oleh : Albertus M. Patty
It is said that we live in an age of development. Roads are being built, strategic projects are being announced, figures are being displayed, and speeches about progress are being sung like bedtime songs. Strangely, in many homes, people hold their breath as they calculate the skyrocketing prices of basic necessities, the delayed installments, and the increasingly scarce jobs. Elsewhere, farmers stare at their ancestral land in bewilderment: yesterday it was a rice paddy, today it is a project marker. The forest, which for hundreds of years has been a nourishing mother, has suddenly been renamed a “strategic area.” Apparently, in modern vocabulary, losing a home can be called an investment, and losing land can be called a future.
*Paraclete*
In a world like this, Jesus’ words about the Holy Spirit sound unusual. He calls the Holy Spirit the Paraclete—the One called to stand beside you. The God who is present with you (John 14:16).
It’s funny to imagine that if the Holy Spirit followed our bureaucratic logic today, this would be what would happen. When ordinary people come to us anxiously because their children are unemployed, the price of basic necessities has risen, or their land has been cleared, the Holy Spirit will respond: “Please fill out the form first, attach a photocopy of your suffering, and then wait six months for the verification process.” Fortunately, the Gospel does not speak of the Holy Spirit as a heavenly administrative officer.
The Paraclete means God who comes near. Not a God who is apathetic and ignorant of human suffering. Nor is it a God who says from afar, “Good luck.” Instead, God is present, standing right beside those who are afraid, anxious, frustrated, and on the verge of losing hope.
When the disciples hid in a locked room out of fear, Jesus didn’t scold them for their lack of faith. He was present. He accompanied and stood by them. He said, “Peace be with you.” Then the Spirit was breathed. The meaning is simple but radical: before telling people to stay strong, God first accompanies the vulnerable.
The problem is that churches sometimes prefer comfortable buildings to community. We are so adept at talking about the Holy Spirit as a heavenly fire, but we are less interested in being a shoulder to cry on. The Spirit is spoken of in spectacular language, but the neighbor who lost his job is left to face his fears alone.
*Becoming a Paracletic Church*
Today’s church needs to repent from the temptation to become an exclusive spiritual club and become a paracletic community, a community that stands beside those whose lives are fractured, broken, anxious, and frustrated.
Please, remember this: the paracletic church is not the most magnificent church, but rather a church that is present. It is present in the homes of people threatened with eviction. It is present for families struggling to pay for their children’s school fees. It is present among farmers, laborers, and indigenous peoples who have lost their land and forests. It is present for those anxious about their economic future.
It turns out that the Holy Spirit does not primarily make people speak in tongues that most people don’t understand, but rather enables people to speak the language of their neighbors’ suffering. Therefore, amidst this nation’s multiple crises, the greatest miracle of the Holy Spirit is not making the church shout “Hallelujah” even louder, but rather making the church bold enough to say to the trembling people:
*”We are here. We will walk with you. You are not alone.”*
That is the Paraclete. God is present with you. And the church? She is called to echo the presence of God, who accompanies and defends the vulnerable.
Bandung,
May 23, 2026
