Earthquakes with their attendant horrors seem frequent these days, but with each report there are also accounts of some thought lost. In Paul's experience of the earthquake at Philippi, we see not only the unexpected sudden release of the prisoners but also the marvellous conversion of their gaoler. The gaoler himself may have 'lost' his prisoners, but he found Christ and salvation. The details of this account tell of the divine protection of God's witnesses under persecution and the triumph of God's message even through persecution.

In the Reading of today from the Gospel of St. John, we see another aspect of the triumph of God's message. Here Jesus tells His disciples that they were about to lose Him for He was going away but in His place would come the Advocate whose coming would benefit them. The world and Satan, its prince, condemned Him, and the Apostles would have to face that. However, the Advocate, speaking in and through them would change that, for the sin lay not in Jesus but in the world's own monstrous disbelief.(v.9)

Actually, Jesus is triumphant. The Spirit of God, speaking in and through them, would reveal the true meaning of His death, of His dying for the sins of human beings. This would be His vindication, for "the prince of the world" i.e. Satan, would have met his own defeat.