NOTES: 1] We're back in that upper room - again! 2] The doctrine of the 'Trinity' is not spelled out in Scripture, but deduced from passages such as this one. 3] Though we've traditionally spoken of God in the masculine (following the patriarchal party line) God, by definition, has no gender as humans do. (See v.13) 4] Try to have a look at the 'Creed of St. Athanasius', near the back of most versions of the Anglican Prayer Book. (pp.487-8 of the shorter edition of 'A Prayer Book for Australia', '95)  Unbeatable for escapism during long, boring sermons!

WARMING UP: How many sides to our personality are we aware of?

TREASURES OLD & NEW: Afterthoughts from, follow-up to last week’s Group, or since?

EXPLORING GOSPEL:

12         What kind of things do we imagine Jesus isn't able to tell the disciples at this point because they 'couldn't bear it now'? Were they able to 'bear it' any more easily on the other side of Easter?

             Two thousand years down the track, what's our level of 'bearing' what Jesus says, does, what happens to him, etc.? Are there still things we 'can't bear yet'? Such as....? How much is the 'bearing' Jesus speaks of a matter of education? growth? age? spiritual insight? wisdom? maturity?............? When will we be able to bear all this?

13-15   What do we make of Jesus saying the Spirit was going to come in some further way, when the Spirit had existed from the very beginning (cf. GEN 1:2)?

            How much is our understanding of the Spirit dependent upon God's revealing of him/her/it, & how much on our own openness to spiritual insight & growth? Do we ever feel our way of looking at / understanding the Spirit is too shallow, not as broad as it might be, or too simplistic?

            Are we comfortable, or uncomfortable with referring to God by the pronouns: 'him', 'her', or even 'it'? Given that many think of the Spirit as the 'feminine' side of God (see N.3 above), how does the Spirit's role here differ, if at all, from that of the Father & the Son? Is Jesus here saying that neither he, nor the Spirit, can operate independently of God & each other? If so, is this his way of saying that God's Oneness, God's essential Unity, is what really matters, not how we 'divide him up' in (futile?) attempts to better understand him?

            What does it mean that the Spirit will glorify Jesus by 'taking what is mine & declaring it to you'? To be honest, is Jesus here struggling to make sense of the 'Trinity' much as we do? Or is that too irreverent? Too heretical? Is all this too hard, & what we really need is a less complicated God? Is it God who's too complicated, or us?