John 14:8-17, 25-27 (New Life Version)
Philip said to Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father. That is all we ask.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time and you do not know Me yet? Whoever has seen Me, has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and that the Father is in Me? What I say to you, I do not say by My own power. The Father Who lives in Me does His work through Me.
“Believe Me that I am in the Father and that the Father is in Me. Or else believe Me because of the things I do. For sure, I tell you, whoever puts his trust in Me can do the things I am doing. He will do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, I will do it so the shining-greatness of the Father may be seen in the Son. Yes, if you ask anything in My name, I will do it.
“If you love Me, you will do what I say. Then I will ask My Father and He will give you another Helper. He will be with you forever. He is the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot receive Him. It does not see Him or know Him. You know Him because He lives with you and will be in you.
“THE HELPER”
Today is Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost is the Greek name for a Jewish harvest festival commemorating God’s giving of the 10 Commandments to Moses and the Hebrew people. The Jewish feast – Shavout – takes place 50 days after Passover – hence the pente (meaning fifty) in the Greek name. Since Passover and Easter coincide – Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection taking place as they did during Passover -- our Christian celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit 50 days after Easter also bears the name Pentecost.
We all pretty much know the story of the first Christian version of Pentecost. Jews from all over the Mediterranean and Near Eastern world – people speaking many different languages – were gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the festival of Shavout. Peter and some of the other Christians were taking advantage of their gathering to do some preaching – telling the Good News of the risen Christ – when suddenly a wind came up and flames appeared and all that gathering of foreigners began to hear Peter and the others speaking to them in their own native languages – not to mention the bit of comic relief when they were accused of being drunk at nine in the morning!
It’s a heck of a story – so much color and drama it can’t help but make an impression on us. But you probably have noticed that it is not the reading I chose for today. It’s such a dramatic story ... but God’s Spirit did not come among us just for this one dramatic moment, and I think sometimes we get lost in the spectacle and the miracles and we lose sight of why the Spirit was sent to live in and with us.
All throughout scripture the Holy Spirit is known by many names: Comforter / Counselor / Advocate / Teacher / Intercessor / Witness. In the Old Testament the Spirit is associated with Sophia or Wisdom. The Spirit is the Breath of Life or Ruach that breathed out over the waters of chaos at the moment of creation. But in the reading I chose for today, Jesus has another name for this spirit: “the Helper.”
Today is Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost is the Greek name for a Jewish harvest festival commemorating God’s giving of the 10 Commandments to Moses and the Hebrew people. The Jewish feast – Shavout – takes place 50 days after Passover – hence the pente (meaning fifty) in the Greek name. Since Passover and Easter coincide – Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection taking place as they did during Passover -- our Christian celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit 50 days after Easter also bears the name Pentecost.
We all pretty much know the story of the first Christian version of Pentecost. Jews from all over the Mediterranean and Near Eastern world – people speaking many different languages – were gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the festival of Shavout. Peter and some of the other Christians were taking advantage of their gathering to do some preaching – telling the Good News of the risen Christ – when suddenly a wind came up and flames appeared and all that gathering of foreigners began to hear Peter and the others speaking to them in their own native languages – not to mention the bit of comic relief when they were accused of being drunk at nine in the morning!
It’s a heck of a story – so much color and drama it can’t help but make an impression on us. But you probably have noticed that it is not the reading I chose for today. It’s such a dramatic story ... but God’s Spirit did not come among us just for this one dramatic moment, and I think sometimes we get lost in the spectacle and the miracles and we lose sight of why the Spirit was sent to live in and with us.
All throughout scripture the Holy Spirit is known by many names: Comforter / Counselor / Advocate / Teacher / Intercessor / Witness. In the Old Testament the Spirit is associated with Sophia or Wisdom. The Spirit is the Breath of Life or Ruach that breathed out over the waters of chaos at the moment of creation. But in the reading I chose for today, Jesus has another name for this spirit: “the Helper.”
I will ask My Father and He will give you another Helper. He will be with you forever. He is the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot receive Him. It does not see Him or know Him. You will know Him because He lives with you and will be in you......The Helper is the Holy Spirit. The Father will send Him in My place and he will teach you everything and help you remember everything I have told you.
He will teach us -- and obviously Helpers are here to help. He will help us do what? Well, Jesus has the answer to that, as well: I tell you, whoever puts his trust in Me can do the things I am doing. He will do even greater things than these...with “the Helper” helping.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I find that statement to be both exhilarating and terrifying. I am supposed to do even greater things than Jesus did? And then we get the real kicker: If you love Me, you will do what I say. So – first we are told to do impossible things – and then we get the emotional blackmail to make sure we don’t try to back out – If you love me, you’ll do this.
Now, again, I don’t know about you but I am entirely clear that Cherie Marckx cannot do such things. Most assuredly I cannot do them alone. And that, in a nutshell, is exactly what Pentecost is all about. That is why the Holy Spirit has come to live within and about us here and now. It’s not about the spectacle, and it’s not about flames on our heads or speaking in tongues. It is simply that we have work to do here – work that is impossible for us to manage on our own – crazy stuff like building the Reign of God, feeding the hungry and nurturing the sick, fighting for justice for everyone, not just the rich and powerful -- and so Jesus has left us the gift of his own Spirit to be with us and enable us to do the work God calls us to do – the work that Jesus began and left unfinished so that we have been called to finish it for him.
And, if you will recall, Jesus himself did not embark on his ministry in the world before seeking the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit. It was at his first public appearance, his baptism in the Jordan at the hands of his cousin John, that “a form like a dove” descended upon him and a voice from heaven blessed him. Only with that blessing did he begin to preach and teach around Galilee. Repeatedly Jesus spoke about emptying himself so that the Spirit of the one he called Father could fill him and work through him. “Not I, but the Spirit working through me.” Even in our reading today, Jesus says: What I say to you, I do not say by My own power. The Father Who lives in Me does His work through Me.
If even Jesus recognized his need for this in-filling, why should we find it odd to be called to empty ourselves and let God’s own Spirit come in? And if we let that Spirit work in us, why should we doubt that we, too, can do great things? Not things for ourselves but the work of God’s church -- reaching out to all God’s people – not just singing and praying – but serving and building and teaching and feeding and loving. Serving the God who lives in all who share this world with us.
We have no idea what we can do with the Spirit of God working in us until we actually allow it to happen. Are we willing? Come, Holy Spirit, and fill the hearts of your faithful. Guide our hands and tongues and hearts in your love and your service, always. Amen.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I find that statement to be both exhilarating and terrifying. I am supposed to do even greater things than Jesus did? And then we get the real kicker: If you love Me, you will do what I say. So – first we are told to do impossible things – and then we get the emotional blackmail to make sure we don’t try to back out – If you love me, you’ll do this.
Now, again, I don’t know about you but I am entirely clear that Cherie Marckx cannot do such things. Most assuredly I cannot do them alone. And that, in a nutshell, is exactly what Pentecost is all about. That is why the Holy Spirit has come to live within and about us here and now. It’s not about the spectacle, and it’s not about flames on our heads or speaking in tongues. It is simply that we have work to do here – work that is impossible for us to manage on our own – crazy stuff like building the Reign of God, feeding the hungry and nurturing the sick, fighting for justice for everyone, not just the rich and powerful -- and so Jesus has left us the gift of his own Spirit to be with us and enable us to do the work God calls us to do – the work that Jesus began and left unfinished so that we have been called to finish it for him.
And, if you will recall, Jesus himself did not embark on his ministry in the world before seeking the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit. It was at his first public appearance, his baptism in the Jordan at the hands of his cousin John, that “a form like a dove” descended upon him and a voice from heaven blessed him. Only with that blessing did he begin to preach and teach around Galilee. Repeatedly Jesus spoke about emptying himself so that the Spirit of the one he called Father could fill him and work through him. “Not I, but the Spirit working through me.” Even in our reading today, Jesus says: What I say to you, I do not say by My own power. The Father Who lives in Me does His work through Me.
If even Jesus recognized his need for this in-filling, why should we find it odd to be called to empty ourselves and let God’s own Spirit come in? And if we let that Spirit work in us, why should we doubt that we, too, can do great things? Not things for ourselves but the work of God’s church -- reaching out to all God’s people – not just singing and praying – but serving and building and teaching and feeding and loving. Serving the God who lives in all who share this world with us.
We have no idea what we can do with the Spirit of God working in us until we actually allow it to happen. Are we willing? Come, Holy Spirit, and fill the hearts of your faithful. Guide our hands and tongues and hearts in your love and your service, always. Amen.
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