“I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you …”

— John 14:18

In the midst of Jesus’ farewell discourse, we hear this promise. Yes, he is preparing his disciples for his passion in this lection. I know we are meant to focus on the promise of the Holy Spirit. And still, I find myself drawn to another part of the promise.

Jesus says he will not leave us orphaned.

Widows and orphans. There is a constant refrain throughout the Scriptures to care for widows and orphans, those who have no one to care for them, to protect them, to provide for them. In the ancient Near East and in the Roman world of Jesus’ day, society depended on relationships that ensured the vulnerable were not abandoned. Widows and orphans had no patriarch, no protector, no provider. No one to stand for them.

I suppose that is still true in some ways, though we are less intentional about it. We tend to assume it is someone else’s responsibility to care for the vulnerable.

At the same time, there is a deep current in the biblical story that God is the protector of all people. We see it in the wilderness, where God alone sustains and guards. We see it in the story of Hagar, where God meets her in her abandonment and provides. It makes me wonder about the disciples. Did they experience Jesus as protector, provider, caregiver? Do we?

I confess that I often live and lead with a kind of functional atheism. I act as if everything depends on me. Preaching, pastoral care, visits, fixing what breaks, figuring out the technology, keeping things moving. I can slip into believing that the health and future of the church rests on my shoulders.

Even as I read this week’s text, I feel that pull. Even as I hear Jesus say otherwise. Even as he promises that I am not alone, that I do not have to do it all, that there is an Advocate who abides with me.

As a faithful United Methodist, I do believe the Holy Spirit works through committees. I believe that teams are stronger, wiser, and more faithful than any one person. Now the work is to let my actions catch up with what I say I believe.

Beloved, you are not alone. The life and ministry of the church do not rest on your shoulders alone. The Holy Spirit is with us, at work in us and through us, even now.