May 23, 2021 Pentecost
Scripture Acts 2:1-4, 14, 17-21
2 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say.
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.
19 And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
20 The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
Scripture: John 15:26-27, 16:7, 12-15
26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. 27 You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.
Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.
12 “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. 14 He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
When Jesus stands before Pilate, he asks Jesus “What is truth?” (Jn 18:38). Today I ask you, “What is truth?” Truth today is finding out what happened on January 6th. Truth is discovering how we will get to a two-state solution in Palestine and Israel. Or discovering the truth about when we will be safe from Covid 19? And how will we address climate change? Truth is about how we will be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ in this ever-changing world? You might say, Anne, that is not truth those are just a bunch of questions we face today. In a way you are correct, but it is in finding the answers to these pressing questions of our time, that we find truth.
The Greek word for truth is aletheia meaning unconcealing or uncovering. I love that definition. It speaks to why we say, “uncovering the truth” It implies the answers are there we just need to uncover them; we need to find them. If we take climate change for example, we are discovering new technologies that are helping us address this cataclysmic conundrum, like the new electric full size Ford trucks outperforming the gas and diesel models….
As you know today is Pentecost, the day the Holy Spirit came down to the disciples after our risen Lord Jesus ascended to heaven. We honor the arrival of the Holy Spirit and its revealed truth. The truth of Pentecost is violent winds, fire, and divided tongues. The truth of Pentecost is multiple languages being heard and spoken and the Holy Spirit being poured out. The truth of Pentecost is everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved! (v. 21). Acts tells the story of people hearing and speaking in different languages and connects that to Pentecost and the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy! It is a moment in time over 2,000 years ago when a dynamic and revolutionary event took place, tearing down language barriers, inspiring the baptism of thousands and thousands of people, and proclaiming Jesus and God’s kingdom. Almost every time I have preached on Pentecost it has been from the Acts passage. But this time I was intrigued with John’s take on the arrival of the Holy Spirit, giving a different lens through which to view this moment.
First and foremost, John uses a different word for the arrival of God’s Spirit. John calls God’s power with us, the ‘Advocate” (parakletos) which is sometimes translated “Counselor” or “Comforter.” But what it really means is “One called alongside.” Such a beautiful image. God’s power is one who is alongside of you when you are sitting in the doctor’s office hearing a diagnosis. It is the one who is with you when you feel lonely in the middle of night because you are missing a loved one. The One called alongside is a very present and living force, vital and active today, not some historic character or distant and divine being. Yes, the Advocate is of God and yes it is the bridge between this world and the heavenly realm. But One called alongside is personal and present, comforting and consoling, wise and wonder filled.
The One called alongside is the aura you feel when you know you have been in God’s presence. Maybe it is that comforting feeling that blows through you in a moment of need, or the answer that presents itself like a flame igniting, a revealed truth.
John also calls this ever-present power the Spirit of Truth. So not only is the Holy Spirit an advocate and comforter who comes alongside of us, it is also the strength we must find and speak the truth. The Holy Spirit helps us uncover the truth about ourselves and our shortcomings, holding us as we face our sins and encouraging us to move forward in God’s love.
Sometimes I wish that Jesus was here with me, like I missed out on God’s revelation. I wish that I could have sat at Jesus’ feet and heard his teachings. But as I looked at John’s passage I discovered, uncovered the truth that the Holy Spirit is not second best or a substitute for Jesus. Rather the Spirit of Truth is God’s planned way of moving us forward. The Spirit of Truth is better suited for multi-faceted needs we all have.
Jesus knew we would need an advocate, a helper in our times of need, a strength to be with us as we walk our journey of life. So before Jesus leaves this earth he promises to send you an advocate, a helper, the Holy Spirit. After Jesus ascends, the Holy Spirit descends.
I was a swimmer in High School. I swam the breaststroke, the 500 free and the Medley Relay. I could not dive off the block into the water until the previous swimmer touched the wall. We were each swimming different strokes, but we all were swimming our hearts out to win the race. We all swam as a team. In a way Jesus and the Holy Spirit were like two swimmers on the same team. Each one was working to bring about God’s Kingdom, but they did it in different ways. Jesus was about miracles, teaching love and justice and creating a new way to be in relationship to God through him and not through the laws of Moses. The Holy Spirit was about truth, guidance and abiding presence and purpose. Much like I could not dive into the water until the previous swimmer touched the wall. The Holy Spirit could not come until Jesus ascended. They were a tag team, a relay team in God’s plan to bring about God’s purpose.
Jesus said, “It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send the Holy Spirit to you” (Jn v. 7).
One commentator writes, “The Paraclete, then, is the Spirit of Truth whom Jesus calls to accompany his followers as helper, counselor, advocate, and guide. The Paraclete will be their constant companion, the living presence of the divine among and within them, comforting the community in Jesus’ absence. The (Spirit of Truth) will enable them to abide in Jesus’ love.”
(All of that is true for us as well.)
“The Spirit of Truth testifies to the incarnate truth and empowers Jesus’ followers to become witnesses too. The Spirit speaks through the community of disciples, teaching them to bear witness not only with their lips, but with their lives. As Jesus himself said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). The most compelling witness that any disciple can bear is to love others as Jesus did, in deed and in truth.” (Working Preacher, Judith Jones)
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. It is the one who will help us answer those herculean questions I posed at the beginning. You see, Jesus had so much more to tell us, but we were not ready. Jesus said, “I still have so many things to tell you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth” (v. 12-13). The Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth about all the big problems we face today, and our personal concerns as well. But we need to ask. We need to lean into God’s presence. We get to invite the Advocate to come along side of us.
How do you cultivate the Spirit of Truth in your life? What behaviors do you practice so that the Spirit of Truth lives within you?
When asked, “What is Truth?” Jesus did not answer. Instead he sent you and me the Spirit of truth. The truth of Pentecost is that Jesus did not promise the Spirit as a gift only for the first and second century Christians. The truth of Pentecost is that our world in this moment is God-drenched. Let us invite the Spirit of truth to come along side us to reveal that reality to us today. Amen.
