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“Breath of Life”
Sermon by Catherine W. FitzGerald May 15, 2005, Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill 1 Corinthians 12:7
Jesus had just been crucified and reappeared to his followers with a message. “While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. ‘This’, he said, ‘is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’” The disciples left to return to Jerusalem, following the command of their Savior. They did not know what to expect. Wait in Jerusalem, he instructed them…a directive that must have been highly disappointing to the disciples and other followers. Jerusalem had meant danger for them. In their recent past, it had meant certain failure. Jerusalem had crucified their Messiah and caused them to flee. And yet, Jesus asked them to return to that place and wait for the promise of the Father. Why Jerusalem? Seemingly, the Pentecostal act of the Spirit could’ve happened anywhere. John Jansen writes, “The gospel must begin in Jerusalem before ever it can reach the uttermost parts of the earth…. Back then to Jerusalem, to erase the memories of failure. Back to Jerusalem, that Christ may walk in her streets again.” And so they returned to this land of painful memories and hoped for promise. It is speculated that those waiting numbered well over 100. Men and women, young and old, they waited together in Jerusalem. And then it happened—an event that changed the history of our world: the Holy Spirit descended upon the gathered mass—giving each of them the ability to speak in other languages, to communicate, without barriers, the message of God. The Spirit of God breathed life in the very place life had been overcome. The promise of God’s continued presence was fulfilled in one, grand and miraculous gesture before God’s people. But we still don’t seem to get it. A recent survey of US residents found that 61% think the Holy Spirit is "a symbol of God's presence or power, but is not a living entity”. This is not a new view. Back in the days of the early church, Athenagoras wrote that the Spirit was an 'emanation' of God the Father. It was not until the solidification of the Nicene Creed at the end of the fourth century, and a split between Eastern and Western churches, that such a view was seen as wrong, and, in fact, heretical (at least by some). The reappearance of such a belief is most unfortunate and contradicts much of what we know about the Holy Spirit from scripture. Today, as we celebrate the Pentecostal act of the Spirit, let me remind you of one thing: the Spirit is a real, tangible entity—the third person of the Trinity. In the narrative book of Acts, Luke wrote for people who suffered the upset of the Temple’s destruction—the loss of the symbol of God’s presence among his people. Many of those present on that fateful day of Pentecost had no doubt experienced the breakup of families over the issue of whether or not Jesus was in fact the Messiah. Luke set out to give a pastoral word to these people. His word was this: God is still at work among us. This is Luke’s message for us this morning: God is still at work among us. The Latin word spiritus, similar to the Greek and Hebrew forms, originally meant breath. Frederick Buechner describes: “breath is what you have when you’re alive and don’t have when you’re dead. Thus spirit = breath = life, the aliveness and power of your life, and to speak of a man’s spirit (or soul) is to speak of the power of life that is in him.” God has breathed life into us, and continues to breathe himself into his creation. Moment-by-moment he seeks to renew us, and this is done by the power of the Holy Spirit. In the late fourteenth century, Julian of Norwich claimed to receive sixteen revelations of God’s love in a sequence of unexpected visions. She provided us with great insight into the encounter between the soul and God. We are “…drawn and counseled and taught, inwardly by the Holy Spirit and outwardly, through the grace of the same Spirit, by Holy Church. Our Lord wants us to be occupied in this, rejoicing in him, for he rejoices in us,” wrote Julian. Since the time of Pentecost the work of the church has been a response to the work of the Spirit…at least ideally. That Pentecost day, the Holy Spirit initiated a period in which the church could exist and grow—life was breathed into it. That period has not ended. The church still exists—but the real question is: do we continue to grow? It is a disappointment, to say the very least, that on average only ˝ of those confirmed still attend worship twenty years later. One could assume that number is only decreasing, especially among mainline Protestant churches. (My confirmation class will no doubt be an exception!) Members quickly move from active to inactive…and we sit in our offices, in the session, and in the pews wondering “why?”. An immediate response might be the church and/or even God has become irrelevant. But if the Pentecost act tells us anything it’s that God is with us in history, with us now. God is not the irrelevant one, and we know this because of the Holy Spirit. It is our response to the Spirit—corporately and individually—that brings about this irrelevance. If the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is a gift, than like any other gift we must accept it and recognize it—this is our response. I find it hard to believe that any of us will be able to accept these gifts of the Holy Spirit if the Holy Spirit remains some vague entity—some mere emanation from God, rather than the active third person of the Trinity. When the Spirit was upon them in Jerusalem that day, there were two responses: amazement and accusation. They were amazed because they could all of the sudden understand one another, speaking in languages that had been previously unfamiliar. The gospel was available to all. This was the first response. The second response was an accusation of drunkenness—a practical evaluation of an impossible act. In these skeptical times, we would probably be more apt to respond with accusations of drunkenness and the like. But response is everything. Paul knew this when he wrote to the Corinthians about spiritual gifts. They must be first recognized as gifts from the Spirit, and then nurtured. This is the response needed. It does not happen by chance, it will not occur without our efforts. God has already given us his Spirit—we need only respond. Part of this response is individual. God has given us freedom—the freedom to love ourselves and God and neighbor. Freedom necessitates choice. We have a choice to respond to God or not. Acts of the Apostles is a book concerning their response to the Spirit made manifest from Pentecost onward. The Spirit came to them first and in response the gospel was spread. We also should take into consideration, once again, that they were asked to return to a place they feared. And yet, this place of fear became a place of great strength for them. Individually they responded to the Spirit—bringing the good news across the land. They did not run away because of their fear and discomfort, but embraced their God. We would be wise to do the same. Paul wrote: “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” And so, we must ask ourselves: how has the Spirit manifested itself in me? Am I using it for the common good? How do I function in this “one body” of Christ? Many of us, in times of great joy, fail to remember that God rejoices with us…that our joy can produce his fruits. Others of us, in times of great pain and turmoil—when, like the disciples we find ourselves in situations that seem impossible, would rather reject God entirely, seeking only human comforts. And still others of us, (and most of us fall into this category) in times of no particular importance, lose our sense of “need” for God, failing to recognize God’s presence even in the mundane. In these ways we become the dysfunctional parts of the body of Christ: we are not renewed by his Spirit, we have not responded appropriately to the gift. As individuals, then, we must hold ourselves accountable—for our own good, for the common good, and for the glory of God. The second part of our response must be corporate, reflecting the church as a whole. All of our gifts are from the same Spirit. All of our gifts must serve to uphold God’s kingdom. There is great unity in the diversity of these gifts. “Church is where all hearts are one so that nothing else has to be one,” wrote William Sloane Coffin. I believe he too is talking in ideals. “Church is where there’s such a climate of acceptance that each of us can be his or her unique self. Church is where we learn to be free, strong, and mature by sharing with one another our continued bondage, weakness, and immaturity. Church is where we so love one another that it becomes bearable to live as solitaries.” Coffin understood that church is where much of the nurturing happens. Church is the place we can be most free, committing our lives to God and the common good. Wouldn’t it be an incredible miracle if each of us, male and female, young and old, renewed by the Holy Spirit on Pentecost day took a good look at ourselves and our church? What are your gifts of the Spirit? What is your response to them? My hope for all of us is that as the confirmands profess their faith outwardly, we will each be moved to do so inwardly, letting the divine breathe life into us, moving us to truth and action—in and out of these walls. If ever there were a day for renewal, let that day be today! |