Why is it better?
Jesus says it is better for us that he leaves so the Spirit can come. Why did he have to leave for the Spirit to come? And why is that better? To be honest, it doesn't seem better to me; I think I would rather have Jesus physically present. I've always heard the reason this is better is that Jesus could only be in one place, but the Spirit can be with all of us all the time around the world. Sort of like when Obi-wan dies, it makes it easier for him to get around to wherever Luke needs him. I think it has got to be more than that. I don't really understand what Christian Community is all about, but it seems to be a topic that is coming to me a lot lately. What if the benefit of the Spirit is not that we all get our own personalized, individual Jesus-presence, but rather that we all corporately, in community, become one giant new Jesus-presence? That would fit in better with Jesus' prayer in the next chapter: that the Father would make us all One, the way he and the Father are One.
