Enlivened Beings

Acts 2:1-21

Today we are going to talk about the Holy Spirit which is not something we do that often at least in the Presbyterian church. I think this is probably because we don’t know what to do with it. We know it is important- after all, we assert that it is one-third of the Godhead along with the Son and the father and yet we hear way more about them than we do the HS. We assert that the HS is God’s spirit within us and that it plays a crucial role in our faith but we never talk about how or why or when. Is the HS that gut feeling you have, is it your convictions, is it common sense or is it some miraculous experience? it’s a mystery- it sounds like a cop-out but it really is a mystery. The spirit works differently in each person and in each culture and so there is not a universal way the spirit works but I think there are some universal characteristics of the spirit.  Even when the HS is breathed into humanity in Acts they don’t understand what is going on and they were there. Those who were watching accused these people of being drunk- but they are not drunk, they simply had God’s spirit breathed into them- it’s mysterious to even think about what it means that the spirit was breathed into living human beings and that God chose to do it this way or talk about it this way.

This event in Acts is called Pentecost because it happens 50 days after Easter and we celebrate it as the birthday of the church because it is the spirit that empowers God’s followers to go out and make disciples of all nations. The first thing that caught my attention is that there are about 40 days between when Jesus ascended and when this event happens which makes you wonder what all of Jesus disciples were doing during that time? I mean they must have felt pretty lost… the last few years of their lives have been dedicated to Jesus and his ministry and now he is gone. What now? Do they go back to how their lives were before? Do they wait for further instruction? When Jesus ascended in the gospel of Luke he said, to stay in the city until the power of God would come to them… so I’m guessing that’s what they were doing. They were waiting. 40 days is a long time to wait especially when you are not quite sure what it is you are waiting for. As I am writing this sermon I cant help but feel that this story feels familiar to me… I’m currently in a waiting period- a 40 week waiting period rather than 40 days but I am just waiting- for what comes next- I know it is a baby but lets be real no one knows what that experience will be like or how it will change your life until it actually happens. The disciples know they are waiting for something but they are not sure what and not sure how it will change their life. We are all waiting for the HS to tell us what now. We are all asking ourselves whats next? Where do I go from here? What is my next big life move? Are we ready to accept what we might find?

This story reminds us that what it means to live as a resurrected people is to live with God in us. Jesus died, resurrected, ascended and now he has sent his spirit among us so that we can live into this new life, into this resurrected life.

In Genesis it says that god breathed life into mankind- that is how he formed us. God gave us life and here once again God is giving us new life. God breathes his spirit upon all of us. The Hebrew word for spirit is ruach which means wind, or more so like breath. God is breath. God is in us. What if the HS is as essential to who we are as breath is, as breathing is. We do not have to constantly remind ourselves to breath, we just do. We are aware that we are breathing though because we are alive. I think the same may be true for the HS- I think the HS is an essential part of who we are and if we are more aware of this then we can live life more fully. Breathing ensures our physical life but the HS ensures our spiritual, emotional, and mental life. This is both magical and strangely simple.

So often we get frustrated and disappointed when we don’t see the HS working in our lives or we don’t hear the voice of the HS telling us what to do. We are waiting for an unmistakable sign and yes the HS definitely works that way but if we are continually waiting for those big signs we might miss out on the other ways the spirit is moving.  If we keep waiting for these big signs and we don’t get them, we can begin to think that we don’t have enough faith or that God is far away. But the primary responsibility of the HS is not to give us all the right answers but to enable us and empower us live as resurrected people which means living into the people he created us to be.

Jurgen Moltmann a theologian says in his book on the Holy Spirit,

 “The Spirit is more than just one of God’s gifts among others; the Holy Spirit is the unrestricted presence of God in which our life wakes up, becomes wholly and entirely living, and is endowed with the energies of life… People who ask for the Holy Spirit to come to us- into our hearts, into the community we live in, and to our earth- don’t want to flee into heaven or to be snatched away into the next world. They have hope for their hearts, their community and this earth. We don’t pray ‘Let us come into your kingdom’ either. We pray “Your kingdom come on earth as in heaven’. The petition for the coming of the divine Spirit to us frail earthly people implies a great, unbroken affirmation of life.”

If the spirit is the affirmation of life it is also the affirmation that Christ is here with us. We do not need to go to him because he is here with us and he through the HS is giving us the ability to live new life everyday.

 Look at Peter! Right before Jesus’ death he denied Jesus three times and now here he is proclaiming Jesus and defending these followers. That’s a powerful spirit that enables someone who couldn’t even be a follower to now be a leader. Peter must have felt ashamed and disappointed in himself for denying Jesus but he chooses not to live into that narrative but rather this alternative narrative of new life. This life where he is empowered to live into the ways God has called him to live. It is through the spirit that we are enabled to use our gifts and follow our passions.

I think one of the many gifts of living as a resurrected people is we get the chance to live into an alternative reality. The HS empowers us and gives us the strength to see things differently from the world. It is far too easy to be walking around with a view or perspective that sees things negatively or pessimistically. It’s much more powerful and freeing to go around with an optimistic view. Instead of automatically seeing the despair what if you saw the hope? Instead of automatically thinking about what could go wrong, you think about what could go right? Instead of automatically thinking you can’t or that thing wont happen or that’s impossible, you have faith that you can or that thing can happen or that many things are possible. The HS gives us an alternative perspective, an alternative reality to live into. Do you want to live into it?

it could involve our relationships, our passions, talents, joys, careers, hobbies. It could look like taking the open doors available to us, following our passions, continuing to say yes to opportunities. The spirit is empowering all people to live in new ways. And this infusion of the holy spirit is for all people, the text tells us it is for- women, children, young, old, slaves, free – all people.

Now some of you might already know where God is calling you- what that next step is and you just haven’t been able to make that first move yet.  Or maybe you really don’t know what is next or where the spirit is leading you. You feel like you don’t know where your life is going, You don’t know where you are called? Your purpose? you feel stuck? Alone? Afraid?  this passage gives us hope for those of us in that position. The HS was not sent on an individual but on a community . Good thing we have a whole community to help us discern the ways in which the spirit is moving in our personal lives and in our community. That is what we are here for. We are here to discern where God is moving together.  One of the other functions of the spirit besides empowering us to live as resurrected people is to share in life together. The spirit indwells in each of us so that we can indwell in each other giving us the union of God. Andrew Root says, “ a holy moment is an occurrence where the Holy Spirit moves, connecting person to person through sharing in brokenness, leading to the life of new union.” The Holy spirit is talked about as something that is in us but a more accurate depiction is that all persons are embodied spirit. By sharing in life together we are both fulfilling the work of the spirit and helping each other to discern where the spirit might be leading each of us uniquely.

And Prayer- prayer is essential to discerning how the spirit is leading us because prayer is our communication with God. The disciples had 40 days to pray and prepare for the coming of the holy spirit so that when it came they could discern what to do next. prayer is not just talking to God but it is also listening. Being silent and learning to become aware of how the spirit is working in your life. Doesn’t mean its going to be a whisper in your ear, it could just be as silent as breathing but over time your ear will become more attentive to how the spirit uniquely works  in you individually because the way it works in my life is different than yours.

Discernment of ones life can be one of the most frustrating and frightening experiences but we are called to live into an alternative narrative rather than one that speaks of discontentment, defeat, discouragement and denial of who God created us to be. Living into this alternative narrative will involve being open-minded about what that narrative will look like and trusting in the unknown but it is the only way forward for each one of our lives and for the lives we share together. Although this is risky and requires much faith we should rest in the hope that God has created this possibility of living into an alternative narrative if we are willing to let God change our stories.  Amen.

Prayer for unity

John 17: 20-26

The Lord’s prayer Jesus gave to us to pray but this prayer is for him as well. Jesus prays for us in this prayer- like adopted children, God has put us in Jesus’ care and protection. He is to teach us and love us and care for us. Jesus sees us as his own as God sees us as his own. Jesus is using this as sending prayer- he is about to be arrested. He is about to die and have to leave these- his children behind. He prays this prayer for God to continue to look out for them now that he will be leaving them. It’s a prayer of love and of concern.

Not so unsimilar to the prayer parents all around our country pray for their children as they head off to school. Knowing they can’t go with them and fearing for their safety. Jesus left the people he loved in a cruel world as parents have to learn how to live in this cruel world with their children.

19 students and 2 adults died this past week in an elementary school shooting. It’s hard to fully process this information. To fully comprehend the grief, it encompasses. It’s a cycle of fear. The one who is doing the evil in these situations, killing people with guns is doing so out of fear- fear that they are not loved, not good enough, fear that they don’t know how to do this life- an overwhelming fear that somehow gets them to do the unthinkable. There is fear in the victims, in the victim’s families, in everyone that realizes that could have been then and might be them in the future. It is fear that creates this violence. The bible makes a big claim about fear- it says perfect Love casts out all fear. We will come back to this but first I want to look at today’s scripture more in-depth.

As I read the scripture for today- I kept thinking about what this has to do with this tragedy- if scripture can’t actively play a part in the real-life trauma and tragedies then what good is it? Scripture is only as useful to us as in how it can equip us to journey through this life. Prayer has been an excuse and placeholder for too long. Action and policy are what will end this madness- not prayer. Jesus even here does not pray that bad things will not happen- Jesus does not ask God to take away the bad things. No, Jesus asks God to help us become united- to help us know love. To pray for violence to stop happening is like assuming that if you think about turning the water off it turns off rather than actually getting up and physically turning the water off. You can’t just think about it- you have to do it. The verb for to pray here is one not commonly used- the way it is used is more about asking than having a sacred moment with God. It is more action oriented than other verbs used to describe praying in the Bible.

If you want to pray about this situation- lets, follow Jesus’ example and start with praying that we will do the work of learning what it means to love others and feel love ourselves. The person who killed all those people would not have done this had they truly felt loved by their family, community, etc. Maybe it was that they didn’t receive love or maybe it was that they didn’t know how to receive the love being given to them. But Senseless violence would not exist in a place where love was truly felt- there would be no need. You would feel whole- the love would heal whatever was causing you anguish.

Jesus also prayed for us to be united as one- He says as him and God are one. That is a tall order. Jesus and God are in a sense the same being but in different forms. To be united like them would be of the same mind and the same spirit. Something that seems incomprehensible today. Why does Jesus so badly want us to be united? Earlier in the prayer he says its through being united that we can see the truth- to be united is how we eliminate evil like these shootings from the world.

Last week, I talked about how if we want to see change in anything- we have to be the ones to make it happen. We are the “miracles”. We are the only way to change things. We have to vote and advocate for policy change. We have to have hard conversations with those who don’t agree or who need education on the matter. All of these things are true. What is also true is that we need to do a better job at learning how to love and showing others love. If what the Bible says is true- that perfect love casts out fear then to me that says this is a good starting point.

Learning how to be loved is not easy. Learning how to love is not easy. We aren’t talking about romantic love or love that comes easy like loving a child but we are talking about the action of love. What does it mean to love someone well? Especially someone who may be hurt or is difficult to love? It looks like discerning someone’s needs and meeting them. For many who decide that killing people is the only solution left to them- mental health issues play a big role. What it looks like to love these people is to meet their needs and first know their needs. It requires patience, listening, time, professionals, sacrifice, lots and lots of sacrifice. Are we really willing to love those who need it most? Our systems clearly say no- the professionals in these fields are some of the lowest paid with the least resources. We do not value mental health in the states- to love these that need it most isn’t cost efficient. It’s emotionally efficient. It’s soul efficient but it does not put money into anyone’s pockets and as long as that’s true,  this country will not adequately meet these needs. It’s truly sickening that our country would rather be wealthy than have people wandering around with broken hearts and broken spirits.

We are not unified. We are not of one mind and spirit. What would it look like if our systems treated our souls- no matter if you believe in God it is essential to believe that you matter, that you are worthy, that you are cherished and adored. We are not universally taught this, we don’t have classes on this or give priority to these conversations. This is where spirituality comes in- this is that work. And spirituality in our world is such a small aspect of many peoples lives. It is not valued. But this is where we need unity. No matter the religion or if there is one at all- until we all believe at our core that we are loved and worthy and that the person next to us is just as loved and worthy and these become the values that everything else is based off of, then fear and anger and self-hatred and shame will have the final say in our world. Hurting each other will continue to happen.

This will take a long time. But Jesus has prayed for us that it should happen and we should continue in this prayer with action. And while we work on being unified- in feeling and showing love- we have other work to do. In the meantime, we have to vote and talk to our politicians about the best way to keep people safe both physically and mentally. We have to advocate for change, recognizing that we are a broken people who need help keeping each other safe because we are too broken to do it on our own. And as you work toward action and policy change. You are also called to this spiritual work- have you done the spiritual work of knowing and believing that you are loved? Do you know how to accept love from others? Do you know how to give it? Are you willing to sacrifice a lot to give it? Once you have done this work- this work that is ongoing, invite someone else in to do this work. This is what it takes to become unified. In Jesus’s day word of mouth was the only way someone learned of something. As Christians, I don’t think our job is to go around ensuring everyone believes in Jesus and telling them about him. I think our work is to go around ensuring everyone feels love and understands how to love.

Innumerable times a whole Christian community has broken down because it had sprung from a wish dream. The serious Christian, set down for the first time in a Christian community, is likely to bring with him a very definite idea of what Christian life together should be and try to realize it. But God’s grace speedily shatters such dreams. Just as surely as God desires to lead us to a knowledge of genuine Christian fellowship, so surely must we be overwhelmed by a great disillusionment with others, with Christians in general, and if we are fortunate, with ourselves. (pp. 26-27)

Imagine my surprise.  I have spent my entire ministry working to resolve church conflict and Bonhoeffer appears to be saying it is not only to be expected, but it is also something we are called to be grateful for. And it is so, of course.  It is in our differences, in our struggles, in our hurts that we encounter and receive God’s grace and gift most completely.   It is then that I am able to see Christ in my neighbor.  It is then that I am able to be loved in spite of myself. It is then I know most deeply my own need for God.

What it means to become unified and learn to love and be loved is not that we agree on everything or understand everything but that through our indifference and faults and sufferings, we find grace and forgiveness- the things that prove to us our worth- that we are loved. We learn to love and be loved not by being perfect by precisely by being imperfect. This prayer to become unified is not for us to become exactly the same but for us to realize that in our humanity- in our being we are the same- we are equal, we are all the same amount as important as anyone else. The goal is not this wish dream Bonhoeffer describes which is unachievable anyway but the goal is manifest grace and empathy and forgiveness so that we know we are loved. We are loved despite all the bad stuff that we love others despite the bad stuff. We become unified in our brokenness. And we are so so aware of our brokenness. Lord we pray, let us be broken safely together.