The Day of Pentecost, May 31, 2009, “Series B”
Grace be unto you and peace, from God our Father and from our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Let us pray: Dear Heavenly Father, on this day we humbly give you thanks for the gift of your Holy Spirit, poured out upon the church to empower us to proclaim the Gospel of Christ’s victory over sin and death. Through the same Spirit, enable us to come to deeper faith in your gift of redemption, kindle in us the fire of your love, and strengthen our lives for service in your kingdom. This we ask in Christ’s holy name. Amen.
There has, for centuries, been a debate among Biblical scholars as to just when the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples historically occurred. According to John’s Gospel, it occurred on the evening of his resurrection, when Jesus first appeared to his disciples huddled behind locked doors, fearing for his lives.
John tells us that Jesus, whom the disciples had seen die on a Roman cross and buried in a rock-hewn tomb, suddenly appeared among them, saying “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.
But according to Luke, as we read in our first lesson for this morning, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit occurred forty-nine days later, on the Jewish festival of Pentecost. Again, the disciples ere huddled together in one place, perhaps still fearing for their lives, certainly still trying to come to terms with their experience of Christ’s death and resurrection, when the Spirit of God came upon them.
And what a difference there is between these two accounts, in the way that they describe this great event event. John tells us that the risen Jesus simply breathed on his disciples, giving them the Spirit. Luke, true to his penchant for storytelling, uses a little more dramatic description, telling us that the Spirit came upon the disciples like the rush of mighty wind, and visibly appeared like tongues of fire.
But regardless of the historical date that God poured out his Spirit upon the disciples, or regardless of how that even unfolded, we can not deny that God’s Spirit came upon the disciples. Something profound took place to enable those frightened disciples to begin to comprehend God’s gift of redemption in Christ’s death and resurrection, which empowered them to unbolt the doors behind which they had been hiding, and go out into the street to proclaim the Gospel.
Just think of the irony, the reversal of expectation that the Holy Spirit brought into the life of Peter. Here was a man, who, on the night our Lord was betrayed, arrested, and taken off on a course of events what would result in his crucifixion, was so afraid for his own life that he denied three times that he even knew Jesus. But through the power of the Holy Spirit, this same man who cowered in fear for his own life, became the first person to publicly proclaim that through Christ’s death and resurrection, God had acted to redeem the world from sin and death. And as a result of the inspiration he had received from God’s Spirit, the Christian church was born.
Perhaps it is a good thing that we do not have a precise date for the gift of God’s Spirit, or an eyewitness description of just how it was given. For the gift of God’s Spirit is not something that can be relegated to the past, as an historic event, but an ongoing process that continues to inspire and bring people to faith to this day. So let’s look at some of the gifts that God’s Spirit inspires in the life of Christ’s disciples.
First, if we consider the passage from John’s Gospel, the Holy Spirit gave to the disciples the ability to forgive or retain sins. As I have often told my kids in confirmation class, to give or receive forgiveness is pure grace. If we disobey our parents, or if we do something that truly hurts another person, may be something that we control.
But we cannot do anything to cause our parents or the person we may have hurt by our actions to forgive us. And if they do forgive us, it is a gift of love. God’s Spirit, through enabling us to comprehend the forgiving love of God in Christ’s death and resurrection, leads us to the desire to forgive and to know the forgiveness of others. And even if we do not obtain the forgiveness of others, we can, if we truly repent, know the forgiveness of God.
From our first lesson, Luke tells us that God’s Spirit enables us to proclaim the Gospel, to share with others that we have come to know that in our Lord’s death and resurrection, God has acted to redeem us from sin and death. It is a message that is meant to be shared, not only with our closest friends and family, but also with the whole world.
I have also shared with my kids, that in today’s cultural climate, where it is not “cool” to be a Christian or religious, that it would be easy to keep your faith to yourself. In many circles today, it takes courage just to admit that you believe in God, that you are a Christian, and that you go to church. But I also shared with them that they are not left to their own powers to summon that courage. They have received the power of God Spirit at their baptism, and if we open our hearts to the presence of God within us, we would find the courage to speak the Gospel in truth.
Paul also tells us in our second lesson that “the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not always know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” Again, as I have taught my kids, to approach God in prayer is not an issue of having the proper grammar, or being able to articulate what God wants to hear. I have often been driving down the road and simply carried on a mental conversation with God. God’s Spirit knows what is in your heart, and his Spirit takes your prayer to the Father.
Finally, from our Gospel lesson for this morning, John tells us that God’s Spirit is the Spirit of truth. Again, I repeat what I said last Sunday, that what John is really saying here by his use of the word “truth” is that God’s Spirit is the Spirit of faithfulness. He is saying in 26, that God’s Spirit will “testify” on behalf of Jesus – will lead us to believe and come to faith in him. And in verse 13, John tells us the God’s Spirit will guide us into faithfulness.
This tells me that the Spirit of God, whom we have received at our baptism, will never give up on us, even though we might turn our hearts away from his guidance. And so today, as we celebrate the gift of God’s Spirit, and in addition, celebrate how God’s Spirit has led four of our youth to affirm the faith of their baptism, may we hear the prayer of blessing that is spoken for each of them, as our own desire for God’s Spirit to move us to deeper faith.
That prayer, taken corporately, is this: “Father in heaven, for Jesus sake, stir up in us the gift of the Holy Spirit, confirm our faith, guide our life, empower us in serving, give us patience in suffering, and bring us to everlasting life.
Truly, the role of God’s Spirit is complex. It has many functions, but all of these functions is to move us to deeper faith, and empower us to become the corporate body of Christ on earth. Together, the Spirit moves us to help each other grow in faith, to empower our witness, and to continue the proclamation of the saving grace of God, revealed to us through our Lord’s death and resurrection.
And now, to speak a word about these four young adults who are about to affirm the faith of their baptism. There are a lot of things that I could say about each one of them. For example, how Nate always came to class with his homework, and was there nearly every Sunday. I could say that Stacy had the best record on her test scores, but rarely handed in her homework. I could say that Catherine and Leanna missed more classes than I would have liked. But they were attentive when present, and provided me with a special opportunity to see both of them, as well as myself, grow in faith, and come to see the gift of God’s redeeming grace become a part of our lives. The truth is, I dearly love all four of these young adults, and I am so proud to be their pastor. For I have the opportunity to see God’s Spirit at work, to watch them grow in faith.
But I also must warn them, that God isn’t finished with them. Today they affirm the faith of their baptism, but the road ahead, the road to maintain their faith, is unending. As our culture continues to assail and dismiss the importance of faith, I pray that God’s Spirit stirs in all of us to take the responsibility for our faith, unbolt the doors of our fear, and proclaim the Gospel to those around us.
Amen.
