Spirit of the Living God

Acts 2: 1-21; John 14:8-17, 25-27
June 9, 2019 Pentecost Sunday
First Presbyterian Church, Sterling, IL

The scripture for Pentecost is always from the second chapter of Acts.
That’s the scripture you heard at the beginning of worship,
the story of the coming of the Holy Spirit.
The gospel reading that is paired with it is a kind of prequel,
a story from John’s gospel in which Jesus predicts and promises
that the Holy Spirit will come as a sign of God’s presence.

The Holy Spirit comes and dwells in us,
the love of God that comes as near as the air we breathe,
the breath of God that sets our hearts on fire,
the fire of God that kindles our souls to loving action.

Let’s listen for the promise of the Spirit,
fulfilled at Pentecost, in John 14: 8-17, 25-27

Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied."
Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip,
and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own;
but the Father who dwells in me does his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me;
but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.
Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me
will also do the works that I do and, in fact,
will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.
I will do whatever you ask in my name,
so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.
If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate,
to be with you forever.
This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive,
because it neither sees him nor knows him.
You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.
I have said these things to you while I am still with you.
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.
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.

The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Spirit of the Living God.
The Holy Spirit.
We say “God sent the Holy Spirit to be our comforter,”
as if God packed up a down-filled comforter in a box
and shipped it off to us to unwrap when we need some warmth.

But if it were a shipment,
it would be more like opening a crate full of fire and wind,
which explodes out of its container and goes where it will.

We can’t get our heads around that,
and I think that’s why we get nervous talking about the Holy Spirit.

We can write up a neat little resume for God,
get Jesus’ curriculum vitae in order in just a couple of pages,
but the Holy Spirit….just gets a mention in the Apostles’ Creed,
and then we move on quickly.

We think we can contain the first two persons of the trinity
with neatly drawn boxes and ten-word descriptions,
so we make them kind of comfy pals –
God as cosmic butler, who comes when we ring the bell
and brings what we asked for;
Jesus as eternal buddy,
who conveniently looks the other way
when we are mean-spirited or callous or wicked,
then just as conveniently shows up to give us a friendly little side hug
and tell us we are okay, really,
and that’s alright, he forgives us.

But this Holy Spirit keeps acting like, well, like God or something:
indescribable, uncontainable, unpredictable,
generous and gentle, swooping and scorching,
fierce and demanding – intense.

Because the Holy Spirit is God – moving among us,
the flame in the burning bush that calls us,
the wind that alternately refreshes and rearranges,
the spirit of truth and love – and action!

The promise Jesus makes in response to Philip’s question
is a promise that this Spirit will dwell in us
and we will dwell in the Spirit.

Philip’s request comes on behalf of all the disciples:
“Show us the Father and we will be satisfied.”

And Jesus’ answer is not just to Philip but to everyone, plural.
All y’all.

So obviously, this Holy Spirit thing isn’t some kind of private party.
The promise Jesus makes is to the faithful community,
not just to Philip, not just to the twelve, but to all of them: everybody.

So when the day of Pentecost had come, everybody was there.
They were all there, together in one place.
I bet that later, when they talked about it,
they were relieved that everybody was there,
so they’d have someone to validate that memory.
“Yeah. That really happened!”

I think they struggled, even then, with the whole idea of the Holy Spirit.
I mean, think about it – God the Father, Yahweh,
Elohim, El Shaddai,
Mother Hen, now THERE is a God –
the one true God, world-creator,
breath-of-life-blower, covenant maker, angel-sender
deliverer of captives, giver of the law, demander of justice,
inventor of love, supreme being, the great I AM.

And then Jesus, of course, another spectacular person of the trinity –
born of a virgin, wise beyond his years,
turning down the devil and all his temptations,
and standing up to the Pharisees;
reaching down to the fallen and binding up the brokenhearted;
kneeling down to pray and standing up for justice;
hanging on the cross and rising from the tomb;
ascending to the heavens, sitting at the right hand of God,
where he continues to live as Word made flesh.

But the Holy Spirit…well…just between you and me,
and I know I can trust you not to spread this around…
just between us, isn’t the whole Holy Spirit thing
a little bit hard to wrap your head around?

I’m serious.
Do you really get how something, some entity,
can be simultaneously likened to tongues of flame, a howling wind,
a dove, a companion, and a comforter?

Somebody has said that the Holy Spirit
is the unknown member of the Trinity, and I agree.

The Holy Spirit is the most challenging topic in Confirmation Classes.
Is it a person, or more like a ghost?
She is a mystery, an enigma,
this third person of the trinity who is often described in the feminine,
because the words in the Greek and in the Hebrew are feminine.

Holy Spirit, Sophia, wisdom, ruach, breath, - whatever you call her,
she is somebody we just can’t quite get a grip on.

Sometimes she shows up and people are surprised and bewildered.
Other times, when the Holy Spirit comes, they are enlightened,
and they can understand, can see, can feel and do and believe
things they never could before.

On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was all that,
did all that, all at once, to everyone.
They were surprised, and amazed.
People thought they were drunk.
But they weren’t.
They were transformed.

This spirit was not just wind, not just fire, not just comfort.
This spirit was words and story and understanding.
It was the Holy Spirit who came like a wind in the sails of the church,
to move us forward, outward, onto the vast seas of the world,
to carry the precious cargo of grace and love along with us.

She flies into our consciousness like a dove, her gentle wings
brushing the brick corridors of our prejudice and preconceptions.

The wind of her truth knocks down the walls we build
and opens us up to the vast expanse of God’s love.

The flame of her presence burns away our foolish idolatry
and leaves the refined gold of faith.

As she flies, she drops just one feather down to the floor,
and as it falls, it grazes our cheeks.

Then we discover that when someone speaks, we listen, really listen,
and we don’t need to dispute or quarrel.

We can move into one another’s story,
share one another’s burdens, laugh when others are laughing
weep with those who weep.

The Holy Spirit comes, and comes back again,
and gives us a story to tell:
how we found a new identity, a new way of life;
how we found new meaning through mercy and redemption.

We have a story to tell of a community of faith
that loves the world and cares for each other,
a community that honors the elders and celebrates the children,
and welcomes all people.

The Holy Spirit comes, just like Jesus promised.
Our sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and our young men shall see visions,
and our old men shall dream dreams.

Come Holy Spirit!

Enflame our hearts!

Come, Holy Spirit!

Let your wind blow through us!

Come, Holy Spirit, come!

Amen.