John 14:16-17 (CEB)
I will ask the Father, and he will send another Companion,
who will be with you forever. This Companion is the Spirit of Truth, whom the
world can’t receive because it neither sees him nor recognizes him. You know
him, because he lives with you and will be with you.
Ephesians 1:13-14
(CEB)
You too heard the word of truth in Christ, which is the good
news of your salvation. You were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit because
you believed in Christ. The Holy Spirit is the down payment on our inheritance,
which is applied toward our redemption as God’s own people, resulting in the
honor of God’s glory.
This has been an interesting week.
This morning I took Nancy to the airport as she flies to
North Carolina to help get her mom’s house closed up
For the past three days I have been attending the Annual
Conference of the Indiana Conference of the United Methodist Church.
The Annual Conference is the body that sets the policy and
the tone for United Methodists throughout Indiana.
One of the most important things that we do is affirm
candidates for ministry as well as commission and ordain new pastors.
But we do much more than that.
We celebrate those who are retiring from active ministry ---
and we saw 70 elders, deacons, local and supply pastors retiring this year.
We also remember those who have died in the past year --- and
much like we do here on All Saints Sunday --- the names of 56 deceased clergy
and spouses were read and honored for their lives and legacies.
Certainly one of the highlights of the conference was the
powerful and challenging message of our Bishop -- Julius Trimble --- when he
preached his Episcopal address.
His sermon evoked memories of Dr Martin Luther King, as he
reminded us:
”There’s nothing you can do—or
anyone else can do—to change your sacred worth in Jesus Christ. That has always
been settled!”
But, unfortunately, what became the main event this year was
the election of Clergy and Lay delegates who will represent Indiana at the 2020
General Conference.
It took up a huge amount of time and energy --- but is
important.
The clergy delegation that was elected was 100% persons who
disagreed with the Traditional Plan that was adopted in St Louis earlier this
year --- including Pastor Matt.
The theme of this year's conference was From Water to Witness and it was a reminder of the gift that God
has giving us.
And we were reminded that nobody
voted you into the church.
Just a little while earlier we welcomed Margret Louise into
the family of God.
How did that
happen?
How did she
get to join the family of God?
Did she do
something to earn it?
Of course not!
It is a gift
from God
It is the
action of the Holy Spirit working in our lives seeking to change us
Last week Matt reminded us of the chaos and challenge that
was that first Pentecost for the fledgling community of followers of Jesus.
Jesus was dead --- his followers, we are told, had
experienced his resurrection in some powerful ways.
Yet something was missing --- they did not have the zeal ---
they did not have the passion to risk their lives to change the world.
What happened?
Pentecost
happened
The Holy Spirit came
I am not sure why they seemed so surprised.
In one of the most powerful parts of the New Testament John
shares what we have come to call Jesus farewell discourse.
Jesus is trying to prepare his followers so that when he is
murdered by the Roman authorities they are not caught off guard. And he makes a profound promise to them.
(John 14:1-4,18-19,25-27 NRSV) "Do not let your hearts be
troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. {2} In my Father's house
there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I
go to prepare a place for you? {3} And if I go and prepare a place for
you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there
you may be also. {4} And you know the way to the place where I am
going."(18) "I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you.
{19} In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see
me; because I live, you also will live. (25) "I have said these
things to you while I am still with you. {26} But the Advocate, the Holy
Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and
remind you of all that I have said to you. {27} 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.
But on that day of Pentecost everything changed
They moved from the waters of baptism to witnessing ---
to telling/living the story of
Jesus
It is because of those who were transformed on that day of
Pentecost that we are here
We may not agree on every biblical or theological
interpretation --- actually I am pretty certain that there are things that we
don't agree on (and I am speaking to each one of you individually).
But that is
OK
For me one of the most important realizations is to accept
the fact that we are all hypocrites --- we just each pick different things to
be hypocritical about.
Robert Farrar Capon reminded us:
“God’s grace
in Jesus Christ isn’t cheap. It’s not even expensive. It’s free.”
It is the Spirit of God, the ruacḥ ha-kodesh, that brings us together.
It is God's spirit that reminds us that we are beloved
children of God --- despite ourselves.
The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to move us from the waters
of baptism to sharing the grace that we have been blessed with.
But we need to be careful --- listen again to Robert Farrar
Capon
“The Gospel of grace must not be turned
into a bait-and-switch offer. It is not one of those airline supersavers in
which you read of a $59.00 fare to Orlando only to find, when you try to buy a
ticket, that the six seats per flight at that price are all taken and that the
trip will now cost you $199.95. Jesus must not be read as having baited us with
grace only to clobber us in the end with law. For as the death and resurrection
of Jesus were accomplished once and for all, so the grace that reigns by those
mysteries reigns eternally - even in the thick of judgment.”
“God’s grace in Jesus Christ isn’t
cheap. It’s not even expensive. It’s free.”
The spirit comes to you
comes to me
NOT
because we are worthy
But precisely because we are not worthy
We must be very careful not to believe that God's grace is
sufficient for us --- but isn't sufficient for someone else.
Catherine LaCugna (1952–1997) ended her giant theological
tome God for Us with this one simple
sentence:
The very nature of God, therefore,
is to seek out the deepest possible communion and friendship with every last
creature on this earth.
That’s God’s job description.
The Holy Spirit is how God does
that.
That’s what it’s all about.
Let me ask you a simple question and leave you with
something to ponder.
What would happen in your
life—right now—if you fully accepted what God has created -- is creating in
you?
What if you truly welcomed the Holy
Spirit --- the ruacḥ ha-kodesh ---
into your life?
Suddenly, this following Jesus is much safer.
You have nothing to be afraid of.
God is for you.
God is not expecting you to do the
heavy lifting --- because God has already done it for you.
And God is actually leaping toward
you!
God is on your side, honestly more than you are on your own.
E Stanley Jones, that great Methodist Missionary of days
gone by was originally trained to be a lawyer.
After he became a Christian he as was asked to preach a
sermon and he said that he wanted to preach the greatest defense of God ever
given.
He worked hard preparing this defense of God
And the day came he got up to preach --- and it bombed
As he was concluding the sermon ---
he knew he had bombed and in that instant God spoke to him
God said --- why do you need to
defend me?
What I need you to do is witness
for me.
Recognizing that his sermon was a
disaster --- E Stanley Jones stopped and just shared how much God loved him ---
even him
And he became --- certainly in the
Methodist Church one of the greatest witnesses for God
We don't need to defend God
We don't even
need to prove God to someone
All we need to do is let the Holy Spirit shine through our
lives and let our lives be a witness for Jesus.
Let me close with this prayer, this poem from Mechthild of
Magdeburg (1207–c. 1282/1294)
Effortlessly,
Love
flows from God into [humans]
Like
a bird
Who
rivers the air
Without
moving her wings.
.
. . Thus we move in [God’s] world
One
in body and soul, . . .
Though
outwardly separate in form.
As
the Source strikes the note,
Humanity
sings—
The
Holy Spirit is our harpist,
And
all strings
Which
are touched in Love
Must
sound.
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