We often talk about our mission and values where I work. It is a hospital that was started by Franciscan sisters with a local doctor and his two sons. Because the mission and values are seen as inviolable even as innovation and change are constants, I know that when my supervisor leaves her position, her successor will be as committed to our mission and values as she was. The successor will advocate for us in our work and our lives outside of work. When we are discouraged, our new supervisor will remind us of our call to service, inspiring us to new commitment.

In his farewell instructions, Jesus announces a succession plan. His time with the disciples is limited, but the Spirit who will come after him will be with them forever. The Spirit will be their advocate and teacher and will cause them to remember Jesus’ words and deeds so that they can set them as their touchstone. Enabled by the Spirit, the disciples will continue the work they have witnessed as they walked with Jesus. They will offer healing where there is brokenness. They will bring peace amid dissension. They will speak the truth that sets the prisoners free.

We have inherited our mission from the disciples, and the call they received from Jesus is the same one that comes to us through our baptismal vows when—through water and the Spirit—we are initiated into the priesthood of believers. Surrounded by our community of faith, we are charged with loving our neighbors as ourselves and with proclaiming the good news of God in Christ with our words and with our lives. As the cloud of witnesses between the disciples and our generation would attest, without the Spirit such a mission is unattainable. But with the Spirit, nothing is impossible.