God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. My sermon is entitled
The 3 Ps of Pentecost: Pneumatology,
Passage, Practical Application. My focus is Acts 2. Let us pray. Heavenly
Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced
when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” 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.
This is my sixth Pentecost at Mt. Olive (my first at St.
John’s), and so, it is appropriate that for Pentecost, I focus on three points:
pneumatology, passage and a practical application.
First, pneumatology. Pneumatology refers to a
particular discipline within Christian theology that focuses on the
study of the Holy Spirit. We derive the term from
the Greek word pneuma
meaning breath
or spirit that
symbolically describes a non-material being or influence; and logos meaning teaching about. Pneumatology
includes the study of the person and works of the Holy Spirit. Works of the
Holy Spirit includes teachings on new birth, spiritual gifts, sanctification,
the inspiration of prophets,
and the indwelling of the Holy Trinity.
The early Church engaged
in debates over the divinity of Jesus which led to similar arguments about the Holy
Spirit. Later, during the Medieval period, a debate ensued regarding the
relationship between Christ and the Holy Spirit. The Eastern Church situated
in Constantinople asserted that the Holy Spirit ‘proceeds’ from the Father
alone, as stated in the original Nicene Creed,
while the Western Church added to the Creed the clause filioque meaning that the Spirit
proceeds from the Father and the Son.
During the Reformation and Counter-reformation the
relationship between the Spirit and the Scriptures was re-examined. Martin Luther and John Calvin held
that the Spirit has a certain ‘interpretive authority’ to ‘illuminate’
scripture, while Counter-reformation theologians responded that the Spirit
authorized the Church to serve as authoritative interpreter of Scripture.
Contemporary pneumatology,
marked by the Pentecostal movement in various denominations, understands a
distinctive relationship between the Spirit and the Church community. Various
contemporary theologians see the Spirit as the authority that governs the
church, liberates oppressed communities and creates experiences associated with
faith.
Now, before I move
to my second point, your word for the day is pneumatology. Start a conversation
about pneumatology at Sunday dinner, while watching the Pirates or in the break
room at work. Discuss pneumatology with conviction and certainty – like you are
filled with the Holy Spirit. And so, we move from pneumatology to passage.
In Acts 2, Luke focuses our
attention on Pentecost. Pentecost was an agricultural feast where Jews
celebrated not only the harvest but also the giving of the Torah. It was known
as the Shav – u’– oth or the Feast of
Weeks. This festival was celebrated 7 weeks or 50 days after Passover. It
brought farmers from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Asia, Egypt, Libya
and Rome to Jerusalem to celebrate Shavuot. They came to thank God for the harvest
and for the Law.
The original
agricultural feast later became a commemoration of God giving the Covenant and
Law on Mt Sinai. For Christians, the celebration of the gift of the Law
embraced the giving of the new law in the spirit, the writing of the law on the
heart.[1] We read in Jeremiah, “Behold,
the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel and the house of Judah … I will put my law within
them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they
shall be my people.”[2]
Paul echoed the
Second Letter to the Corinthians, “You yourselves are our letter of
recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by
all. And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us,
written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of
stone but on tablets of human hearts.”[3]
The coming of the Holy
Spirit fulfilled this meaning of Pentecost. The opening verses introduce the
festival of Pentecost. Acts declares a salvation event of highest importance,
the actual turning point when Israel begins to separate itself from unbelievers
to become the Church.[4] To illustrate this Luke
assembled a vast representation of all Israel to hear the apostles.
The signs that
manifested the Spirit, the loud noise like a strong wind and the tongues of
fire, evoked divine appearances on Mount Sinai to Moses and Elijah.[5] Yet, the sign that Luke most
emphasized that the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit was their speaking
in different tongues or languages.[6]
The fact that many
Jews from different nations heard the apostles speaking in their own tongues of
the mighty acts of God signified that the ancient tragedy of Babel was reversed.[7] And the apostles’ “drunken
state” symbolized joy and abundant blessings. Yet, the onlookers’ reaction was
astonishment and bewilderment. At Pentecost it was clear that the new wine of
the Holy Spirit, the gift of God’s love, was poured into human hearts, as Paul reminded
Christians in Rome.[8]
Again, we move from
passage to practical applications. In many churches today, pastors confirm young
people. I confirmed seven teenage girls four years ago, and Julia last year.
Lutheran confirmation is a public profession of faith prepared for by long and
careful instruction. This mature and public profession of faith marks the
completion of the congregation's program of confirmation ministry.
Since young people
study Luther’s Small Catechism, a bit of catechesis for the rest of you. As
Lutherans, we do not treat confirmation as a sacrament of the Gospel in the way
we do Baptism and the Eucharist. Yet, we lack a universally accepted definition
of confirmation and a consistent approach to it.[9] It is the Lutheran way.
Luther approved
the 1540 Brandenburg Church Order and subscribed to the 1545 Wittenberg
Reformation. His emphasis on instruction, especially in preparation for the
Lord's Supper, proved to be a major contribution to a new type of confirmation
associated not only with Baptism but also with the Lord's Supper.
Where confirmation
is associated with Baptism and the Lord's Supper, as is usually the case, the
three essential elements of confirmation are: (1) a course of instruction
preceding the rite; (2) profession of faith, usually made through an
examination and summarized in formal questions in the rite; (3) and intercessory
prayers by the congregation, normally with imposition of hands. Baptism, not
confirmation, normally marks the beginning of one's membership in the church.
All this talk
about confirmation now behooves me to ask you how the Holy Spirit is active in
your life today. It is a question I ask all of you. Applying the passage, how
is the Holy Spirit active in your life today?
Preparing for this
sermon, I sent the passage from Acts to some friends along with this question:
How is the Holy Spirit active in my life today? My friend, David, responded with this: When
I think “living in the Spirit” or walking with God, I focus on three priorities
that your love and resulting time should have: God first, family second,
and all others third. When I read the scripture in Acts that you forwarded, I
am taken to every conference or function where Christians from all over get
together that I have attended. The lack of personal or other agendas is
gone. Focus is on God first, and what he is doing, or not, in your
life. It gives me insight into what heaven will be like. One of the first
times I felt this, and I have felt it many times since, was when I attended the
[a conference with] Christians from all over the world, and we were of one
mind, and one focus. It was a great experience.
A friend from Pittsburgh wrote this: Since
I have never had an original thought in my life, when reading Scripture, and
particularly when preparing to preach I seek the guidance of the Spirit. On a day-to-day
basis I pray to the Spirit to make me aware of and alert to opportunities
to bring God's presence into everyday circumstances. Over the last 35 years, I
have repeatedly trusted in and acted upon the Holy Spirit’s urgings. That's how
I wound up being ordained as a deacon and living in Tennessee and now
Mississippi.
My cousin in San Diego said this: My religious education is slim, having gone to
public school, the only thing we got was an hour a week at Sunday School. I'm
not sure I can directly say how the Holy Spirit influences my life, but I know
there are times when things mysteriously work out and I say it's a “God Thing.”
So, since the Holy Spirit is part of God, I suppose I’m getting guidance and
comfort from him at those times too.”
Finally, a college friend replied with these
words: The Holy Spirit is dwelling among us. The Spirit may not present
itself in the same manner as it did to the Apostles on that original Pentecost,
but in some manner or form, the Spirit is present among us.
So, how is the Holy Spirit active in your life
today? Is the Holy Spirit alive or asleep? The Holy Spirit did not cease being
active in the Church with the last page of the New Testament. Rather,
throughout the centuries Scripture and the Holy Spirit have infused the lives
of countless men and women that they themselves became living gospels.[10] You are the living
gospels because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Do you call upon the Holy Spirit before you
read Scripture? Do you ask the Holy Spirit to guide you before you send a text
or email or post on social? Is the Holy Spirit present when you confront your
spouse, child or other church member? Do you pray that the Holy Spirit give
guidance to your pastor before he responds to your word or deed? Do you pray
for the sick and send them a card telling them that you are praying for them?
Have you been praying for Joel Lissy and your congregation?
Folks, you should know that every act that
appears to be good is not from the Holy Spirit. Even the devil can speak kind
words. How else do you think he can seduce people? People who act nice can be motivated
by an evil spirit, a selfish motive, greed or deep-seated anger. It is because,
as Col Nathan Jessep said, people “can’t handle the truth.” That is why Martin
Luther taught both Law and Gospel. The Law of God convicts us, but the Gospel
redeems the unrighteous sinner. Luther urged people to cling to Christ
crucified. That is why in many church sacristies, we find Luther’s Sacristy
Prayer. He wrote it for pastors, but it is applicable to anyone who serves the
congregation in any capacity. Take to heart these words, especially the last
sentence because when you act without the aid of the Holy Spirit, you do much
harm.
Lord God, You have
appointed me as a Bishop and Pastor in Your Church, but you see how unsuited I
am to meet so great and difficult a task. If I had lacked Your help, I could
have ruined everything long ago. Therefore, I call upon You: I wish to devote
my mouth and my heart to you; I shall teach the people. I myself will learn and
ponder diligently upon Your Word. Use me as Your instrument — but do not
forsake me, for if ever I should be on my own, I would easily wreck it all.[11]
Friends, we are all sinners, but Christ has
always transformed sinners into saints. As you depart from here, reflect on how
the Holy Spirit makes you a living gospel and share that good news with others,
and when you do may the peace of God that surpasses all
understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen. Alleluia.
[1] William
S. Kurz, Acts of the Apostles. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, (2013), p. 44.
[2]
Jeremiah 31:31, 33.
[3] 2
Corinthians 3:2-3.
[4] Jerome
Biblical Commentary, p. 730
[5]
See Exodus 19:16-19; 1 Kings 19: 11-13.
[6]
Kurz, p. 45.
[7]
Kurz, p. 45. See Genesis 11:1-9.
[8]
Romans 5:5.
[9]
See Confirmation at http://cyclopedia.lcms.org.
[10]
Christopher A. Hall, Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers. Downers Grove,
IL: IVP Academic, (1998), p. 35.
[11] A
Sacristy Prayer by Martin Luther Translated From: Dr. Martin Luthers Werke
(Weimar: Hermann Boehlaus Nachfolger, 1909), Band 43, pp. 513. Translated by
James Kellerman.
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