4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
17 ‘In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.
18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy.
If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, 2 make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. 5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
6 who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
7 but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
8 he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.
Do you remember the sensation around Dan Brown’s book the Da-Vinci Code? It introduced Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon as he unravels the mystery of the Holy Grail. Well it was a novel exploring this ancient quest with new eyes. I loved exploring the proportional, and I believe God designed influence of Pi. Pi is the measurement found throughout nature, and our bodies, as elements combine to relationally fit together perfectly. The wonderful and rich histories within Europe that speak to the development of Christian traditions and some less than ideal portrayals of women both in scripture and the Church. The mysterious pursuit of the Holy Grail as the vessel of God; this enduring quest to find the chalice of God. And if you read the book or saw the movie you know that the theory was posed that a person, a woman, might be that vessel, rather than a golden goblet that we often see in the movies. There was both controversy and excitement about this story, but I will say it engaged people at a new level of their faith, asking questions and wondering about traditions and truth. Yet no matter your response, I would say it piqued a discussion about what and who might be such a vessel.
Today I want us to think about becoming a chalice of God, just like we sang this morning. I want us to consider the ways that we are emptied and filled, the cumbersome things that take up space not allowing us to receive what God has to offer, just like we prayed. You truly are a chalice of God as your body prayed in the Children’s Sermon; filling with the Holy Spirit, receiving it into your person and then sharing God’s love with the world.
You might say, Anne that is a stretch for me. So let’s start with a more familiar idea. I want you to envision your coffee cup, the one you use for your coffee or tea in the morning. Now for some of you that is a very clear image, because your coffee cup is a good friend, but others it is more an occasional cup of tea. But as we all certainly know the process goes like this you take down the cup from the cupboard, and fill it with coffee let’s say, doctor it up to your liking and proceed to drink it. You might go back for a second or third cup, but at some point it is empty and will be washed and await another time to be filled, to have a purpose. For a cup is meant to be emptied and filled, filled and emptied.
This is a cup that our guests living on our campus gave me when they first moved in. It says God is my Rock and this is how I roll. I often use it when I am drinking my tea in my office. Over and over again I fill it with tea and then empty it. This simple act can be a spiritual practice; a way for us to practice emptying ourselves so that God can fill us. A spiritual practice of filling and emptying both ourselves and our cups.
Our Lessons today speak of being filled with the Holy Spirit, allowing the love of God to come in and take up every bit of space within your being. The Acts passage is part of the larger Pentecostal story with the arrival of the Holy Spirit within the Church, a time when men and women could feel the spirit, were transformed by its power and remarkably things happened- languages were spoken and many new people came to believe. But we also heard words form Joel testifying about God pouring out divine Spirit upon all people.
God wants to pour out divine spirit upon each one of you all the time. The question is are you too filled with other stuff so that the spirit just rolls right over the edge of your cup? So if you are too full, maybe we need to empty ourselves. Now there are many ways to be emptied. Sometimes it happens to us; illness or life stress; when life just drains us, depletes us of all our resources and strength, and we long to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We welcome the divine into our life, because we are desperate. Rest assured that God willingly pours out divine Spirit upon you to overflowing- gushing with abundance. Yet at times we might need to empty ourselves in order to make space for God and divine love.
Jesus gave us a wonderful example of emptying himself. Philippians tell us, “Jesus though in the form of God…emptied himself taking the form of a slave…Being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient…” Jesus turned away from his first nature and took on humble human obedience. Jesus became selfless, humble and obedient demonstrating God’s love. Jesus is a perfect example- Jesus was completely filled with God, the very nature of God, yet set that aside to be of service to humanity. Over and over again Jesus became a vessel of God’s divine love as it passed from God, through Jesus and to the lame, the blind, and the outcasts, to you!
But we too can empty ourselves, not completely like Jesus, but in small ways, creating a space for God in our lives. If we can go back to the coffee cup for just a moment if you like cream in your coffee and someone gives you a cup filled to the brim, you might need to pour some out in order to make room for the cream- so it is with us and God’s love. We may need to pour out some activities and busyness to make room for God’s filling. Quiet time, prayers to God, being of service to our fellows, reading scripture, soaking up worship these are just some of the ways we can make space, welcoming God into our lives.
Another way of thinking about this idea is as scripture declares, “Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?” (2 Cor. 13:5) When we welcome Christ into our hearts we are being filled with Jesus, we are making space for Christ which means our decisions and actions will reflect our being filled with Jesus. We have Jesus’ strength and courage as well as love and compassion. Having Jesus in us motivates that final movement in the Chalice prayer- having received God’s love we then want to share that love with the world – just like Jesus did.
As we come to table on this World Communion Sunday we are sharing the Lord’s table with Christians around the world. I cannot pass on a final image from the DaVinci Code, that of the opening, the space within Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of the Last Supper. The very composite of the picture was thought to be a chalice of the divine. With half of the group leaning one way and the other side huddled together, there is a visible V shape, with Jesus creating one side of the opening and the beloved disciple the other. As we come to meet Jesus at this table, I wonder if you will create a space, make an opening for the Holy Spirit to fill you. At the table I will take the empty goblet – a vessel waiting to be filled and I will fill it with the fruit of the vine. My prayer is that it will be to each of you the pouring out of the Holy Spirit much like the way God poured out his spirit upon the early church. May you be filled with this feast, may your heart overflow with God’s love, may Jesus live in you, as you are of service in the world.
