John
14:15-19; 14:25-27; 15:26-27; 16:12-13Pentecost
Sunday
Elizabeth M. Deibert
God of power, may the boldness of your Spirit transform us, may
the gentleness of your Spirit lead us, may the gifts of your Spirit be our goal
and our strength, now and always. Amen.
Now the most
commonly read text on Pentecost by those of us who celebrate the day is likely
the narrative of the day from Acts 2, the story I told the children, a story of
wind and fire and tongues. This year, I
thought we would take the verses from Jesus’ farewell discourse in John which
refer to the Comforter, the Advocate, the Spirit, the Paraclete. Those who were here last week may recall
that we read from the opening 2 Corinthians, a passage about paraklesis, about
receiving comfort from God and sharing it with others. In some ways, this text explains how we are
empowered to share comfort, peace, love, truth with others, through the gift of
the Holy Spirit at work in us.
Last year I
missed Pentecost at Peace, as I was at a Credo Conference in upstate New
York. Pentecost is one of my favorite
days in the church, because I’m a fan of the Spirit. I love the stories of Jesus’ life and
ministry. I appreciate the sovereign
protection of God, but I feel closest to the Holy Spirit. I feel nudges from the Spirit, little reminders
throughout the day. Do you ever get
those nudges from the Holy Spirit that you should call someone or do you
suddenly remember something that you almost forgot or do you get that push from
the Spirit to apologize, to admit you were wrong, to be quiet before you say
something you will regret. I experience the Spirit helping me write
sermons. If you don’t know it already, it
is a miracle that I stand here in front of you most weeks. It is a true sign of the power of the Spirit
that I have something to proclaim each week.
At least three or four times each week, I talk to the Spirit about my
need for inspiration. The word, inspire has its roots in the Latin word
for “breathe into” I am totally
dependent on spiritual CPR every week. I
can still sing, as we did last week, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” but in
some ways, the mysterious Holy Spirit is my best friend.
As a woman I feel like the Spirit is where my
gender connects best with the Godhead.
The Spirit is thought by many to be the feminine aspect of God’s
personality. The Old Testament Hebrew
word for Spirit is “ruah” a feminine noun.
The New Testament Greek word for Spirit is “pneuma” a neuter noun. The word for truth, as in Spirit of truth,
used three times in our text, is a feminine noun. So while we know God is beyond gender
identifications and we would never want to anthropomorphize God by turning God
into the image of us, instead of the other way around, I find it very helpful
to think of the Spirit as feminine. It provides some balance to the Trinity. So when we read our text, you will note that
I am shifting to feminine pronouns. I
do not do this lightly or without the support of diverse scholars – Protestant,
Catholic, and Orthodox -- who believe that this is justified.
John 14:15-19; 14:25-27; 15:26-27; 16:12-13 "If you love me, you will keep my
commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you
another Advocate, to be with you forever. 17 This is the Spirit of
truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees her nor knows her. You know her,
because she abides withyou, and she will be in you. 18
"I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. 19 In a
little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I
live, you also will live.
25 "I have
said these things to you while I am still with you. 26 But the
Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you
everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. 27 Peace
I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world
gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.
"When the
Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth
who comes from the Father, she will testify on my behalf. 27 You
also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.
"I still have
many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the
Spirit of truth comes, she will guide
you into all the truth; for she will
not speak on her own, but will speak
whatever she hears, and she will declare to you the things that
are to come. (New Revised Standard
Version -- adapted)
A 14th Century fresco in a
small Catholic Church southeast of Munich, Germany depicts a female Spirit as
part of the Holy Trinity. (image on
screen) The three are con-joined at the bottom and are in a single robe. The Spirit is flanked by Father and
Son. There’s an ancient debate between
east and west, a conflict about the language of the Nicene Creed between the
Orthodox and Catholic (long before the Protestant Reformation) about whether
the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father or from the Father and the Son. These
verses seem to support that Eastern view of the Spirit coming from Father, yet
it is Jesus who promises it. I am
grateful for Biblical and theological and church historians, who work on these
matters. I am equally grateful that it
is not my job to do that. I am content
to receive the ancient and modern creeds as the communal and generational
wisdom to guide my faith as I serve in leadership of Peace Church. I tend to agree with St. Augustine who said,
“In
essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity (LOVE).” I also find creative writing like that of The Shack, by William P. Young, to be
helpful in stirring my imaginations about the Holy Spirit.
Jesus promises the disciples that the Spirit will come,
will remain with us and even in us
forever, and will teach us what we need to know, will remind us of all Christ
has done. He says that the Spirit will
be dependable and full of truth. You
see, that Greek word for truth also has the connotation of uprightness and
trustworthiness.
The Spirit is your advocate, your counselor. The Spirit especially advocates for the weak
and the powerless. Jesus said at the
beginning of his ministry, “The Spirit of
the Lord is upon me to bring good news to the poor, recovery of sight to the
blind, and release to the captives/the oppressed.” The Spirit fills you so you can be fruitful
in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness,
and self-control. The Spirit will
nudge you when you are getting away from those, and you can by grow in them by listening
carefully to the Spirit.
By the Spirit God created the earth. By the Spirit God raised up leaders and
prophets in Israel. By the Spirit Jesus
was conceived in Mary’s womb. By the descending
dove of the Spirit Jesus was baptized and empowered. By the Spirit the risen Christ is present
with the church.
The Holy Spirit is the Giver of Life, the Renewer of
Life, and the One who transforms us into disciples of Christ. On Pentecost, the Spirit overwhelmed the
people. I’m not sure it sounds
comforting to have tongues of fire on your head and a strong wind blowing
inside the room. But for the early
Christians, this was a transformative moment, one that clearly demonstrated
that what Jesus had promised (the coming of the Spirit) was now true. Christ was ascended, but they were no longer
alone and no longer afraid. They began
to experience in their fellowship a new quality of life. The Spirit can move us to respond in faith
to the Gospel. Some of you are probably
experiencing a nudge from the Spirit to do something faithful today. Don’t ignore that nudge. Learn to pay attention to those nudges,
those gentle suggestions from the Holy Spirit.
In
the small chapel at Aldersgate in London, there is a plaque on the wall that
reads: "On this spot on May 24, 1738, John Wesley's heart was strangely
warmed."
One day Leslie Weatherhead a well-known London preacher went there and while he was reflecting on Wesley's "warmed heart" and praying in one of back pews suddenly the chapel door opened and an old man with a cane proceeded to walk down the aisle. When this man came to the plaque, not seeing the young preacher in the back pew, he read out loud the words: "On this spot on May 24, 1738, John Wesley's heart was strangely warmed." The old man dropped to his knees and exclaimed, "Do it again, Lord! Do it again for me!"
Time and time again the followers of Jesus have testified to a similar experience and such transformations began on that Day of Pentecost following Jesus' resurrection when his first disciples were moved by the Holy Spirit's flame. The Holy Spirit is dependable and worthy of your trust. So rely on the Spirit to assist you in times of temptation and weakness and fear and confusion. Practice listening for messages from the Holy Spirit.
One day Leslie Weatherhead a well-known London preacher went there and while he was reflecting on Wesley's "warmed heart" and praying in one of back pews suddenly the chapel door opened and an old man with a cane proceeded to walk down the aisle. When this man came to the plaque, not seeing the young preacher in the back pew, he read out loud the words: "On this spot on May 24, 1738, John Wesley's heart was strangely warmed." The old man dropped to his knees and exclaimed, "Do it again, Lord! Do it again for me!"
Time and time again the followers of Jesus have testified to a similar experience and such transformations began on that Day of Pentecost following Jesus' resurrection when his first disciples were moved by the Holy Spirit's flame. The Holy Spirit is dependable and worthy of your trust. So rely on the Spirit to assist you in times of temptation and weakness and fear and confusion. Practice listening for messages from the Holy Spirit.
Anne
Lamott in her best-selling book, Traveling Mercies tells of her fear at
the appearance of the slightest mole on her body. This was because her father had died of a
malignant melanoma. Lamott did not grow
up Christian but she started attending, almost by accident (by Holy Spirit) a
lively little Presbyterian Church with a small African-American congregation
and first began to feel the love of God there.
With funny wit, Lamott confesses that she finally came to her senses
about this uncontrollable fear about melanoma and about life in general. She said to herself one day, “Yes, I do
believe in God.” And she wrote on a
scrap of paper these words: "Hey God, I am a little anxious. Help me
remember that you are with me. I am going to take my sticky fingers off the
control panel until I hear from you." Then she put the note in a drawer of
the table next to her bed and surrendered her future to God no matter what. Jesus sought to assure his disciples that
they did not have to have their "sticky fingers" on the control panel
of their lives. Peace I leave with
you. My peace I give to you. I am sending another to be your Advocate,
your Counselor, your Comforter. This
One is always offering peace. Think of
this Spirit wrapping you up securely, tucking you in bed, that kind of
comforter. Think of the Spirit eating dinner with you
when you feel alone. Think of this
Spirit filling you with the truth, power, and goodness of Christ so you can be
a comforter and truth-bearer for others, an Advocate of the powerless, a
counselor to those who need a friend.
The
Spirit is a strangely peaceable powerful presence. Think of the soothing nature of watching a
candle or campfire burn. Think of the
power of the wind to effect change, to move things that are usually
stationary. Trust in the Spirit to
breathe life into all the withering, dry places of your life. Finally, live by the Spirit – boldly free to
be a disciple of Christ, not counting the cost. Make this day a day of new commitment to be
spirit-ual, spirit-filled. Cultivate
your ability to listen for the Spirit in nature, in scripture, in prayer, and
in those spiritual nudges which are constant.
Even now the Spirit is blowing away all your doubt and fear. The Spirit is burning away all your complacency,
leaving your heart warm and clean. The ultimate Truth of Life, this trustworthy
Spirit of God, is your Comforter, filling you with love and with power and with
the grace to live as Christ’s follower.
Let
us pray: Praise and
glory to you, creator Spirit of God;
You are
truth. You come like the wind of heaven, unseen,
unbidden.
Like the
dawn you illumine the world around us;
you grant
us a new beginning every day.
You warm
and comfort us.
You give
us courage and fire and strength beyond our everyday resources.
Be with
us, Holy Spirit, in all we say or think,
in all we do, this and every day. Amen.
