Back to the Basics - This We Believe!
I Believe in the Holy Spirit
September 28, 2008
John 14:15-31 and Acts 2:1-4
We were at Sumatanga on an Emmaus Walk. She was a pastor in a charismatic tradition that emphasized the work of the Hoy Spirit. I was a died-in-the-wool Methodist struggling with a call to ministry. It was Saturday and because of my role on the team, I was well aware of the attitude of the women in the room. I had watched all day as the women warmed up to each other and to the experience. Even some older women, who probably didn't normally crack a smile during worship, were smiling, laughing, singing, and hugging. But while this young woman was enjoying her Emmaus Walk, she was a bit frustrated. I remember she looked at me and said, "Sherill, if you'll just let the Holy Spirit get hold of you, then you'd break loose." And I looked at her and said, "You don't know me! I am breaking loose!"
This week, we come to the claim of the creed that we believe in the Holy Spirit. Who is this Holy Spirit? How do we experience the Holy Spirit?
This isn't the first time that the creed has mentioned the Holy Spirit. The first mention followed closely on the heels of the claim that we believe in Jesus, God's only son, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit. A brief but important mention that I think highlights the behind the scenes work of the Holy Spirit throughout the Bible. From the beginning of Genesis when God breaths a word and creation began to the end of Revelation when the Spirit calls to us "Come", the Holy Spirit is at work with God the Father and God the Son in our world creating and recreating.
Throughout the Bible, we hear story after story of the Spirit at work. The Spirit of God which not only brings life into the lump of clay that becomes Adam but also brings life to a womb of a virgin girl. It is the Spirit which whispers God's word into the ears of prophets and kings. It is God's Spirit which empowers the most unlikely people-both heroes and nare-do-wells-to do great things. It is God's Spirit which places poetry in the mouths of both kings and paupers.
We speak of the words of the Bible, words of poetry, pieces of art as being inspired and that assumes an act of God's Spirit. The word, inspired, means to be spirit-fill-to be in-spirited-for the Spirit of God to fill one up in such a way that the Spirit spills out into words, art, and action.
It is no small claim to say that we believe in the Holy Spirit, We are saying that we believe that God is at work in our world and in our lives creating, recreating, empowering and inspiring. God may dwell in the realm of heaven and Jesus may be seated at his right hand, but the Spirit is among us-alive and vibrant-working on our behalf and that is no small claim.
A few moments ago, I shared a portion of what Jesus had to teach his disciples about the Holy Spirit. In fact, Jesus' words in chapters 14-16 of the gospel of John (often referred to as Jesus' last discourse (or teaching) to his disciples) center around the promise and action of the Holy Spirit, whom he also calls the Comforter or Advocate. He even says at one point, "Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you."
This is how important the Holy Spirit is to our faith and to our lives-it was to our advantage that Jesus leave this world so that we could experience the Holy Spirit!
As I mentioned earlier, the Holy Spirit doesn't just appear on the scene on Pentecost morning. The Holy Spirit has been at work in the world since the very beginning and shows up mightily throughout the Old Testament. However, prior to Jesus coming and living among us, the Holy Spirit seemed to show up and then slip away. But after Jesus death, resurrection and ascension, the Holy Spirit shows up to stay and that, as Jesus taught us, is a very good thing.
I don't know about you but I don't think I'd ever thought of Jesus' going away as a good thing. For most of my life, I envied the disciples and all those who had the opportunity to sit at Jesus' feet, to learn from him, to feel his touch, hear his words, bask in his presence. Surely, if we had that experience then we wouldn't struggle so hard to follow his commands, to love as he loved, to be perfect (or at least close to perfect) as he commanded.
Yet, as we've mentioned many times before, the disciples were far from perfect. They were far from faithful. They had doubts. They ignored his teachings. They fled when he needed them. While it must have been awesome to sit at his feet, hear his words, feel his touch and such, they seemed to take it pretty much for granted. It wasn't until Pentecost. It wasn't until the Holy Spirit not only showed up for their party but also set up housekeeping in their souls that they became different people.
Jesus walking and talking among us must have been a wonderful thing but it was a limited experience. What I mean by that is that if you wanted to see and experience Jesus you had to be where he was. If he was on a boat in Galilee, well then, you needed to be on a boat in Galilee. If he was in the temple in Jerusalem, you needed to be at the temple in Jerusalem. If you woke up in the middle of the night aware of your sinfulness and needing to hear a word of forgiveness, you'd have to get out of that bed, put on your clothes and go and find him because the fully human Jesus could only be one place at a time.
And I can only imagine how exciting it must have been to sit on the side of the mountain and hear the beatitudes. But then again it must have felt a bit overwhelming: How can I love my neighbor when all too often I don't even love myself? How can I turn the other cheek when everything in me wants to retaliate? How can I be a light to the world when there is so much darkness in me?
We often speak of having Jesus in our hearts, but the truth is that it isn't the Son that takes up residence in our hearts! The Son is seated at the right hand of God the Father, but the Spirit-ahh the Spirit-dwells in us individually and among us as a fellowship of believers. The Spirit teaches us. The Spirit comforts us. The Spirit convicts us. The Spirit empowers us. The Spirit prays for us. The Spirit moves us. And it is the Spirit which draws us into relationship with Christ and who transforms us into a new creation.
To say we believe in the Holy Spirit is to say that even though Jesus is no longer walking, talking and healing among us, he left something of himself-something of God-among us that continues to work on his behalf in our lives and in our world.
Because of the Spirit, the words of the Bible are a living word. Because of this Spirit, this book that we call the Bible is unlike any other book in the world. Every time we pick it up, the Spirit can reveal something new to us. Every time, we read one of its stories, we can learn a new truth. Those who have studied this book the longest and hardest assure us that it never gets too familiar, too dry, or too boring. Without the Spirit, this book is just one more book among many. Because we believe in the Spirit, we can declare that the Bible is the word of God for the people of God. Otherwise, the Bible is just ink on a page.
Because of the Spirit, the water of baptism is more than a sprinkling, a pouring or a dunking. Because we believe in the Holy Spirit, we know that the waters of baptism are more than a bath. The waters of baptism symbolize the washing away of our sin and our death to our old life, but it is the gift of the Spirit that comes with baptism that allows us to live as new people. At baptism, the Spirit sets up house in our lives and begins the process of cleaning house. The Spirit sweeps up the dust of our selfishness from under the furniture. The Spirit opens up the closets and discovers the things we've been hiding for years and calls us to throw them out. The Spirit turns on the lights in the dark places and forces us to look at the mess we've made and then helps us to clean it all up. Because we believe in the Spirit we can declare that we can live as true disciples of Jesus Christ. Without the Spirit, baptism is just a jump in the creek.
Because of the Spirit, the bread and wine of communion are the body and blood of Christ for us. Because we believe in the Holy Spirit, we can expect Jesus to be present with us when we celebrate Holy Communion. One of the many jobs of the Spirit (a true multi-tasker if there ever was one) is to make Jesus present for us today. The Spirit makes an event of 2000 years ago present for us today. The Spirit makes Jesus present for us in the gathering of the community of the faith. The Spirit makes Jesus real to us in our hearts and in our lives. Because we believe in the Spirit, we can declare that a small piece of bread and a sip of juice are body and blood and that we can participate in the life of God. Without the Spirit, communion is just a very small, insufficient snack.
Because of the Spirit, we can gather each Sunday and expect Jesus to be present in our midst. Because we believe in the Holy Spirit, our Sunday morning gatherings are more than just social events with music and a motivational speech. No matter how skillful the preacher or how well crafted the sermon, the sermon is nothing more than good advice or great entertainment without the Holy Spirit working through it to teach, transform and empower us. And without the Holy Spirit, this thing we call a church is nothing more than a gathering of sinful, broken human beings. But because we believe in the Holy Spirit, we can believe in this remarkable thing called the church. I will speak more about what it means to believe in the church in a couple of weeks, but because we believe in the Holy Spirit, we can believe that this gathering of individuals we call church is more something holy and something special-it is the very body of Christ. Without the Spirit, we are just one more club or association that often falls way short of its goals.
And I've just begun to list the work of the Spirit in our lives and in our world. After all, it is the Spirit that enables us to hear and respond to the Gospel. The Spirit that empowers us to proclaim Jesus Lord and to serve Jesus. And it is the Spirit that allows us to call God Abba-Father. The Spirit that give us joy, patience, courage, and self-control. And it is the Spirit that inspires and empowers us to do amazing things. To say we believe in the Holy Spirit is to say that we believe God is at work within us and within the world in just about every way possible to meet as many people as possible where they are and to draw them into a relationship with Jesus Christ where they will be transformed.
Unfortunately, though, we Christians have a tendency to try to box the Spirit in. The Sprit which is like a wind which blows where it will and how it will. The Spirit which sometimes is like a gentle breeze blowing fresh air into our stale and muggy lives and other times like a hurricane blowing everything out of its path. We can't box the Spirit in, but we sure do try.
Back to my friend at Sumatanga . . . she thought my experience of the Holy Spirit had to look like hers. She thought that because I didn't pray in tongues like she did, because I and most of the ladies at Sumatanga that weekend didn't raise our hands and shout and lose control like she did that we weren't experiencing the Spirit of God. She didn't mean to, but she was trying to put the Holy Spirit in a box. But the truth is that when the Spirit gets hold of us we will cut loose-but what that looks like will be different for each of us. When the Spirit gets hold of us, we will be cut loose-loose from the power of sin, death and evil and that will bring great joy and transformation in our lives. For some, cutting loose will mean raising hands and singing at the top of our lungs for joy of God's presence in our lives. For still others, cutting loose will mean learning to sit quietly and meditating on the beauty of God's word or an ancient prayer or a beautiful anthem. For all of us cutting loose will mean letting go of all the excuses for why we can't or won't do what God is calling us to do.
I've run across other Christians who try to box the Holy Spirit's work in other ways. Some Christians seem to think that the Holy Spirit only works when things are unplanned and spontaneous. They tend to think that sermons without notes and services without orders of worship are somehow more Spirit-filled than sermon manuscripts and well-planned services. The Spirit works in planning as well as in execution. In fact, some of the most Spirit-less sermons and worship services I've experienced were poorly planned and totally spontaneous.
Still others seem to think the Spirit is only at work when things are perfectly executed and well-crafted. If the band makes a mistake, the preacher stumbles over a word, the singing isn't up to their expectation, or the person next to them annoys them, they declare that they don't "Feel" the Spirit and it is always someone else's fault! Then they are off to another church to find the Spirit.
However, wherever Christians gather the Spirit is at work. And I bet all of you know people whose lives have been transformed by their experience in a little church where the choir wasn't all that good and the preaching was not all that great but God was present! Whenever we gather, whenever we open our hearts to the action of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit will show up. And if you aren't feeling the Spirit in worship, more than likely the problem is your openness to the Spirit and not someone else's.
Because when we say that we, the church, believe in the Holy Spirit, we are saying that God is at work in our individual lives and in our lives as the church to change and transform us. We believe that the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives to make us more patient, more gentle, more moral and more loving. We believe that the Holy Spirit grants each of us gifts for witnessing God's love to the world. We believe in the Spirit that prays for us when we are unable to pray for ourselves; the Spirit who opens the Scriptures to us so we can learn and grow; the Spirit which comes to each of us where we are, speaks to us in a way we can hear, and calls us into a relationship with God, with God's church, and with the world that God so loves! Because we believe in the Holy Spirit, we believe in a God whose presence burns like tongues of fire and comforts like a mother. We believe in a God who desires to dwell with us.
Thanks be to God!
|
