God’s grace, peace and mercy be with
you. … My theme is God visits us with the Promise of the Spirit. My focus is John
14:16: “I will ask the Father, and he
will give you another Helper, to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth.”
Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the
psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the
Lord.’”[i]
Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we
listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply
as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.
Two days and twenty-seven years ago, I
was one of five men ordained at St. Paul Cathedral in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
While the ordained laid hands on us and prayed, the congregation sang Veni Creator Spiritus or Come, Creator Spirit. We sing this hymn on
Pentecost, marking the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the church, as Jesus
promised. Twenty-seven years later, as you heard in my prayer, I still ask the
Holy Spirit to enlighten my mind and move my heart to love deeply as Jesus
loved.
Today, I examine the Spirit and
Scripture, the Spirit and Christ, and the Spirit and the Church. First, the
Spirit and Scripture.
The word spirit comes from the Latin spīritus meaning breath. Spirit is the
force or principle of life that animates the body of living things. It can also
mean temperament, liveliness or mood. We got spirit. Yes we do. We got spirit. How
bout you?
In the Old Testament, the Spirit of God
is present in at least three ways. First, the Spirit of God is present in creating
the world and sustaining life. The Bible’s second verse reads, “The earth was without form and void, and
darkness was over the face of the deep. The Spirit of God was hovering over the
face of the waters.”
The Spirit of God is also present in
history, using a rebellious Israel to reveal God’s redemptive purpose. Several
weeks ago, we heard how Israel angered God and troubled Moses by the waters of
Meribah, for they rebelled against the Spirit of God, and rash words came from
Moses’ lips.[ii]
Finally, the Spirit of God is present in
individual believers. For example, in Ezekiel we read, “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. I
will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I
will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful
to obey my rules.”[iii]
The Chaldean King, Belshazzar,
recognized the spirit in Daniel enabled him to interpret dreams.[iv] Finally, the prophet
Jeremiah proclaimed God’s promise. “For
this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those
days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on
their hearts. I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”[v]
In short, the Spirit of God has always
been active. It is that Spirit Jesus promised to send to the Church. My second
point, the Spirit and Christ.
You may be aware that in several weeks,
we will celebrate Pentecost and Holy Trinity Sundays. The readings chosen for
these last weeks of Easter purposefully point towards the power of the Spirit
Christ and His Father promised to send. Since we spend so little time focusing
on the Holy Spirit, we should reacquaint ourselves.
Who is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit
is God. He is not an "it." He is not a divine influence or a fleecy
white cloud, a ghost or concept. He is a Person possessing a will, intellect
and emotions. He is God -- with all the deity’s attributes. He is the Third
person of the Trinity -- co-equal with God the Father and God the Son.
Why did the Holy Spirit come? Could we
not follow the Law and Gospel without a Helper? It seems to me the Holy Spirit
meddles too much. After all, the Church of the East and West never agreed on
the exact wording of the Nicene Creed because of the Holy Spirit. Some
ministers never preach about the Holy Spirit, preferring to talk only about
Jesus Christ. So, why do good and proper Christians need the Holy Spirit?
Because the Holy Spirit enables me to know Christ.
The Holy Spirit enables me to know
Christ and gives me the power to live and share the abundant life that Jesus
promised to all who trust and obey Him.
I cannot live this abundant life apart
from the help of the Holy Spirit for the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control,[vi] all qualities of the
abundant life.
Yet, people deny the Holy Spirit. In
fact, not long after the Church penned the Nicene Creed and settled the Arian controversy,
another sect declared the Holy Spirit inferior to the Father and Son.
Fortunately, theologians like Basil the Great defended the deity of the Holy
Spirit. Basil cited not only the words of Jesus, who taught that sin against the
Holy Spirit is unpardonable,[vii] but also the Acts of the
Apostles where Satan filled the heart of Ananias who lied to the Holy Spirit.[viii]
Sadly, today there are numerous nontrinitarian
denominations that reject the Trinity, including Christian Scientists, Mormons,
Quakers or Friends, Jehovah's Witnesses and our next-door neighbors, the Unitarian
Universalists.[ix]
This is not to say that they are bad people, but we must be clear about our beliefs
and teachings regarding the Holy Spirit. My third point, the Spirit and the
Church.
The
orthodox teachings of Martin Luther remind us that the Holy Spirit empowers the
church to perform its mission.[x]
Without the Spirit, could the first followers of Jesus remember his words and
deeds? Could they read the Law and Prophets through the prism of His Paschal
Mystery? In other words, the Spirit inspired writers to remember how Christ
fulfilled Scripture. Those who followed Jesus, saw Him die and witnessed Him
alive passed on the Good News. Today, that good news is announced to you. You
are saved through Christ.
The
Spirit brings us into a saving relationship with Christ. However, without the
Spirit, could the first followers remember Christ? Think how powerful a force
the Holy Spirit is – that we know the story of a man born 2,000 years ago.
To
put that force into perspective, consider that 100 years after you draw your
last breath, 100 years after your spirit is gone, no one will remember you. Your
great-great grandchildren will not know your name or know your favorite ice
cream flavor. Wanna bet? Name your 16 great-great grandparents. Now, name their
favorite ice cream.
I
say that because most of the time we do not remember those who have gone before
us, but on Memorial Day, we remember those who died fighting for our nation. With
that, a personal story.
Most
people never heard of Private First Class Leonard F. Cwynar. I never met my
Uncle Leonard, eldest son of John and Helen Cwynar. The War Department declared
him dead on the Anzio Beachhead during Operation Shingle, the costliest battle
of the Second World War. I say ‘declared dead’ because not enough remains were
left to identify Leonard. He was one of 67,000 Allied casualties. The enemy
suffered 25,000 casualties. Audie Murphy and James Arness survived.
We
have no pictures of Leonard, but we have his letters. This is his last –
written to my grandparents on March 10, 1944 from the Anzio Beachhead in Italy.
Dear
Mom & Dad, … Just dropping you a few lines to let you know that I am in
fine health. I feel better today than I have for quite a while. I wasn’t sick,
just plain tired. Will you please say hello to all my friends cause I don’t
have time to write them. Thank Mrs. Weigel for the card she sent me. Tell
Weigels, Ewings, Hollisters, and Red I said hello. I miss all the folks at home
and will be glad when it’s over.
I
didn’t hear Roosevelt’s Christmas Eve speech … I’m running out of words and
paper so until my next letter, So long and God Bless You. … Love, Leonard.…
I
can read you Uncle Leonard’s last letter because my grandparents, father and
uncles loved and remembered him. I can read you Scripture, God’s letters, because
the first followers of Jesus loved and remembered Him. … Love, the power of the
Holy Spirit, enables the Church to remember and present Christ as active and
alive in every continent and culture for 21 centuries.
The
Holy Spirit also empowers us to share how Christ is active in our lives. … You
would not have heard of PFC Leonard Cwynar if I had not talked about him. You would
not know Christ if His first followers had not talked about Him. Will Christ be
remembered if you do not share what He did for you? In a word, no.
So,
what prevents you from sharing your faith? Memorial Day reminds us no ordinary
soldiers sacrificed supremely. Only extraordinary soldiers. The promise of the
Holy Spirit reminds us no ordinary Christians sacrifice supremely for the
Gospel, only extraordinary Christians.
For
me, the last 27 years and 2 days have been extraordinary. Every chance I get to
preach God’s Word is extraordinary. Likewise, your chance to live an
extraordinary Christian life is right before your eyes. All you have to do is believe
the power of the Holy Spirit is present in the ordinary moments of life. All
you have to do is share with your family how the Spirit is active and alive in
you. Then, 70 or 150 years after your spirit leaves your body, people will
remember you as the most extraordinary Christian whoever lived and loved.
On Memorial Day, honor those who sacrificed
their lives by sharing the Gospel. Honor those who shared the Gospel with you
by remembering them. Thank them and thank God for them. When you do, may the peace of God
that surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus
(Phil 4:7). Amen.
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