Pentecost C, 2025

Text: John 14:23-31

Title: Troubled and Afraid

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“Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”  These are Jesus’ words to His disciples, and they are His words to you, too.

Jesus spoke these words to the disciples at the Last Supper, just before He was arrested and crucified. 

Imagine all that caused these disciples to be troubled and fearful on that fateful night.  Their Lord and master, their teacher and their friend told them that He was about to go away, that He would be leaving them.

He told them that He was about to be betrayed by one of them, handed over and killed by His enemies.

That knew that if Jesus was in danger, they were, too. 

I’m sure that I would be troubled by this.  I’m sure that I would be afraid.

What troubles you?  What makes you afraid?

This world for “troubled” here means something like “stirred up” “agitated.”  Think about that feeling that you get when you are nervous or anxious or worried about something.

Your heart starts to beat more quickly.  Your breathing may become more rapid and shallow.  You feel your stomach churning.

Your body reacts when you are stressed out, worried, and anxious. It’s troubled.

That’s what this word means- all stirred up.

And then the word for “afraid” is not the normal word used for fear, like when someone is terrified of something really scared out of their wits. 

This word that Jesus uses here means something like “cowardly.” It’s when you’re afraid to do something that you know you should because you are paralyzed by fear. 

It’s not an impossible task.  You shouldn’t be afraid.  You can do it.  But you’re just too scared to try.

So, what troubles your heart?  What makes you afraid to act?

Sometimes we are troubled and afraid for ourselves.  We face an uncertain future.  We have a medical test coming up.  We are facing a new situation at school or at work.  We live in a changing world, and sometimes just being a part of it can make us troubled and fearful.  

As a pastor, I’m often afraid I will do or say the wrong thing. Especially when it comes to people outside of the church, and most often with people who have fallen away and stopped coming to church.  I’m afraid that I might say the wrong thing, that I might offend them or push them away even more.  And so often I just don’t say anything.

Sometimes, we are troubled and afraid for other people, the people we love.  We are afraid and nervous on their behalf.  We worry about them because we care about them and want the best for them. As a father, I’m often troubled and afraid for my children.  I’m afraid for the world that they will be growing up in, a world in which the Christian worldview is sometimes ignored, and sometimes ridiculed or openly opposed by more and more people.

In the midst of our troubles and our fear, Jesus says, “Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

Now it’s not always the best idea to simply tell someone to stop feeling a certain way. 

If I were just to tell you.  “Don’t be afraid.  Don’t be nervous.  Don’t worry.” That wouldn’t stop you from feeling that way, would it?  In fact, it might even make things worse because you now feel bad for the way that you feel.

But Jesus doesn’t just tell you to stop feeling troubled or afraid. These words are wrapped in His promise to send the Holy Spirit.

Yes, He’s going away.  He is about to die.  And even after He rises again, He is not with the disciples in the same way that He once was. There’s no going back to the days of strolling around Galilee, healing the sick and teaching the multitudes.

Yes, He will still be with them, but Jesus knows that they will still be troubled, that His disciples will have to deal with their own cowardice.

And so, He promises to send them the Holy Spirit.

And He kept that promise on the Day of Pentecost.  He sent the Holy Spirit upon them. 

They had been nervous and afraid, hiding in locked rooms because the didn’t want to die the same way that Jesus did.

But once they receive the Holy Spirit, they are changed.  The fear is gone.  They are out there on the streets, proclaiming all that Jesus had done. 

As you keep reading the book of Acts, you’ll notice that the disciples are troubled and afraid.  They are certainly not cowardly.  They speak before the people and the rulers of their day.  They face imprisonment, beatings, and even death.  And this is all because of the Holy Spirit’s work in them.

Jesus doesn’t just say, “Buck up!  Don’t be a coward!  Don’t be a scaredy-pants!” 

He gives His disciples His Holy Spirit. 

The gospel lesson for today refers to the Holy Spirit as “The Helper.”

This word is very hard to translate.  Sometimes it’s translated as “comforter.”  Other times it’s “advocate” or “counselor.”   Sometimes it’s just left untranslated as “paraclete.”

The word paraclete means someone who has been called alongside you. Someone who is with you to guide you, to assist you, to travel with you.  The word itself doesn’t really indicate why they are next you, it just says that they will be there with you.

It is often used in legal situation to refer to your advocate or your lawyer, one who stands with you in the face of trial and speaks on your behalf.

The point is this- Jesus takes away your fear, your troubledness, your anxiety, your cowardice by sending the Spirit to be with you.

Often all it takes to make you less fearful is to have someone with you, to have someone you know and love alongside you- when you go to the doctor, when you go to a new school, when you face something scary, having that person there with you can make all the difference. 

And how is that Holy Spirit with you?  What does Jesus promise?  He says that He will be with you as you keep His Word.

The Holy Spirit works through God’s Word.  If you want the Holy Spirit, listen to His Word.

Are you feeling troubled and afraid?  Are you feeling nervous and anxious?

The answer is to listen to God’s Word, here at church, at home, in Bible Study, wherever you are, whenever you feel troubled and afraid. That is how the Holy Spirit will be with you, alive in you.

The biggest source of trouble and fear in us comes through sin. We are afraid because of our guilt. We are afraid to repent.  We are cowards when it comes to confession.

But this is where the Holy Spirit does His best and proper work. He reminds us of the forgiveness that is ours through Jesus’ death.  And He is with us even through our own death, reminding us of the promise of eternal life we have through Jesus’ resurrection. 

No need to be troubled.  No need to be afraid.  Not even of death itself.  Jesus has done the job.  He has died, rose, and ascended.  And now He sends His Holy Spirit to you through His Holy Word as your comforter, your helper, your advocate, your companion through all of life’s journey.

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