Years ago my dear grandmother died.

We had a very special relationship. It included cooking, traveling, and learning French together. When she died it was as if a limb had been removed from me.  I was sad and empty.

Those around me sensed this. And they responded with phone calls, cards, visits, even a few small gifts. And I felt better. They had comforted me.  Mind you, my grandmother was still dead – the situation had not changed.  But now I felt stronger. I had been strengthened– and I could move on.

In this Sunday’s gospel Jesus talks about the Holy Spirit in terms like this.

Here we learn the Holy Spirit’s job is to comfort – or to provide strength that’s needed in times of distress so that we might be able to go on. I think we can all point to periods in our lives when this was the case.  I think God wants us to know that the hand of comfort, be it through friends, family, or a peacefulness in our hearts, is the Spirit at work.

For those of us going through distress this is important to know. For those of us who are not, it is a reminder that our job as agents of the Spirit, is to comfort others.  We may come to church seeking comfort, but we may also come to be reminded of our roles as comforters.