God’s
grace, peace and mercy be with you. … My sermon focuses on the role of the Holy
Spirit in Scripture, with Christ and in the Church today.
Let us
pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go
to the house of the Lord.’”[1] 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.
On May
23, 1987, 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. 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. In Psalm 106, we read 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.[2]
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.”[3]
The
Chaldean King, Belshazzar, recognized the spirit in Daniel enabled him to
interpret dreams.[4]
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.”[5]
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 over the next 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,[6] 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,[7] but also the Acts of the
Apostles where Satan filled the heart of Ananias who lied to the Holy Spirit.[8]
Sadly,
today there are numerous nontrinitarian denominations including Christian
Scientists, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Quakers or
Friends, Jehovah's Witnesses and the Unitarian Universalists.[9] 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.[10]
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 30 years 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.
[1]
Psalm 122
[2] Psalm
106:32-33
[3]
Ezekiel 36:26-27
[4]
Daniel 5:10ff
[5] Jeremiah
31:33
[6]
Galatians 5:22
[7] Matthew
12:31-32
[10]
Matthew 28:19-20
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