Let's See Some Spirit!

St. Paul’s United Methodist Church

John 7:37-39, Rev. Marianne Niesen, May 11, 2008

 

 

Pentecost. The birthday of the church. The day when the fear-filled followers of a crucified Messiah threw off their cloaks of anonymity and began to do what Jesus had done. Pentecost is the day we acknowledge and celebrate the fact that something happened to encourage and enflame and enliven those reticent follower, despite the danger. We call that ‘something’ the Holy Spirit. What was it exactly? Fact is we don’t know exactly . . . we only really know the results. Fear turned to courage. Silence becoming speech. Followers becoming leaders. The hungry being fed through uncharacteristic generosity. The sick being healed through divine power confidently proclaimed by very human healers. The orderly make up of society being shaken up by some of the very people who had everything to lose by doing it. In the end, the coming of the spirit was evident through the actions of a transformed people changing the world around them.

 

We really don’t know how to describe this ‘spirit-infestation’ so we - like the early followers use metaphors . . . the spirit is like the wind blowing, it’s like tongues of fire falling like rain. If you really think about it, both of those images - precisely the ones used by Luke in the Book of Acts - are images of things that can change everything around them. A strong wind bends trees and can even devastate an entire country - consider the recent cyclone in Myanmar. And, of course we know the power of fire. Other images would serve equally as well . . . the spirit of God is like an earthquake, a tidal wave, a stampede of buffalo, a rain of hail. In other words, the spirit of God is powerful and a bit mysterious and it changes everything. We can steel ourselves against it and, to some extent, ignore it, but if we give ourselves to it - if we move forward in faith like those early followers - we can change the world. And that is the point, really. Bottom line is that the spirit of God is not about self promotion. The spirit of God doesn’t pose for a painting any more than Jesus would. Pentecost is not the day we celebrate a bird - often how the spirit is depicted - or a tongues of fire or wind. It is the day we celebrate the amazing power we have as followers of Christ to make a difference. To bring about the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.

 

Of course, with all I have just said, you may think the words I read from John’s gospel a moment ago are a bit strange - especially for Pentecost. John wrote . . . as yet there was no spirit because Jesus was not yet glorified. John knew better. He knew that the spirit of God moved over the waters at creation. He prayed psalms which acclaimed the spirit of God in the world. He read the worlds of the prophets who were empowered by the spirit of God. John knew that the spirit of God was not absent the world until that first Pentecost. So what did John mean? Our clue is in the second half of that line . . . as yet there was no spirit because Jesus was not yet glorified. For John, the ‘glory’ of Jesus was not in heaven. It was in his service, in the giving of his life. No one has greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do that.

 

Friends, Pentecost is the day to recommit ourselves to changing the world in concrete ways because there is no spirit if there is no evidence of it. In other words, we can be the greatest church in the world . . . we can have a great choir . . . great preaching . . . great people . . .great building but if we aren’t making what we say we believe concrete, there is no spirit. If we aren’t involved in changing our world, there is no spirit. If we aren’t giving of ourselves - giving of our resources (yes, money) and our time and our talent, there is no spirit. If our main concern is being content and having everything go our way, there is no spirit/ If we aren’t busy planning our next mission trip, there is no spirit. If we aren’t doing our part to help serve the young mothers and babies at Florence Crittendon and the troubled children at Intermountain, and the hungry and homeless right here in Helena, there is no spirit. We will know the power of our faith by how we live it - concretely.

 

And, as I see it, the power of the spirit is alive and well here at St. Paul’s. We are truly about the business of living our vision - as transformed people, transforming the world. We see the spirit in the lives of the 9 people being baptized today at our 11:00 service. That is something to celebrate . . . for them and for this world of ours that so needs the spirit of Jesus to be alive and moving in our midst.

 

We experience the power of the spirit in our participation in the Nothing But Nets campaign to eradicate malaria in our lifetime. Our youth have led the way in that here at St. Paul’s but I want you to know this is a denomination-wide project. In fact, at our General Conference just 10 days ago, Bill Gates, Sr. (Of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and father of Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates) addressed the Conference and told them - and us - of the progress that has been made in eradicating malaria because of the United Methodist Church. Listen to what we’ve done on this short video clip . . .

 

 

The basketball to which he referred was a ball that was signed by all the bishops who challenged members of the Conference to bid on the ball with the money going to Nothing But Nets. The West Ohio Annual Conference in the end had the highest bid . . .over $40,000 - which the foundation matched. In others words, over $80,000 was raised in just over one week. There’s evidence of the spirit!

 

Another spirit filled, hopeful moment at the General Conference was the story of the Ugandan Children’s Choir. Again, watch the story on this short video clip. . . .

 

Ugandan Children's Choir
Windows Media | QuickTime

Ugandan Children's Choir
"Jesus is a Friend of Mine"
Windows Media | QuickTime

Ugandan Children's Choir
Bishop Mike Watson: "This is the living embodiment of the hope for the future."
Windows Media | QuickTime

 

Last week, our clergy delegate to General Conference, Bill Mullette Bauer wrote that he cried when he saw this choir at General Conference. He wrote . . . ‘these children, all orphans are receiving food, clothing, medical care, an education and musical instruction all because of this connection called the United Methodist church. I am so incredibly proud of what we can do to bring hope to this world.’ And that is evidence of the spirit.

 

To those of you who are being baptized and who are joining the church today, I want you to know you are part of a great connection . . . people from all over the world committed to truly making the reign of God visible and real. Our ‘wearing of the red’ today is a concrete way of reminding ourselves that this is one time we will do everything we can to make sure the gospel of John is wrong about there not being spirit! Let’s commit today to be an endless source of evidence that the spirit is alive and well and is infecting us and through us the world.

 

Happy Pentecost!