The Lectionary
text for this past week was from Jesus’ last, long conversation with his
disciples, as recorded in John. If you’re reading along in a red-letter
version, John nearly runs out of red ink in Chapters 14-17, where we have the
longest speech of Jesus recorded in the Gospels.
The emphasis on
the Paraclete,
translated as Advocate in the New Revised Standard Version that I prefer,
brought me back to my confirmation class days. I was raised in the Missouri
Synod Lutheran Church, but moved to a Baptist church when I married. It’s
interesting to me how the two traditions differ in their approach to the
Trinity.
In my formative
years spent among the Lutherans, we made more of an emphasis on the concept of
the Trinity. This is not to say that the Baptists ignore the idea, but the
Lutherans felt compelled to articulate the distinctions between the Persons of
the Trinity, and identify the work that each of the parts of the Godhead
performed or performs.
