Experiencing The Spirit: Dove and Comforter - John 14:25-27
The warehouse loudspeaker
rings with the voice of the office secretary.
Her voice summons you to the manager’s office. He begins with, “You have been a very
dedicated employ, but we are having to make some hard decisions….”
The phone rings. You answer.
From the other end you hear, “Hello.
This is Dr. Smith’s office. The
test results are in. The doctor would
like you to come in this afternoon.”
There is a knock at the
door. You open the door to be greeted by
two police officers. You barely remember
hearing them say, “We’re sorry sir.
There’s been an accident.”
The storm warning had
come over the television. You have taken
refuge in the bathtub and pulled a mattress over you and your infant
granddaughter. You hear the winds
picking up and the creaking of wood.
It is Pentecost. It is the day that as the Church universal
that we celebrate God’s outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the world, giving
birth to the Church. It also happens to be Aldersgate Sunday, the day we remember
the point in our history as Methodists of John Wesley’s heart being strangely
warmed. It was an evening when John, as
he was reluctantly gathered with others studying the book of Romans, had his own
Pentecost experience. Though he was
already an ordained minister of the Church of England, the Spirit moved him out
of discouragement to a new life of ministry.
The Spirit cleansed him of his depression, burning away the imperfection
of self—reliance for earning salvation.
The Spirit revealed to Wesley that we are not dependent upon ourselves
for salvation, but can only wholly and completely find the assurance of our
salvation when we surrender our lives and accept that our Salvation was
accomplished in the work of Christ and brought to us through the grace of God.
Today we reach the completion of our journey in examining many, but not all, of
the ways we experience the Holy Spirit of God in our lives.
The Spirit brings us new
life through the wind or breath of God.
The Spirit cleanses us
from sin through the waters of our baptism.
The Spirit begins the
process of perfecting us through the fire of our trials.
The Spirit anoints us
with oil, setting us apart from the world for the rescuing and redeeming work
of God in the world.
The Spirit shines the light
of God on our lives, exposing our sin, revealing our need for a Savior, showing
us the grace of God, and lighting the path God calls us to walk.
The Spirit binds us
together—connecting us one to another and calling us to hold to one another
despite whatever labels and divisions the world might try to interject into our
lives.
They had walked with him,
ridden with him, sailed with him, up mountains and along the beach, in the sea,
and through the wilderness, all over the last three years. They had left behind family and friends, some
just by distance, others by beliefs.
They had walked away from careers or family businesses. They had watched him outwit the most brilliant
leaders of their day. They had seen him
feed more people than they could count.
They had seen the lame walk, the blind see, the mute speak, the
possessed freed, and the dead called back from the grave. Yet now he was talking about being arrested,
tortured, and put to death. Now he was
saying that one of their group would actually betray Him. Now he promised that whatever the authorities
and others of the world would do to Him, they would do to each of them. On top of all this he says, “Little children,
I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the
Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’”[1]
We would have probably
joined in the chorus of the disciples.
“No way, Jesus, that’s not what’s supposed to happen to the
Messiah.” “Is it I, Lord? Am I the one who’s going to betray you?” “I’ll never desert or deny you Jesus.” “Where are you going? How are we supposed to know where it is?”
Those are the things we
would have said out loud as one of the Twelve.
In our minds we are probably thinking, “Have I made a mistake? Am I following the wrong guy?” “He always knows more than we do. He knows everything. Maybe I am the one who is going to betray
Him. Maybe I will desert Him…I don’t
want to, but I don’t know if I can handle all of what He’s talking about.”
In the midst of all of
this, He says, “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.”
I don’t know about the
rest of you, but were I there, I would have been thinking, “Peace, Jesus? Really?
Peace? You tell us you are going
to leave us. You tell us you are going
to be arrested, tortured, and put to death.
You have promised that we will experience the same. And then you talk about peace? That doesn’t sound like a life of peace. You are leaving us with anxiety and worry,
not peace. Jesus, you are leaving us a
world of chaos and conflict, and that is far from peace.”
Yet that is exactly what
Jesus says. And to be honest that is
exactly what Jesus knew the disciples would need. And it is exactly what Jesus knows we need to
hear and to know. Jesus promised that in
the midst of all of this God would pour out His Holy Spirit…the Advocate…the
Counselor…the Helper…the Comforter.
Jesus promises that God will give His people what they need to deal with
the chaos and conflicts that will come against them (and us) in life.
It is important to note,
though, that Jesus promises a peace that is unlike the peace that the world
offers. The world defines peace as the absence
of conflict. Jesus, though, has promised
conflict. The peace that Jesus promises
the Spirit will bring is a sense of calmness and confidence in the midst of
conflict. It is the Spirit-filled peace
that enabled Jesus to sleep in the midst of the storm on the Sea of Galilee
that terrified the Disciples. It is the
Spirit-filled peace that enabled Jesus to continue to do ministry, bringing
healing and hope to the hurting, despite the opposition by those claiming to
have authority. It was the Spirit-filled
peace that enable Jesus to react with calmness and confidence when faced with
over five thousand hungry folks on the hillside when the only food that could
be found was five loaves of bread and two fish.
It was the Spirit-filled peace that enabled Jesus to stand outside the
tomb of his dear friend and call Lazarus out.
It was the Spirit-filled peace that enabled Jesus to wash the feet of
disciple who he knew would betray Him and break bread with those He knew would
desert Him. Jesus realized and revealed
to the disciples and reveals to us that true Spirit-filled peace comes from the
assurance that even in the midst of our chaos and conflict God is with us.
That is the peace that
Jesus promises, that God offers, and that the Spirit brings—the promise that
God has been, is, and always will be with us.
It is the peace that Jesus speaks of when He says later, “‘I am not
alone because the Father is with me. I
have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face
persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!’”[2]
Just as Jesus found peace
with the assurance that the Father had not and would not leave Him alone—giving
Him the ability to endure His arrest, torture, and death with a sense of
calmness and peace—He promised the Disciples He would not leave them alone, that
He would be present with them through the Spirit that God would pour out upon
them.
That is the peace that we
can find through the presence of the Spirit of God in our lives.
That is where we find the
peace when we are summoned to the manager’s office.
That is where we find
peace when the doctor’s office calls.
That is where we find
peace when the police officers knock on our door.
That is where we find the
peace when the storms rage around us.
This is where Paul found
and we find the peace to say: “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor
height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate
us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”[3]
My Brothers and Sisters. It is Pentecost. The Breath of God has blown across our
lives. God’s Water and Fire have engulfed
us. We have been anointed with the
divine oil. Holy light has flooded our
lives. We have been bound to one another.
We have been offered the peace that passes all understanding. May we experience the wonder of the Spirit of
God not just today, but every day of our lives.
In the Name of the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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