A JOURNEY TO PENTECOST : The HOLY SPIRIT AS COMFORTERÂÂ
(A GOOD SERMON HAS A GOOD BEGINNING, A GOOD ENDING, AND THE SHORTEST POSSIBLE TIME BETWEEN THE TWO.)ÂÂ
(I’ve had a recent revelation about preaching: not everyone can cope with a long sermon, so today you’re just getting the headlines – a classical ‘three points’ – and the rest you can find from a link on the St Martins Facebook page).ÂÂ
I was wide awake at at 3 o’clock the other morning. A mogadon sleeping tablet could not entice any more sleep… The day before I’d brought Jan home from a 10-day sojourn in the special care unit of the local hospital. Some bright imaging on a PET scan told us she had uterine cancer. But she is also suffering from a deep vein thrombosis and a pulmonary embolism – clots in her lungs – which prevents any possibility of operating for the present…ÂÂ
The clotting is being controlled by clexane. But how serious is the cancer? Hopefully we’ll know in the next few days as her gynaecologist and two specialists (both oncologists – a haemotologist for the clotting problem, and a gynaecological oncologist for the cancer) examine her and confer… ÂÂ
In the darkness I asked my confused brain why the love of my life – for 55 years! – my closest and dearest companion, had to be the first in our immediate families – parents, siblings, their/our children, grandchildren – to suffer from any form of this dreaded disease? ÂÂ
I’d read the books – A Grief Observed, Where is God When it Hurts?, Good Grief, The Road Less Traveled, Disappointment with God  – but I know there’s no universal script for this dark drama… ÂÂ
At 4 am I got up, made coffee, and went to my oratory to pray and read the Scriptures.ÂÂ
There in the darkness I read again, slowly, the amazing story in Acts 2. And then I walked around our neighborhood – a square kilometer which the actuarial experts tell us is one of the safest areas in Greater Melbourne – to the music of kookaburras and magpies greeting the dawn…ÂÂ
And today, Pentecost Sunday 2013, the celebration of the birthday of the Christian Church, I’m supposed to preach about the Holy Spirit and life and hope and miracles.ÂÂ
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There are 40-50 sermons in my files on this broad theme, so it should easy, right? Wrong. Google says that of the 170 articles on our website on the subject ‘The Holy Spirit’s Gift of Energy’ is the most popular Pentecost sermon this past week. I frankly don’t have my usual supply of energy at present, only some confused thoughts and some sad feelings…
Jan and I need comfort more than anything…ÂÂ
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The Holy Spirit is for many the vaguest of God’s ‘persons’. The notion of ‘spirit’ – and especially ‘Holy Ghost’ – doesn’t seem to relate to the hard realities of our lives.ÂÂ
And we have done with the Holy Spirit what we’ve done with other important doctrines – argued about it. For Pentecostals the main thing the Holy Spirit does is give us power – power for healing, power over demons, etc. For Evangelicals the Holy Spirit guides us into truth – so defining orthodoxy becomes important.ÂÂ
But when we really ‘get it’ the Holy Spirit is for us what Jesus was for his Palestinian followers – a friend/companion, comforter/ advocate, teacher, empowerer, insight-giver, Saviour, healer… there are dozens of metaphors in the New Testament.ÂÂ
This morning I’d like to talk about the Holy Spirit as Paraclete – Comforter or Advocate.ÂÂ
If you had to select the three key NT chapters on the Holy Spirit you’d choose John 14, Acts 2, and Romans 8 – our lectionary readings for today…ÂÂ
[1] Let’s begin with the Gospel reading: John 14:15-27 (NRSV) –  ‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate,to be with you for ever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.ÂÂ
‘I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.’Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, ‘Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.ÂÂ
‘I have said these things to you while I am still with you.But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.ÂÂ
If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you for ever. 17This is the Spirit of truth… (John 14:15-16) ÂÂ
That word Advocate was translated Comforter in the King James Version. It’s the Greek word ‘Paraclete’ and in the NT it’s only used in the Gospel of John and John’s first epistle.
Greek – para = beside; kalein = to call. Someone you call alongside you to help in time of need…ÂÂ
Jesus says he’s sending another  Paraclete: that is, he is a Paraclete, and when he leaves this earth in bodily form the one he sends to be with us is one who is like him.
The Jesus freaks used to have a very wise slogan: ‘If God is like Jesus, nothing is too good to be true’. Yes, God is like Jesus, and the Holy Spirit is like Jesus. This is the best Scripture from which we learn about the Trinity: we worship a single God: Jesus, God the Creator/Divine Parent, and the Holy Spirit are three Persons, but one God.
So the Spirit is Jesus-with-us, as Jesus was God-with-us. And the Spirit comforts us, but in a way that’s not just providing sympathy and consolation. Its original meaning has to do with providing strength – strength to do what needs to be done. It’s the idea Paul picks up in Romans 8:26: ‘The Spirit helps us in our weakness.’ More of that in a moment.
Now some comforters – I’m thinking of Job’s friends – don’t leave us feeling comfortable. Some ‘Job’s comforters’ berate us for being weak, and perhaps leave us feeling guilty and angry. Some cause us to feel helpless and incapacitated. But Spirit-filled comforters somehow leave us feelings stronger, without suggesting that our problems aren’t really serious. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus, does this for us.
Jesus goes on to say ‘I will not leave you desolate’ – or ‘comfortless’ or, literally, ‘orphans’. What do orphans need? Practical help, guidance, encouragement, security, from someone like a loving parent or a guiding mentor…ÂÂ
Goodreads most popular quote on comfort…ÂÂ
“I’m here. I love you. I don’t care if you need to stay up crying all night long, I will stay with you. There’s nothing you can ever do to lose my love. I will protect you until you die, and after your death I will still protect you. I am stronger than Depression and I am braver than Loneliness and nothing will ever exhaust me.â€ÂÂÂ
― Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, LoveÂÂ
And the famous classical quote:
“But oh! the blessing it is to have a friend to whom one can speak fearlessly on any subject; with whom one’s deepest as well as one’s most foolish thoughts come out simply and safely. Oh, the comfort – the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person – having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away.â€Â
― Dinah Maria Mulock CraikÂÂ
But Jesus wasn’t necessarily suggesting that the Spirit would make us comfortable.
“Too often we… enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thoughtâ€Â. (John F. Kennedy).
The ultimate measure of a person is not where they stand in moments of comfort and convenience, but where they stands at times of challenge and controversy. Martin Luther King, Jr. ÂÂ
Quite the opposite: Jesus warned us about trouble – John 16:33 -  “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.â€Â Matthew 24:9 - “You will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.”ÂÂ
[2] The first Christian PentecostÂÂ
Acts 2: 2-13 (NRSV) – ‘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.ÂÂ
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabsâ€â€in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.’ All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?â€Â But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wineâ€Â.’ÂÂ
Archbishop William Temple described Pentecost as reversing the curse of Babel – the curse of people and groups and races and nations opposing each other, creating the ‘us and them’ situations which produce wars of all kinds. At Pentecost people of different nations heard about the great things God was doing – and heard it all in their own languages. (And they heard it from Palestinian/Galilean boguns!). Reversing Babel is still the work of the Spirit: provoking unity-in-diversity, the experience of koinonia where no one feels marginalized. It’s not just an elite who receive the Spirit but everyone! And if anyone for any reason feels that the church excludes them, that’s the curse of Babel operating, not the Spirit of Pentecost.
Pentecost, the powerful love of the Spirit in these peoples’ lives led them to share their lives and their possessions with one another. No wonder when the world truly sees this kind of love at work in the church, they will say as some ancient peoples did: ‘Truly these Christians love one another.’
The modern church has some soul-searching to do on this matter. There’s a popular bumper-sticker in America: ‘Lord, save us from your followers!’ In his excellent book What’s So Amazing About Grace? the Evangelical Christian author Philip Yancey writes: ‘Recently I have been asking a question of strangers – for example, people sitting next to me on an airplane: “When I say the words ‘evangelical Christian’ what comes to mind?†In reply mostly I hear political descriptions of strident pro-life activists, or gay-rights opponents, or proposals for censoring the Internet. I hear references to the Moral Majority, an organization disbanded years ago. Not once – not once – have I heard a description redolent of grace. Apparently that is not the aroma Christians give off in the world.’
The George Barna Group did some in-depth research from 2007-2011 about why young people are leaving the church. You can read the findings in their book You Lost Me. In a sentence: the church comes across to a whole generation as judgmental and hypocrital. ‘They preach love but don’t practice it’.ÂÂ
And finally,
[3] Romans 8:11-27 (NRSV) –  ‘If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christfrom the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also throughhis Spirit that dwells in you.ÂÂ
‘So then, brothers and sisters,we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the fleshâ€â€for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witnesswith our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christâ€â€if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.ÂÂ
‘I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us.For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For inhope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopesfor what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.ÂÂ
‘Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedeswith sighs too deep for words. And God,who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spiritintercedes for the saints according to the will of God.’ÂÂ
Note that we need help with praying. Jesus’ disciples: ‘Lord teach us to pray!’ And he did – by example, and via the gift of the perfect prayer, The ‘Our Father’ / Lord’s Prayer. The essence of prayer is not formulas, but as theologian C H Dodd said ‘It’s the divine in us appealing to the Divine above us’.ÂÂ
We don’t know how to pray aright because we don’t know the future, and secondly we don’t know what is best for us. The best prayer in times of desolation and trouble is surely Jesus’ prayer on the Cross: ‘Father into your hands I commit my spirit, (my self, my loved ones, etc..)’ÂÂ
And notice that all things work together for good for those who love God. For Paul this wasn’t just a nice theory: 2 Corinthians 11:24-26 –  ‘Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers.’ÂÂ
Conclusion: One of the best stories I’ve heard about someone giving comfort in terms of affirming another:ÂÂ
His name is John. He has wild hair, wears a T-shirt with holes in it, jeans and no shoes. This was literally his wardrobe for his entire four years of college. He is brilliant. Kinda esoteric and very, very bright. He became a Christian while attending college.ÂÂ
Across the street from the campus is a well-dressed, very conservative church. They want to develop a ministry to the students, but are not sure how to go about it. One day John decides to go there. He walks in with no shoes, wearing jeans, his T-shirt, and wild hair.ÂÂ
The service has already started and so John starts down the aisle looking for a seat. The church is completely packed and he can’t find a seat. By now, people are looking a bit uncomfortable, but no one says anything. John gets closer and closer to the pulpit and when he realizes there are no seats, he just squats down right on the carpet. (Although perfectly acceptable behavior at a college fellowship, trust me, this had never happened in this church before!)
By now the people are really uptight, and the tension in the air is thick. About this time, the pastor realizes that from way at the back of the church, the leading elder is slowly making his way toward John. Now the elder is in his eighties, has silver-gray hair, a three-piece suit, and a pocket watch. A godly man, very elegant, very dignified, very courtly.ÂÂ
He walks with a cane and as he starts moving toward this boy, everyone is saying to themselves, “You can’t blame him for what he’s going to do. How can you expect a man of his age and of his background to understand some college kid on the floor?â€ÂÂÂ
It takes a long time for the man to reach the boy. The church is utterly silent except for the clicking of the man’s cane. All eyes are focused on him. You can’t even hear anyone breathing. The people are thinking, “The minister can’t even preach the sermon until the elder does what he has to do.â€ÂÂÂ
And now they see this elderly man drop his cane on the floor. With great difficulty he lowers himself and sits down next to John and sits with him so he won’t be alone.ÂÂ
Everyone chokes up with emotion. When the minister gains control he says, “What I’m about to preach, you will never remember. What you have just seen, you will never forget.â€ÂÂÂ
That’s like what the Holy Spirit does for us, in terms of comfort/advocacy – someone who is alongside us when we feel lost, or beaten, or marginalized, or confused…
(But someone at St Martins’ said ‘Perhaps that student was a paraclete – offering a loving wake-up call to that stodgy congregation!’)ÂÂ
Posted last night on a Facebook site with a beautiful orchid:
May you have
Enough happiness to make you sweet,
Enough trials to make you strong,
Enough sorrow to keep you human,
And enough hope to know you’re secure in God’s safe hands…
Amen.ÂÂ
Rowland Croucher
Pentecost Sunday 2013
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Just in:
The Inclusive, Participatory Tongues of Fire
Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabsâ€â€we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!†Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?â€Â
– Acts 2
If the Tower of Babel is the story of God’s dismantling of Empire – the Babylonian one, particularly, as a stand-in for the Egyptian empire – through the scattering of language from the one dominant culture, the babbling of Pentecost is the antidote, the unprivileging of any one specific people or culture. It is the decolonization of a God who only speaks for and from the perspective of the privileged.
Pentecost is also the completion of the incarnation begun on Christmas – allowing human participation in divinity in an effort to allow each access to each other.  Before, the God of all creation spoke through one, limited people group. Through the incarnation of Jesus, God then becomes a member of that people group (as an able-bodied male, at that), but grants access to God to those denied that access previously – including people with disabilities, women who are deemed unclean, foreigners, those who cannot afford to buy sacrifices. Now, in the Pentecost, God is present through the Holy Spirit upon all people. It is a movement of divine solidarity that spreads out to all.
And this is radical. It is so radical an introduction to a new way of life that the recipients are labeled drunk. So radical, indeed, that the participants decide to gather, live together, eat together, pray and learn together about this new way – about this revolutionary, anti-Empire God revealed through Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
This is also known as the introduction of the Church – the inauguration of its particular mission on Earth.
And we see the way that this explosive, revolutionary gathering is met out – through gathering in communes.
The Holy Spirit comes upon the people, and the people become a collective, inclusive mishmash of willful, participatory communism.
Why does it look so different today? Why does the Christian Church often deny access to God through our practices and the policies that we endorse? Upon reading this interpretation, the typical US Christian may become defensive – may sputter that communism never works and that English is the primal language of the real world as they did on my friend David Henson’s blog.
Christians in the age of the American Empire, in other words, have an awfully small amount of holy imagination – we are busy building the tower of Babel when we need tongues of fire.
http://leftcheek.wordpress.com/2013/05/19/the-inclusive-participatory-tongues-of-fire/
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