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you

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My great-grandfather was an orphan

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at four years of age.  His parents

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both died of accidental poisoning

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and his two older brothers

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and one sister died before him

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as infants;

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and his baby brother died from the same poisoning as

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the parents.

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There were no other family members

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in Australia.

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So he was really alone.

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Had it not been for his father's friends Robert and

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Mary Armstrong who had no family

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of their own,

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he would have had no one.

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But they took him in;

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into their home,

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cared for him, raised him as

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if he were their own son and

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ultimately left their home and

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property to him.

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So Gilbert Huntersmith was never alone.

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He was loved unconditionally as if

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he were their own child.

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Aware of His impending crucifixion, Jesus

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was also concerned for His

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friends.

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He promised to be with His followers; promised

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to come to them; to let

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them know that He would not be - they would

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not be alone.

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He was really concerned for them. I will ask

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the Father and He will give you another advocate.

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Or in some translations - comforter

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or helper or

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counselor,

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who will be with you forever.

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This is the spirit of truth.

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He abides with you,

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and He will be

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in you.

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I will not leave you orphaned, I

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am coming to you He said.

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The plight of an orphan has been affirmed for

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us in the tragedy that the earthquakes created

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in Turkey and Syria,

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where thousands have lost their lives and

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many small children have been rescued from

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ruined buildings and collapsed units.

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We have seen on television how many have lost

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all of their family.

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The stories from that area are terrifying.

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And there are other areas in our world

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where little children have been left homeless and

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without parents.

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Even in our own country and particularly among our

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indigenous Australians.

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So we have a picture of what what Jesus

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was talking about when He said I

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will not leave you orphaned,

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I am coming to you.

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In the communities in which we live there are

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many who live alone -

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single people, divorced people,

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we know people,

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old, young people - some very

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young.

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To all Jesus says -

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I will not leave you alone. I will

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come to you.

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Now in the presence of His inner group

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of friends and companions, He is preparing them

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for the time when He will

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no longer be the one who was seen giving

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them comfort and support.

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So He gives them a word of hope.

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I will not leave you orphaned, I am

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coming to you, He said.

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The promise of Jesus to His followers is very

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clear.

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But it was not always so clear to them

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as it is to us who can read the

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story in the Gospel of John 14 and

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ponder over its meaning.

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We know that Jesus has come alive again

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in the resurrection and that He

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meets regularly with those who love

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Him.

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Here we see Jesus caring for His inner circle

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of friends who have the most to lose

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by jesus' Death.

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To lose his friend who had changed

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their lives.

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Who had given them a whole new

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way of living,

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and of seeing the world,

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the friend who had performed many miracles,

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healed,

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changed other people's lives,

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opened the way for a whole new vision of the future.

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And here this same Jesus was not

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going to leave them alone, desolate or

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friendless.

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No, He was making one stipulation.

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They were to love Him and show this

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by keeping His commandment.

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To love God and to love one another

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and He will give them a gift.

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His gift.

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He would ask the Father who will

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give them another advocate, the spirit

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of truth.

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No one could be so sure of the Father's response

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than Jesus the Son.

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He alone can ask the Father and the Father can

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give the spirit of truth.

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So Jesus himself is reported in John

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as saying I am

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the truth.

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So they would have understood that Jesus now

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is promising that they will not

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be left as orphans, but will

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have in themselves the one Spirit

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who alone can give that love.

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They will need for the journey

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all of that love, whatever it is to take

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them.

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All of us, from time to time, experience that

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aloneness.

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It can be a very debilitating experience.

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For some however, it can be peacekeeping and

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for some it will mean we are left

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to be and do what we want

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on our own.

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And then will come the moment when we need that inner spirit -

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that God-given gift that enables

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us to know that we are

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not alone.

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And we can cope.

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So you too are not alone.

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However hard the journey may be and whatever

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difficulties there may be on the road, you

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will never be left as an

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orphan.

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He will come to you.

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He is the spirit of truth and His

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presence to His friends, to those who

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love Him, who keep His commandment to

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love.

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For that is the way.

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That is His way.

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In the name of the Father and the Son and the

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Holy Spirit.

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Amen.