Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time/Proper 9 (C), July 3 2022—2 Kings 5:1–14; Galatians 6:(1–6) 7–16; Luke 10:1–11, 16–20

 

Annie Vallotton: Good News Bible, 1976

2 Kings 5:1–14 

 

Unless You Change and Become Like Children

 

The unsung girl, unnamed, enslaved,

Ensured that Naaman would be saved

From what oppressed him day and night,

Despite his military might.

She spoke, which then set into motion

What made in Israel a commotion

With first, the king, then Naaman, too,

Who thought Elisha had no clue

About a high and mighty cure— 

Except, the Jordan made him pure,

With skin just like a little boy's!

Which goes to show, it took no poise,

God's healing power to portray,

Since mighty love is child's play.

 

Scott L. Barton

 

Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favor with his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy. Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, “If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” So Naaman went in and told his lord just what the girl from the land of Israel had said. And the king of Aram said, “Go then, and I will send along a letter to the king of Israel.” He went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of garments. He brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, “When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you my servant Naaman, that you may cure him of his leprosy.” When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me.” But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel.”

 

So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the  entrance of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean.” But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, “I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy! Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?” He turned and went away in a rage. But his servants approached and said to him, “Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.

 

+ + +

 

Galatians 6:(1–6) 7–16

 

More Than Theory

 

It’s clear Paul offers no prescription

For living well, like this description

Of bearing one another’s burdens,

While taking up one’s own load, certain.

 

But populations can’t be thriving

When members, each with each is striving

To be one who outdoes the other,

Or who another’s joy would smother.

 

Instead, Paul says, if Christ you’re sowing,

His love will back to you be flowing,

So, let us not in love grow weary,

For love from God is more than theory.

 

Scott L. Barton

 

My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves. All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor’s work, will become a cause for pride. For all must carry their own loads. Those who are taught the word must share in all good things with their teacher. Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest-time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith.

 

See what large letters I make when I am writing in my own hand! It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh that try to compel you to be circumcised—only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. Even the circumcised do not themselves obey the law, but they want you to be circumcised so that they may boast about your flesh. May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything! As for those who will follow this rule—peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. 

 

+  +  +

 

2 Kings 5:1–14 and Luke 10:1–11, 16–20

 

Our Salvation's Story

 

We'd love to see the glory of God's work performed outright;

Thus Naamann scoffed at what Elisha offered for his plight;

But flashy deeds and fancy baths are hardly Yahweh's style,

Instead, a God whom you might trust makes grace a thing worthwhile;

And likewise, when the seventy were jazzed at their success

At demon-casting-out, since, first, the Twelve had just been blessed,

They learned (and so might we) that flashy deeds are not God's glory,

But, rather, knowing that we're loved is our salvation's story.

 

Scott L. Barton

 

After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’ “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”

 

The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the  demons submit to us!” He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

 

 

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C), June 26, 2022—2 Kings 2:1–2 [3–5] 6–14; Galatians 5:1, 13–25; Luke 9:51–62

John August Swanson: Elijah  

https://www.johnaugustswanson.com/default.cfm/PID%3D1.2.30.2-6.html

 

2 Kings 2:1–2 [3–5] 6–14 and Luke 9:51–62

 

How Easily in Trouble

 

Elisha sure was anxious

When his master had to go,

So in the text he snaps at those

Who snidely tell him so.

 

I think that the disciples found

Themselves in such a boat,

For Jesus to Jerusalem?

His death did that connote.

 

And so when they felt dissed by those

Who would not let them in,

Their anxious hearts lashed out at such

Outrageous, blatant sin.

 

How eas’ly, when in trouble, do

We trouble only see,

But Jesus stays the course of love,

And just says, "Follow me."

 

Scott L. Barton

(The lectionary omits vss. 3-5 in the Elisha passage, but I leave it in because I think it further illustrates Elisha's anxious state of mind.)

+ + +

In the Wake of Orlando, June 12, 2016

 

Elisha, all tied up in knots

Because of what would be his lot

Without his master, snapped at those

Who seemed to magnify his woes.

 

And James and John, when Jesus' face

Was set towards danger, then embraced

Their fears, to take it out on those

Who seemed to be their master's foes.

 

What is it with a righteous zeal, 

That, armed with power, can appeal

To someone who, with bullets hurled,

Thinks he's about to change the world?

 

If we had world enough, and time,

We'd simply just decry such crimes;

But let us now do all we can

To stop the madness in each man.

 

For faith says your anxiety

Should never drive your piety.

 

Scott L. Barton

 

Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?” And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent.” Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here; for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?” And he answered, “Yes, I know; be silent.” Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on. Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.

 

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.” Elisha said, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.” He responded, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.” As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha kept watching and crying out, “Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

 

He picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, saying, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” When he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.

+ + +

When the days drew near for [Jesus] to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village.

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

 

+ + +

 

On the subject of guns and anxiety, in case you didn't see my "Bonus Poem" a few weeks ago after the Uvalde murders, here it is again:

At Least 19 Children and Two Teachers

Oh, what will Cruz and Abbott say

When they address the NRA

In Houston just two days away?

Will they give lip service to prayers

And claim they’re filled with real care

And note it’s such a sad affair—

Before they quickly move to claim

The real problem is the shame

That not enough are armed (their aim)?

Cojones? No, these Texas wimps

Called Cruz and Abbott both are chimps

Whose turpitude again we’ll glimpse.

Three hundred grand that Cruz received

From pro-gun groups show he believes

No bull’s too foul for the bereaved.

Oh, when will Texas votes replace

These pro-life clowns whose prayers debase

The lives of children now erased?

Scott L. Barton

+ + +

Galatians 5:1, 13–25

                            At 7th and Yale, Houston, Texas

 

The Fruits of the Spirit

 

How good it feels to know you’re right,

When others fail to see the light,

Who act and think in ways absurd—

And by your reasons are not stirred.

 

This feeling Paul calls “of the flesh,”

And knows how well it can enmesh

Us in a grip we can’t unwind—

By righteousness we’re then confined.

 

For freedom there is just one way,

Like tasting on some summer day

A luscious, ripe, delicious fruit—

That’s now your sweetest attribute.

 

Scott L. Barton

 

For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.

 

 

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time/Proper 7 (C), June 19, 2022—1 Kings 19:1–4 (5–7) 8–15a [15b–18]; Galatians 3:23–29; Luke 8:26–39

 

Rembrandt: Elijah on Mt. Horeb

I Kings 19:1–4 (5–7) 8–15a [15b–18]

Mendelssohn’s “Elijah,” part III

 

I had just about had it.

At the end of my rope.

Doubted I could keep going.

“It is enough! O Lord, now take away my life

For I am not better than my fathers.”

Thus Elijah sang.

Three recits and an aria to go.

Plus this one, with that long high D sharp towards the end.

Then, worried, I had a brain fart and sang a note too short.

Thought I’d blown it.

Panicked, I wondered what Stanley, conducting, would do.

He just kept smiling, because I’d lengthened the next note

Without realizing it.

Everything was okay!

And we made it through.

 

Funny how rare it is that all is lost.

 

But the best line comes next from the chorus:

“Go, return upon thy way,

For the Lord yet hath left Him seven thousand in Israel,

knees which have not bowed to Baal.

Go, return upon thy way!”

I don’t know why the lectionary omits it.

Keep it in this week.

Remind yourself, and your people,

That you—and they—are not alone.

When you’re ready to throw in the towel,

When you’re not sure you can keep singing

This faith business, this grace

That may only appear in the still, small silence,

Keep in mind those seven thousand!

And go on your way, in the strength of the Lord.

 

Scott L. Barton

 

(Stanley Romanstein was the conductor of the 1988 concert with the University/Community Chorus at St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York.)

Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, “Get up and eat.” He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, “Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.” He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.

At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” Then the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. Whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall kill; and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall kill. Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.

+ + +

Galatians 3:23–29

 

Peacetime Spree

 

Anti-Semites, here take note:

This text is no small anecdote,

But central to Paul’s wild claim

That Jews and Gentiles mean the same

To God! The law which tends to separate

Is superseded by the trait

That God in Christ broke down the walls—

By separation, Paul’s appalled!

There is no longer Jew or Greek,

No male or female, slave or free;

So, if the kingdom you would seek,

Go on a love-of-neighbor spree!

 

Scott L. Barton

Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.

 

+ + +

Luke 8:26–39

 

Be Careful What You Ask For!

 

The demons begged he not dismiss

Them back into the deep abyss;

Instead, they asked that they be sent

Into the pigs, where thus, they went;

Except the next they knew, the swine

Plunged off the cliff into the brine!

I picture Jesus, whose wry smile

Previews his Easter laughing style,

While evil, still, he takes to task:

“You, too, watch out for what you ask!”

 

Scott L. Barton

 

Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me”— for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss. Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.

 

Lectionary Poems, Year C

 

I still have copies of Lectionary Poems, Year C: Even More Surprising Grace for Pulpit and Pew, which has all these poems for the year, 150 of them, including seven new hymn texts, with two indices of scriptural references and titles. It's available from Wipf and Stock, Amazon, or, the least expensive, from me, signed and inscribed, for only $11 (which includes tax) and $3.19 postage. Check or Venmo. Write me at scott.l.barton[at sign]gmail[dot com]!  —S.L.B. 

Trinity Sunday/First Sunday after Pentecost (C), June 12, 2022—Proverbs 8:1–4, 22–31; Romans 5:1–5; John 16:12–15

 

 

                                                Unidentified stonemason

                            Rego du Tomond, Santiago de Compostela, Spain

                       http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56146

 

Proverbs 8:1–4, 22–31

 

All This Mommixity and Foofaraw

 

"All this mommixity and foofaraw,"

The book I'm reading said about a place*

Where people of all nations and all stripes

Once lived in harmony, all interlaced.

 

It was so cosmopolitan you could

Not let yourself be proud, too serious,    

But rather, see the humor in each day,

That none might find themselves imperious.

 

Pride has its place; and yet anxiety,

When stoked, can fan a fire, and heartache give;

Instead, rejoice in neighbors, and delight—

True wisdom's cry still comes—so all may live.

 

Oh, who can understand "The Trinity?"

Be honest, does it baffle or confuse?

All doctrine, Christian, Muslim, Jewish, too,

Still points to peace and joy it's wise to choose.

 

Scott L. Barton

 

(*Istanbul, in Louis de Bernières: Birds Without Wings, Vintage, 2005)

 

Does not wisdom call,

and does not understanding raise her voice?

On the heights, beside the way,

at the crossroads she takes her stand;

beside the gates in front of the town,

at the entrance of the portals she cries out:

“To you, O people, I call,

and my cry is to all that live.

 

The Lord created me at the beginning of his work,

the first of his acts of long ago.

Ages ago I was set up,

at the first, before the beginning of the earth.

When there were no depths I was brought forth,

when there were no springs abounding with water.

Before the mountains had been shaped,

before the hills, I was brought forth—

when he had not yet made earth and fields,

or the world’s first bits of soil.

When he established the heavens, I was there,

when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,

when he made firm the skies above,

when he established the fountains of the deep,

when he assigned to the sea its limit,

so that the waters might not transgress his command,

when he marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside him, like a master worker;

and I was daily his delight,

rejoicing before him always,

rejoicing in his inhabited world

and delighting in the human race.

 

+ + +

 

Romans 5:1–5

 

Since We Are Justified By Faith

 

Since we are justified by faith,

We are at peace, through Christ, our Lord,

That is, he shows that grace is ours

And hope of glory, our reward;

Why boast in hope—or suffering?

Well, it's for others, don't you see?

God's glory means God gives, and gives,

And even suffers, willingly—

Endures although endangered—that's

The character we might impart,

When through the Holy Spirit, God

Keeps pouring love into our hearts.

 

Scott L. Barton

 

(The phrase, "Endures although endangered" is from Thomas John Carlisle’s poem Ad Infinitum, in Invisible Harvest, W. B. Eerdmans, 1987.  http://lectionarypoems.blogspot.com/2013/03/resurrection-of-lord-march-31-2013-luke.html)

 

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

 

+ + +

 

John 16:12–15

 

The Truth

 

“I still have many things to say to you,

but you can’t bear them now;”

Perhaps you were once told this sort of thing

When age would not allow

The ones who loved you, then, to tell the truth,

And cause you young distress;

But later, with more confidence in love,

You would their kindness bless.

 

Thus, Jesus knew the truth that can’t be known

Until, although bereft, our fear’s o’erthrown

When Christ, who knew the Father’s love, but died,

Still by the Spirit with us yet abides.

 

Scott L. Barton

 

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you...."