John 16:12-15
12 I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. 13 He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”
There’s So Much More to Say
Could there be a better confirmation passage than the one we read in our Gospel today? Jesus says to his disciples:
“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.”[1]
You’ve spent almost every Thursday with me for the last 2 years and you know how in the last month or two I’ve been panicking: “There’s not enough time! There’s still so much to get through! We’ve got to try as hard as we can to get as much in as we can!” I don’t know that I have ever been able to commiserate with Jesus as much as I am when I hear him say,
“I have much more to say to you.”[2]
Of course, if I just opened the floodgates and let loose a non-stop flow of everything I think you should know, not only would we still be here a week from now, but there is no way you could possibly retain it all. It’d be like trying to drink from a firehose.
“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.”[3]
There are things that you’re not ready for yet. There are experiences that you haven’t had yet. And until you do, there are passages and doctrines in Scripture that you can’t understand yet. I’m a pastor! I’ve gone through 12 years of focused theological training. My full-time job is to think about these things all day every day, and there are still so many things that I don’t understand and may never understand.
“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.”[4]
Those are the words we heard Jesus say in John 16. He spoke these words to his disciples in the upper room on the night before he died. He still had so much more to say to them, but he still let the Jews take him away from them, and take his life from him. He still had so much more to say to them, but what he had been able to say to them was enough for them. There was still so much more growth left for them to do, but they had already come such a long way. I could say the same thing about you.
Dean, when I first met you, you were a goofy kid who was still figuring out how to use those gangly limbs of yours. It seemed like you were in a cast every six months. I think it was one of the first Sundays I was here, you made me spill my coffee almost all over myself because you were carelessly careening around the corner chasing after one of the other kids. Now you’re a very thoughtful and considerate young man, whose care for other people is evident and obvious.
Barbara, I think I went the first 2 years of my acquaintance with you without hearing your voice. Even when you did talk, it was so quiet. But now when I hear what you have to say, and the skill with which you’ve memorized Bible passages and catechism explanations, I thank God for the voice he gave you – a voice that has insight and understanding.
There’s still so much growth left for you to do, but you’ve both come a long way, and much more than that, you won’t go the rest of the way alone. You’ll have a pastor and fellow church members, but above all, you’ll have the promise Jesus gave his disciples:
“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.”[5]
That’s what these last two years have been all about – opening your eyes to see more and more of the truth, giving the Holy Spirit more and more opportunities to speak into your heart as we open his Word. That’s why, as painful as it often felt, I asked you to memorize Bible passages and catechism entries, so that the truth wouldn’t always be something you have seek out, but so that the truth could live in your heart and always be just a memory away.
You’ve come a long way. You’ve done a lot of good work, but the work doesn’t end today. Confirmation class may be over, but your walk in the Christian faith is only just beginning. There is still so much truth that you need to hear. There is still so much growth that you need to experience. There is still so much work for you to do. But today is not all about the work that you have done or need to continue to do. It’s about the work that God has done and continues to do for you.
Since it’s Trinity Sunday, and since I asked you to memorize the Apostles’ Creed for today, let’s take it an article at a time to remember what God has and will continue to do for you.
I believe in God the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
The first person of the Trinity is God the Father. We confess him to be almighty – or, if you prefer the fancy Greek word, omnipotent. He made all that exists in six, 24-hour days with nothing but his word. The sun, moon, and stars, the land, sea, and sky, every living thing from plant to animal to human – they were all created by God the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
But the Father didn’t stop working after the sixth day. He is not reclining on a Barcalounger in heaven passively watching as the world turns. He is still active in preserving the world, providing you with your daily bread. We just talked about this a couple weeks ago. Think about all the cogs in the vast machine that God created to put food on your table every day: your parents who provide for you, their employers who pay them, the grocers, the truck drivers, the farmers, the fertile fields and the rain in its season. God put all these in place for you.
There is so much more to say to you about the first person of the Trinity, i.e. about your Father in heaven, but what you already know is enough to lay a foundation for you. He created you. He preserves and provides for you. He protects you.
I can’t even begin to tell you the dangers and fears and anxieties you will face throughout your life. Even if I could, I don’t think I’d want to, because it would be more than you could bear right now. But I can tell you that your almighty Father in heaven loves you and cares for you. He created you. He preserves and provides for you. He protects you. Trust in him. Rely on him.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
The second person of the Trinity is God the Son, or, to use the one-word answer that works for every question in confirmation class, he is Jesus. You just recited his life story. We celebrate his life story for half the year every year from Christmas to Easter.
He is the Son of God from all eternity, who existed long before he was born. But when he saw your sin from his throne in heaven, he left his glory and majesty behind and became like you – a human being in flesh and blood, subject to the same temptations, exposed to the same dangers and fears – but better than you – perfect, sinless, holy in every thought, word, and deed every day of his life, until his death on a cross, where he forgave your sin and opened heaven to you.
There is so much more to say to you about the second person of the Trinity, i.e. about your Saviour Jesus, but what you already know is enough to lay a foundation for you. He loved you enough to die for you. He saved you by forgiving you. He’ll come back to take you home to be with him forever in heaven.
I can’t even begin to tell you all the ways that you will continue to sin against him, or the guilt and shame you will carry. Even if I could, I don’t think I’d want to, because it would be more than you could bear right now. But I can tell you that your Savior loves you and cares for you. He died on a cross to save you. He forgave your sin. He still forgives your sin. Rest in him. Find relief in him and rejoice in your salvation.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The third person of the Trinity is God the Holy Spirit. He’s the one who, as Jesus promises, will guide you into all the truth. He’s the one who will be with you no matter where your life takes you. If your family moves away, or if I do, and I am no longer your pastor, the Holy Spirit will still speak to you through God’s Word no matter who your pastor is. If you go off to university on the other side of the country where you don’t even have your family around you, the Holy Spirit will still be with you through the Scriptures and the sacraments.
The Holy Spirit’s work is called sanctification. He’s the one who created faith in your hearts. He’s the one who made a home in your heart at your baptism. He’s the one who sustains and strengthens faith in you through your continued use of his means of grace.
There is so much more to say to you about the third person of the Trinity, i.e. about the Holy Spirit, but what you already know is enough to lay a foundation for you. He ignited the spark of faith in your heart, and he fans it into flame. He is with you always and will teach you how to apply God’s will to your life.
I can’t even begin to tell you all the doubts and questions and crises of conscience you will have. Even if I could, I don’t think I’d want to, because it would be more than you could bear right now. But I can tell you that the Holy Spirit loves you and cares for you. He breathed life into you through the Word of God, he keeps your heart of faith beating through his means of grace. He guides you into all the truth. Learn from him and lean on him for faith and for life.
“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.”[6]
But I thank God for you, for the work that he has done and continues to do for you, for the Holy Spirit he promises you, and for faith that will guide you into all the truth. God go with you and create in you an insatiable hunger to hear more – not from me, not today, but from your God, every day for the rest of your time of grace. Amen.
[1] John 16:12
[2] Ibid
[3] Ibid
[4] Ibid
[5] Ibid
[6] Ibid