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.



[1] John 13:33
[2] John 16:32-33
[3] Romans 8:38-39

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