here.”
He asked for a light and rushed in and,
trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas.
Then he brought them out and said,
“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus
and you and your household will be saved.”
So they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to everyone in his house.
He took them in at that hour of the night and bathed their wounds;
then he and all his family were baptized at once.
He brought them up into his house and provided a meal
and with his household rejoiced at having come to faith in God.

Responsorial Psalm 138:1-2AB, 2cde-3, 7c-8
R. (7c) Your right hand saves me, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.

I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple,
and give thanks to your name.
R.

Because of your kindness and your truth,
you have made great above all things
your name and your promise.
When I called, you answered me;
you built up strength within me.
R.

Your right hand saves me.
The LORD will complete what he has done for me;
your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
forsake not the work of your hands.
R.

Alleluia John 16:7, 13
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I will send to you the Spirit of truth, says the Lord;
he will guide you to all truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel John 16:5-11
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Now I am going to the one who sent me,
and not one of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’
But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts.
But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go.
For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you.
But if I go, I will send him to you.
And when he comes he will convict the world
in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation:
sin, because they do not believe in me;
righteousness, because I am going to the Father
and you will no longer see me;
condemnation, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.”

Commentary:
“It is better for you that I go away.” It is hard to believe that Jesus’s going away is a better option for me than his staying put. But Jesus is pretty clear on it. If he goes away, then he will send the Holy Spirit, the Helper, whose gifts and fruit(s) will help the disciples to mature in faith and witness to Christ. It is not unlike the wise parents who know when to withdraw their physical presence, yet offer spiritual support to their children so that they will grow into maturity and rely on their inner convictions more than on external nurturing.
In our lives, when we are confronted by a seeming absence of Christ beside us, let us not panic. It is better that he remains hidden so that we will learn to rely on his Spirit, and mature in faith.

Blessing
Christ gives the Holy Spirit to guide each of us and the whole Church in the ways of the Gospel. He will help us to bring the Gospel to the world by making us understand the message of Christ and giving us the discernment and the strength to communicate it to the world of today. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!