Step into the Fire
Where in my life or my community is the Advocate already standing, and what would it mean for me to stand there too?
John 14:16-17
“...And I will ask the One who sent me to give you another Advocate — a Paraclete, a helper — to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees them nor knows them…”
On the eve of his arrest, Jesus tells his friends, “I’m sending you another Advocate.” Not a spiritual HR rep. Not someone to smooth things over and keep the peace. This Advocate, the Holy Spirit, isn’t neutral. They show up in the tension to stand with the ones being targeted.
In a world where people are detained, deported, or demonized for simply existing – as migrants, as queer folks, as poor, as “other” – we don’t need vague comfort. We need a Spirit who shows up on purpose, and on our side.
The Advocate doesn’t work for the state. They don’t take the side of empire or ease. They move toward the ones called disposable and say, “I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled.”
This is divine solidarity. The Spirit doesn’t defuse the fire—They step into it. Not to pacify, but to protect.
Where in my life or my community is the Advocate already standing, and what would it mean for me to stand there too?
—Katelin Champion