Festival of Pentecost
Ezekiel 37:1-14 Psalm 104:24-35 Acts 2:1-21 John 15:26-27, 16:4-15 Dear fellow ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, grace and peace to you from the one who sets loose the spirit. Amen The spirit is on the loose. That’s what Pentecost is about, the unleashing of the spirit in the world we have three readings today that help us understand what this means who the spirit is, and in each of these readings we find that the spirit is the gift of God, it is unleashed by testimony and brings life where it is heard and received. In Ezekiel we have the story of the dry bones, because we hear it in English we miss some of the nuances of the story, Hebrew is a language where a lot of words have double meanings and authors often play with those double meanings, in this story that word is ruach which means both breath and spirit pointing to the intimate connection between the two there cannot be life without breath and when we think about it can there really be life without spirit? God takes the prophet Ezekiel and sets him in a valley of dry bones, then asks the prophet if the bones can live? all indicators say that these bones are dead with a capital D but the prophet defers to the power of God saying “O Lord God, you know” and God instructs the prophet to speak to the bones, to tell them of the promise of God, that God will bring them back together into bodies and will cause breath to enter them so that they will live. Instead of speaking to these bones directly God gives the words to Ezekiel to tell to the bones, and Ezekiel using his own breath prophesies to the bones and they come together and form bodies but they are not alive until the prophet speaks to the breath, to the spirit to come into these bodies that they come to life. Then God explains the object lesson to the prophet, the people of Israel feel like these dry bones, dead with a capital D, but through the words and breath of the prophet God promises to breathe life back into the people who thought there was no life left. That is the power of the spirit Perhaps you’ve experienced something like this, you were in a dry valley of faith or life and it seemed like there was no climbing out of it and then someone spoke a few words to you and things didn’t seem so hopeless anymore. That is the work of the spirit set loose in the world, the spirit that is as close to us as our own breath. In our Gospel we hear Jesus promise to send the disciples an advocate, the spirit of truth and this advocate will testify, will speak on behalf of Jesus so that the disciples may also testify, tell others of Jesus and his love. As he is saying good bye to his disciples Jesus acknowledges that there’s a lot that’s been left unsaid “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” the spirit is truth, that comes to advocate when the time is right. We are abundantly aware of the things left unsaid, there are a multitude of issues in life that Jesus in the Bible does not directly address that we struggle with, we have trouble bearing them we disagree about what to do when we are faced with them, they divide communities, and yet in the midst of it all is the spirit of truth showing us the way, speaking through a prophet or two or three the words of Jesus, “love one another as I have loved you” the message spreads, slowly sometimes and as it spreads Jesus is glorified in the love of the community that is growing and expanding through those who tell what they have heard from the spirit of truth The spirit is on the loose spreading the truth. Finally we have our reading from Acts, the account of the first Pentecost. The risen Jesus has appeared to the disciples and they have witnessed Jesus’ ascension into heaven. They know they are on their own so to speak and they are preparing to continue on as a community, on the morning of Pentecost, a festival observed fifty days after the Passover the community is gathered they hear a sound like the rush of a violent wind, this sound fills the house where they are and the holy spirit appears like tongues of fire above their heads and fills the disciples who begin to speak in different languages, all of this causes such a racket that people are drawn to the house and as a crowd forms and the disciples spill out of the house still speaking in their given languages the crowd is amazed because they can understand the disciples, they are hearing the message of Jesus in their own languages, of course there are some naysayers who think the disciples are drunk, but Peter interprets what is happening through the prophesy of the prophet Joel, the prophesy that says in the last days the spirit will be poured out on all people young, old, slave, free, male, female, everyone all the distinctions that normally divide will fall as the spirit is given out equally and all shall share the words of the spirit with the world and these words will spread like wild fire. The spirit is fire, by nature it spreads often unpredictably, and even we humans who have harnessed the power of fire appreciate that it is a wild thing that we manage and contain but really have no control over and we get into trouble when we forget that fact. The spirit set loose in the world, through the gift of God and the testimony of the disciples is out of the disciples’ control just like that the people who come from all corners of the earth who hear the spirit filled message of the disciples will take it home with them, and they will tell others and Jesus’ word will have spread to the far corners of the earth far away from the original disciples. It’s quite a contrast to the first part of Acts, the measured preparation that the disciples take, casting lots to choose the most worthy follower of Jesus to join the in crowd the spirit busts that all open because it’s not about worthiness it’s a gift of God to all people regardless of how they are defined and divided by the world the spirit, breath, truth, fire shows up especially when people are defined and divided and interrupts those divisions, that attempt at controlling who is in and who is out, who claims to have the truth there the spirit interrupts breathing new life into places we have caused death, spreading the love of Jesus like a fire that cannot be contained showing the truth found in love all while working through us, the words we speak the love we share. Life, truth, fire Watch out, the spirit is on the loose. And I say, come Holy Spirit. Amen
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Second Sunday of Easter
Acts 4:32-35 Psalm 133 1 John 1:1-2:2 John 20:19-31 Dear fellow ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, grace and peace to you from the one who comes to us in community. Amen Today we hear reinforced in our readings that for better or worse, the way Jesus has decided to come to us, to continue the relationship post resurrection is through community, namely the community of disciples that gathers in Jesus’ name, or as we sometimes call it ‘the Church’ with a capital ‘C’ Thomas was absent the first time Jesus appeared to the community of the disciples, and while his demands have been played up as doubt vs the disciples’ belief, all Thomas wanted is what the other disciples first received, to see Jesus, and when he is with the community the next week Jesus comes again and Thomas has his chance and exclaims “My Lord and my God.’ Out of Thomas’ questioning comes deep faith, facilitated by the community gathered. Then the gospel writer takes the opportunity to offer a blessing for all of us who have believed without placing our hands on the resurrected Jesus as Thomas had opportunity to. We may not have placed our finger in the spot on Jesus’ hands where the nails when in, nor have we place our hand in his side where the soldier’s sword pierced him but we have all encountered the body of Christ on earth, we would not be here today had we not come into contact at some point with that body and members who make up that body, who brought Jesus to us and into our lives, because that is how the gospel message is spread, through the community. We heard in Acts, the history book of the early church, how the church formed and spread after the ascension of Jesus, how the believers were of one heart and soul, how they gathered together to hear the testimony of the apostles and how each member of the community was as valued as the next, as lived out in the distribution of communal property such that poverty in the community was wiped out. Other places in Acts tell how this community attracted more and more believers every day. Now I don’t know about you, but to me that sounds like a pretty good community to be a part of. In confirmation this week our lesson, serendipitously was on The Church, each lesson starts out with a Bible passage and questions to get us into the lesson and this week the passage was a very similar passage in Acts as our first reading, and the writers of the curriculum remarked that the description of the early church sounded like a party that anyone would want to join, then asked the confirmands to consider how the actions of the church members helped or hindered how Christ’s message first spread. In talking about it we agreed that the character of the community had a lot to do with the success of the early church, and then we agreed that it is still the case, how church members and communities act make or break how the message of Christ is spread, whether or not people want to take part in the community, the primary place in which God chooses to be revealed in the world. And if the community is like the one described in Acts, that’s great, but we don’t have to think very hard to find an example of when a community did not live in a way that made people want to take part in the community in fact I think it might almost be easier to think of negative examples, the times of exclusion, hate, petty bickering and power dynamics and all of a sudden what sounded like gospel the proclamation that Jesus comes to us in community, starts to sound like law, because we are intimately aware of the fact that the church is not perfect, nor are the people that make up the church perfect and yet we’re the primary way that Jesus uses to build relationships with people? That’s a lot of pressure, there is a lot riding on our imperfect selves and the imperfect community we make up. But lest our despair at our imperfections cause us to give up on the community , as so many have done, there is a word of grace, forgiveness, that when we sin we have an advocate in Jesus Christ. John, in our second reading addresses the reality of the Christian community, both the good and the bad, his description of how the community works is beautiful, how the older community members share their experiences and build relationships with new community members so that in these relationships, relationship with God is built, and then John acknowledges the reality that communities don’t always practice what they preach, just saying we have fellowship with God is not enough, we must also live out that fellowship. oddly enough John doesn’t seem too concerned about the particulars of the sin present in the community, he acknowledges that it’s better not to sin but if anyone does there is forgiveness in Christ Jesus, what John seems more concerned about is the failure to acknowledge our sin, our imperfections, from this passage we get the line that is used in confession and forgiveness “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us, if we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The key then to the Christian community is authenticity rather than perfection, I mean which community would you rather belong to? one that pretends it’s perfect and points out others’ imperfections or one that acknowledges its faults, asks for forgiveness and moves forward with the intent of not repeating those past mistakes or harmful actions. I know which one I choose, and strive to create. and perhaps that’s the genius of God working through an imperfect community and imperfect people, it’s the way to connect with others who are not perfect and to share with them the grace that has transformed our lives. One person who has lived this out in a very public way that comes to mind is Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber, she’s a Lutheran pastor and public theologian and author and has been quite open about her struggles in life with addiction, and through her openness about her imperfections and her experience of grace God has used her to gather a community of people, many of whom who have felt excluded by other Christian communities in the past because of their imperfections. I’ve heard her speak several times and a couple times she’s mentioned that some people at her church have told her they feel less intimidated coming and confessing to her because they know that she’s done way worse things and that God has forgiven her. When we’re in a less than ideal situation, it’s comforting to know that there is someone else who has been through it and survived and thrived, and that is the essence of Jesus, Immanuel, God with us, who has experienced everything we do, even death and who live and loves us still, in fact on Maundy Thursday we heard Jesus command the disciples “to love one another as I have loved you, by this everyone will know that you are my followers, if you have love for one another.” The mark of the community gathered around Jesus is love, Jesus love, that he first shared in a community, that he continues to share in community. Jesus comes to us in community, Jesus comes to us in community so that as a community we can live and share the gospel message of Jesus’ love. That is why we are all here, imperfections and all, to experience the love of God through one another, and to share that experience with the whole world so that like Thomas all may exclaim “My Lord and my God.” Amen 7th Sunday After Easter
Acts 1:6-14 Psalm 68:1-10 1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11 John 17:1-11 Dear fellow ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, grace and peace to you from the one who prays for us. Amen Here’s the scene: you know you’re going to die soon. What do you say to the loved ones you’re leaving behind? What do you want them to know? To feel? To carry with them the rest of their lives? And how do you tell them this once you’ve got it all figured out? Or you’re on the other end of the good bye, wondering how you will move forward in life, who you will be in the absence of your loved one, wondering what you are supposed to do without them. This is the scene we find in our gospel for today, Jesus knows he’s going to die soon and this is his farewell address to the disciples, it reveals what is most important to him, what he wants the disciples to carry with them even as he answers their as yet unspoken questions of identity and purpose. Jesus starts by saying once and for all the purpose of his life, what he wants the disciples to remember - that God sent him, his son- to bring eternal life to all- that is why Jesus has been among them, and in the event that they are unclear on it he defines eternal life: being in relationship with the true God who is revealed in his Son Jesus Christ. Jesus’ purpose has been fulfilled in his relationships with the disciples, relationships where he has communicated who God is, through his presence among them and this has not been a general presence but a personal intimate presence, one built on relationships, it is a presence that participated in the whole range of the human experience from life to death, a presence who felt the pain of the mourning and raised the dead, a presence who felt the hunger of the crowds and provided bread and hope, a presence who became the life of the party when the wine ran out, who got to know the people he encountered and who loved them faults and all, Peter the blockhead, Thomas the questioner, Martha the overworker and yes even Judas the betrayer, Jesus loved them all and saw them as a gift from God, was honored by the relationships, the people that God had placed in his care and in the end, in his farewell address he gives thanks to God for them And it is in this thanksgiving for the gift of his disciples that Jesus begins to lay the foundation for the disciples’ future life, a life without his physical presence yet where they are still in relationship with God because they are God’s, he paints the picture a future where they will be the presence of Christ in the world, where their purpose will be to live the eternal life given them by Jesus and to share that eternal life with others by being the presence of Jesus in the world, in the same way Jesus shared it with them, by building personal relationships that reveal God as one who is intimately concerned with the lives of God’s children. Jesus knows that this will not be an easy identity and purpose to live out, especially in the sadness and confusion, the joy and wonder at his death and resurrection so he closes his prayer for the disciples with a prayer for protection and unity. He closes his prayer, that’s how Jesus has chosen to give his parting message to the disciples, through a prayer for them that they overhear. It is a beautiful and intimate thing to be prayed for and it is reflective of the intimacy Jesus has with both God and his disciples, it also creates new life in the people who pray and hear the prayer. Prayer is not just communication with God, a checklist of requested items but a time of relationship building where hopes and dream are exchanged and those involved are empowered to live into the new life envisioned in the prayer. Even as Jesus says good bye to his disciples he creates new life for them, just as he creates new life for us for we are overhearers of the prayer too, we are disciples, Jesus prays for us knowing what we need in his seeming absence. Today we mark the ascension of Jesus to heaven as we heard in our reading from Acts, and we remember the promise that Jesus will return, it has been many generations of waiting for Jesus to return and though Jesus has left us with our identity and purpose, comes to us in the bread and wine at the table and is present in the spirit sometimes we can’t help but feel his physical absence, and we wonder why, just as when we lose a loved one, we still miss them and wonder what the future will bring even as we live out that future. These are the moments when we go back to the farewell, we take time to remember and be renewed in the memories of our loved ones who have gone before us, who we are because of them and our purpose in life after them, and we are renewed in our convictions. In the same way we take time to remember Jesus, to hear his prayer for us, to be renewed in our identity as children of God and Christ’s presence in the world and our purpose of living and sharing the eternal life of relationship with God that has been given to us. It has been many generations since the first disciples witnessed Jesus’ ascension to heaven and yet here we are, children of God, living the gift of eternal life in relationship with the God who Jesus revealed to us by the community of disciples, Jesus’ presence on earth. We remember with thanksgiving those who passed the faith along to us and the prayer that Jesus prays for us, and so renewed in our identity as beloved children of God and our purpose of sharing that relationship with others we live into our eternal life in Christ. Amen |
AboutPastor Emily Johnson preaches weekly at Christ Lutheran. These are manuscripts of her sermons given at Christ Lutheran. Feel free to engage with them in the comments section of the blog. Archives
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