May 19, 2024
St. Andrew Church
Rev. Anne McAnelly
Day of Pentecost
First Lesson: Acts 2:1-4
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 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. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
Second Lesson: John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15
“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. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning. 4When their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them. “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. 7 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. 8 And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; 11 about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned. 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.
Rich is a dear friend and colleague in ministry. We met in the early 2000s at a conference at Princeton. At the time, he had two young sons and so did I. He taught me so much about preaching and pastoring and then we discovered we both liked to play golf. The problem was we never lived in the same state. Jane Grady, Rich, and I attended a preaching conference in Minnesota and finally Rich and I got to play a round of golf. We have kept in touch for nearly 20 years. Recently I discovered that Rich has terminal cancer, so we have been more connected through calls, emails, texts and especially prayers. Prayers for his well-being, his family, and his congregation. The Holy Spirit is what makes those prayers work. The Spirit binds us together across the miles and through the years. The Spirit working became apparent to me when Rich emailed a group of his colleagues some of his favorite sermon illustrations, a wealth of pastoral stories from a gifted preacher. I was blessed to receive them. The surprising part is that Russ, the retired pastor from the Aptos Unitarian church, emails me wondering why I was on this email list. After his retirement, Russ had taken an interim position back east, in the same town as Rich, hence he got the email sent to the area pastors. Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world… Rich and Russ end up in the same small town. My clergy connection with Russ facilitated more information about Rich. Have you ever lived far away from a dear friend needing information but not wanting to bug them for it? Or if they are terminal wondering when you will know they have passed? It felt like Russ moving near Rich was a blessing from the Holy Spirit, a God thing, so I could ask Russ to keep me posted about Rich’s condition.
I start here with a current Spirit-filled account to highlight that Pentecost is not simply about what happened 2,000 years ago, a moment in history, but rather a here and now story about how the Holy Spirit is alive and well and always with us. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I love the tongues of fire and the prophetic voices and the ultimate baptism of 3,000 people who received the gift of the Holy Spirit. But if Pentecost is simply a celebration of the birthday of the church, or the demonstration of the Spirit moving in the early church, we are selling God short. Let’s hear what Jesus tells his disciples about the Holy Spirit. He has told them he will be departing soon, so listen for the Holy Spirit names and the connection between Jesus and the Holy Spirit. READ Jn 15- 16. What names did you hear? Advocate, Spirit of Truth. Advocate comes from the word Paraclete, which many struggle to define, often because what the Spirit does is based on what is needed at the time. “‘Paraclete’ give(s) the Holy Spirit the name embodied in the moment–comforter, aide, intercessor, companion, witness, guide, teacher, and so on” (Working Preacher, Karoline Lewis). The word translated in scripture is contextual to what the Spirit is doing and how it is moving. So when we are praying, the Holy Spirit is our pathway to God. Yet, the term I like the most for Paraclete is its literal meaning, the one called to be alongside you, just as Jesus has been (14:I6). The Spirit accompanies us in every moment of our life, it comes along side of us. Sailing comes to mind, the coming alongside a boat. There are many ways of doing this for a variety of purposes, to dock, to board a larger vessel, to direct or tow a boat. While kayaking you come alongside to pause and rest. Winds powers the “alongsidedness” in sailing, much like the Spirit wind comes alongside us. John is the only one to use Paraclete, but also refers to the Spirit of truth. Jesus is speaking about the relational aspect of truth, not the propositional one. “The Paraclete, then, is the Spirit of Truth whom Jesus calls to accompany his followers as helper, counselor, advocate, and guide.” (Working Preacher, Judith Jones). We have the Paraclete, the Spirit of truth as well, here and now. Love, support, prayers and wonder all come from the paraclete.
The Spirit is relational, connecting us to each other, Jesus and God. God came to earth in Jesus and we call that the incarnation. The indwelling of God. The disciples know God through Jesus, God’s Son. But when Jesus tells them he is leaving, God has their back. God sends the Advocate, the Paraclete, the Spirit of truth to be with them; to come alongside them in their ministry and life. Jesus tells them it is to your advantage I go away, because when l go, I will send the Advocate to you” (7). You see Jesus and the Spirit do not abide on earth at the same time. Jesus was God incarnate while on earth and the Spirit, the Paraclete, is God’s presence on earth now. The Paraclete is our constant companion, the living presence of the divine among and within us, comforting our community in Jesus’ absence. The Paraclete will enable them (and us) to abide in Jesus’ love” (Working Preacher, Judith Jones). It is the Spirit of God that falls afresh on us each and every day. God’s Spirit is here even when we do not feel it.
“It’s like the story of the shark and the whale. Both were swimming in the sea when the shark swam up to the whale to engage in conversation. (coming alongside). As they swam along, the shark said to the whale, “You are so much older than I, and wiser too. Could you tell me where the ocean is?” The whale responded, “The ocean is what you are in now.” The shark would not believe it. “Come on, tell me where the ocean is so I may find it!11 The whale repeated, “The ocean is here, now; you are in it.11 Unbelieving, the shark swam away searching for the ocean.
The moral of the story, I believe, is this: don’t spend too much time looking for God because the Spirit of God is here in the now of your life, dwelling within you, within me, within this community” (Sermons.com, Susan M. Fleenor, The Indwelling Spirit of Pentecost).
Jesus did not promise the Spirit as a gift only for the first and second century Christians. The coming of the Holy Spirit is not just history, it is here-story. The reality of Pentecost is that our world at this moment is God-drenched. Bathed in the God’s Spirit.
Here is how my friend Rich explains the Holy Spirit. “My favorite illustration for understanding the Holy Spirit has to do with William Shakespeare. It goes like this. If you put me in a room, gave me some paper and a pen and asked me to write a sonnet or a play like Shakespeare, I couldn’t do it. No way, no how. I don’t have it in me. But if you could somehow give me the mind of Shakespeare, the spirit of Shakespeare, I’d have a shot. The Holy Spirit is the mind of Christ, the Spirit of God, the love of Christ poured into our hearts to help us live for God.” Communion and baptism remind us of the gift of the Spirit, being drenched and accompanied by God.
Pentecost is a day of amazing demonstrations of gifts of the Spirit, speaking in tongues, prophesying, communicating in different languages. Acts ends with, “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit, and began speaking in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability” (4). So I ask you what ability has the Holy Spirit given to you? What gift do you share when you feel like God’s presence is indwelling in you? Listening, singing, being present, creating. Your gift will be much like the Spirit itself, meeting the situation, responding to what is needed. When we are open to God’s ever-present Spirit, we are able to respond, to show forth God’s love, to care for those around us. We can do that better when we allow God to come alongside of us, partner with us as we move through life, seeking to be the hands and feet of Christ and to be inspired by God’s love and the Spirit coming alongside us.
Closing Prayer: Father, help us to come to know the Holy Spirit whom you have sent alongside us to help us. He reveals you and Jesus to us. Help us to know him too, and his ways of working with us. Open our eyes, Lord! in Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
