St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Wesley Chapel, FL
Preacher: The Very Rev. Adrienne R. Hymes
Easter 6A ● May 10, 2026
Gospel: John 14:15-21
It may come as no surprise that a National Institute of Mental Health[1] study found that the thing that 73% of Americans fear—more than death, heights and spiders, is public speaking. A different survey affirmed that public speaking was indeed the number one fear of Americans. The fear of death ranked fifth, closely followed by the seventh-ranked fear of loneliness.[2] Public speaking was first place. Why is that? I suspect that the fear of appearing foolish, or saying something unpopular, touches a place of deep vulnerability within, so that many are not willing, or able, to endure the discomfort of nervousness, the sweaty palms or the glaring eyes of one’s audience.
As I ponder these statistics, I wonder if the operating fear factor is not the act of public speaking, rather the fear of abandonment by the listener should one’s publicly-spoken words be rejected. Many years ago, during my hospital chaplain residency, I conducted hundreds of patients. While people shared many moments of their lives with me, one heartbreaking theme remained consistent—the fear of abandonment and the pain of actual abandonment.
Our passage in the 14th chapter of John’s gospel today is nestled in the concluding discourse of Jesus’ last supper with his disciples. Jesus’ words within the text seems to speak to this human fear of abandonment. Jesus had already washed the disciples’ feet, foretold his betrayal and warned of his inevitable absence from them saying that he would be with them only a little while longer and gave them a new commandment: love one another as Jesus had loved them.[3] We enter into this gospel passage with Jesus’ message of reassurance to his disciples—in an uncertain time—of God’s promise of abiding presence.
As Jesus continued to foreshadow his own inevitable absence in the lives of his disciples, Jesus said to them, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments…” (v.15). A synonym for the word, commandments, is teachings. Jesus, the teacher, was instructing the disciples to pattern their lives according to his teachings and to be teachers themselves—by word and deed. Jesus expected his disciples to show their love for him by mirroring his life which was dedicated to loving God and God’s people through his public ministry of healing, preaching and teaching. Loving Jesus meant living his divine teachings. Living Jesus’ divine teachings would set in motion his intercessory request, on behalf of his disciples, for the Father’s help.
In Jesus’ absence, God would send them an advocate, the Spirit of Truth, who would spiritually abide within the disciples. I suspect that the disciples’ hearts were anxious and fearful anticipating their lives without Jesus. Jesus said two things that may have eased the disciples’ fears. First, recall that the Advocate, of whom Jesus spoke, would be with the disciples forever. So that even though they would no longer have Jesus physically with them, God’s Spirit of Truth would be with the disciples and abide (live) in them.
Second, Jesus said, “I will not leave you orphaned” (v.18). The word, orphan, is intentional. To our modern ears, the word, orphan, implies that a child has no parents—neither mother nor father.
In ancient Jewish society, the descriptor, “orphan,” referred not to the lack of parents, but specifically to the absence of a father. Jesus’ statement, “I will not leave you orphaned,” reminds us that God is not an absent Father. God is the Father of orphans[4] and is the one who, as Jeremiah said, commands the people to leave their orphans with him, and he will keep them alive (Jer 49:11). Jesus assured his disciples that if they loved him by keeping his commandments, they would never be orphans, for God is an ever-present Father.
I suspect that each one of us can relate to the disciples’ feelings of fear and helplessness as Jesus prepared them for his necessary absence. Today is Mother’s Day and as I wrote this sermon, all I could think about was my late mother’s refrain—or teaching—as a child and throughout my life, “I’m not going to be here forever,” she said. “So, pay attention. You have to learn how to survive without me.” Perhaps a similar message was explicitly spoken to you the way my mother spoke to me or the way Jesus plainly spoke to his disciples. One thing we do know: our mortal nature is a constant reminder that none of us will be here in this temporal world forever.
This gospel passage is indeed timely. We live in a world—in a society—where physical, mental, socio-economic and spiritual devastation, trigger the pain of helplessness, isolation and invisibility. This can be a hellish reality that causes so many to question whether or not God has abandoned us, and even prompts people of faith to cry out, “God, where are you? Why do you hide your face from me?” For Easter people, living in the hope of the Resurrection, the fear of being abandoned by God is inconsistent with what we believe by faith about our savior, Christ.
We need to hear today, in these uncertain times of devolving humanity, Jesus’ message of reassurance to us, his 21st century disciples, of God’s promise of God’s abiding presence. We need to hear today that God’s promised Advocate, the Spirit of Truth, abides in us and empowers us to keep putting one foot in front of the other as we walk through the dark and dangerous terrain of this world, courageously proclaiming the gospel message with God’s word as a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our paths. [5] And, we need to hear today that Jesus, the one who is the way, the truth and the life, is the divine source who makes us free.
In the meantime, we profess that Christ has died, Christ has risen and Christ will come again. And, like the child who waits with hopeful anticipation, the return of its beloved parents, we wait, also, for Christ’s promised return when we will see him face to face.
People of faith must hold each other accountable to living our baptismal covenant. We must continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship; persevere in resisting evil; proclaim the life-saving message of the gospel; and love our neighbors, all while striving for justice and peace among all people, and respecting the dignity of every human being (BCP, pp. 304-305).
Embodying our baptismal covenant, as an expression of our love for Christ, requires divine help. But, as Jesus said to his disciples at the last Supper, do not let your hearts be troubled. Be assured that the Triune God—God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit—will neither leave you nor forsake you. God is ever-present with you and abides in you. Through the courageous hearts of those who love Jesus, this sin-sick, love-starved world, which does not know God, will come to know God’s abiding, inclusive and unceasing love; it is a love that invites all and abandons none. Amen.
[1] https://nationalsocialanxietycenter.com/2017/02/20/public-speaking-and-fear-of-brain-freezes/. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
[2] https://westsidetoastmasters.com/resources/off_the_cuff/chap1.html. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
[3] John 13:34
[4] Psalm 68:5
[5] Psalm 119:5 (NKJ)
