Pentecost
May 31, 2009
The Gospel: John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15
Sermon: "Pentecost 2009"
The Rev. Dr. Vicki L. Smith, Rector
The Gospel: Jesus said to his disciples, "When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.
"I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But, now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, `Where are you going?' But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. 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; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.
"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you."
John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15
Pentecost 2009 May 31, 2009
This is Pentecost Sunday, which is actually as big a deal for us as Christmas and Easter, but I’m afraid that the larger society doesn’t share our enthusiasm. At least I’ve never seen Pentecost Candy at the Rite Aid.
So, even more than Christmas and Easter, Pentecost is our holiday, the church’s holiday, uncorrupted by lots of outside influences.
In fact, many would say that not only is this the church’s holiday, it’s our birthday. The coming of the Holy Spirit on that first Pentecost was the beginning of the transition from a ragtag group of confused Galileans to a world- wide body of people committed to worshiping Jesus and serving in his name. What’s especially cool is that while this is the church’s birthday, we’re the ones that receive the gifts. The Holy Spirit brings gifts to the church as a whole over and throughout time but it also brings gifts to us, as believers. It’s gifts all around this morning.
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------------------------------ ------ From virtually the beginning of creation, we have been made a diverse people. Our world is full of many nations, colors, and languages. That first Pentecost morning, the crowd was as diverse as could be imagined at that time—Galileans, Parthians, Medes, Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Portus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt, Libya and Rome. Basically, all the known world was represented in that group.
And the Spirit came to each person there, in whatever language necessary, that each would know of God’s deeds of power. The Spirit united them so that miraculously Galileans could talk to Elamites, and Parthians to Medes. The coming of the Holy Spirit drew them all together in worship of God—showing that though we are all different, with differences that are sometimes deep and long-standing, we are not so far apart that the Spirit can’t unite us. Language barriers, cultural barriers, economic barriers, they were all burned down by those tongues of flame.
At that first Pentecost, Peter quoted the prophet Joel when he said, “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh.” Clearly that includes Parthians, Medes, and residents of Mesopotamia, Libya and Rome. It includes Americans, Europeans and Asians; closer to home it includes white, black and Hispanic. “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh” The fulfillment of that promise, beginning that first Pentecost day, brings us all into relationship with God and with one another, making us God’s church in the world. With the gift of the Spirit, comes unity out of diversity.
Peter goes on to say, still quoting Joel, “when the Spirit comes, your sons and daughters shall prophesy, young men shall see visions and old men dream dreams.” These dreams and visions that God promises are not dreams that fade away at daylight or visions that go dark, these are dreams and visions that are sustaining, that go before us, leading us further in worship and service to God. With the gift of the Spirit, God makes us his church, and tasks us with being God in the world today. We’re the ones who, by the power of the Spirit, continue Jesus’ work in the world.
St. Theresa of Avila wrote:
Christ has no body now but yours
No hands, no feet on earth but yours
Yours are the eyes through which he looks
Compassion on the world.
Christ has no body now but yours.
The gift of the Holy Spirit, first received that Pentecost Day and continuing through to this, the gift of the Holy Spirit empowers us to be Christ’s hands, Christ’s feet, and Christ’s eyes in the world. The gift of the Holy Spirit empowers us to see with Jesus’ love and to serve with his compassion.
And the gift of the Holy Spirit is, in addition to a fulfillment of God’s promise, an answer to our prayer. Last Sunday, our collect, the prayer with which we begin our worship, put our deepest human longing into words: “Do not leave us comfortless,” we prayed. Do not leave us comfortless. That has been the prayer of all humanity for all time. It expresses our deepest need and our deepest fear—that we will be left alone; that even God will abandon us.
Jesus promised us, when he came into the world, that he would never leave us—the coming of the Holy Spirit fulfills that promise. The Spirit is Christ with us, always and forever; the presence of the Spirit means that God will never abandon us—we are never left alone. This is perhaps the greatest of the gifts of the Spirit, for us as individuals and for us as a church—the assurance and certainty of God’s abiding presence with us. We never, ever, walk alone.
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------------------------------ --- On this Pentecost Sunday we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit—the Spirit that touches us still; the Spirit that draws us together, uniting us across all barriers and differences in service to God. We celebrate the Spirit that empowers us to work in the world and we celebrate the Spirit that is with us always, guiding, leading and sustaining us always, every moment of every day.
It is this wondrous Holy Spirit, come anew today, that calls us into being, as Christians, as a church, and as this parish church. And so we give thanks to God for the gift of the Holy Spirit, this and every day.
Amen