Spirit moves us

Acts 2:1-21; John 14:8-27

  

Today, we celebrate one of the great festivals of the Church year, Pentecost. You probably know the history. The first Pentecost occurred on the Jewish harvest festival of Shavuot, a day when they also celebrated the giving of the law (the Torah) to Moses.

The Torah is seen as a gift for Jewish people, describing the ongoing relationship between God and God’s people. Now, with the coming of the Spirit, the gift of relationship is even more powerful.

On Pentecost Sunday, many pastors focus on the reading from Acts, with its amazing images – wind and fire, multiple languages, Peter preaching. But I want to pause a few minutes and look at the text from John, the Gospel reading for today.

In John 14, Jesus describes sending Spirit to the disciples. Spirit will be an ever-present power, guiding them, comforting them, teaching them, empowering them to do greater things than Jesus has done.

In John, Jesus doesn’t talk about the kingdom/reign of God. He talks about eternal life, which means having a relationship with God. This relationship happens through Jesus’ Spirit.

Holy Spirit as described in John seems to me like the still, small voice Elijah heard. It’s the voice many of us hear when we are called to follow Jesus somewhere. It’s the voice that lets us know what to study in school, or what to do for a living. It’s the voice pastors hear as they lead congregations, and as they open their hearts to accept new calls.

When I think about Spirit in John, I am reassured that no matter what is happening in my life or in the world around me, God is present and active. For example, God’s Spirit was with the people in the Buffalo grocery store, and with the children in a Texas classroom. I trust that God was also with those shooters, whispering, shouting, trying to get them to change their minds about needing to act out their hatred and pain.

On the other hand, when I think about Spirit in Acts, I think of something radical happening. This version of God’s Spirit is challenging, urging, pushing for something intense to happen. This version of Spirit wants to make stuff happen, beyond the ordinary, everyday stuff.

This voice of Spirit sends people to the streets and to the courts and to the legislatures in protest of injustice. This voice of Spirit leads congregations to start new ministry ventures. This voice of Spirit makes change possible in congregations.

Here’s a true story about how Spirit works, both in a quiet whisper and in a loud shout-out. About 40 years ago, the pastors of a small-town Michigan community realized that some poor folks were knocking on all their doors. Since ministry resources were limited, those who knocked on more doors received more assistance than folks who knocked only on one or two church doors. The pastors met and made some decisions.

They formed an organization called Christian Neighbors, and instead of giving their financial resources to individuals, they all contributed to the Christian Neighbors funds. A congregation offered a corner room in their church basement to house the ministry and store food donations.

Now, when people knocked on the church door asking for help, they were told to see the people at Christian Neighbors. They could get a bag of food or help with utility bills. Occasionally, someone received help directly, but mostly everyone was told, “We give everything we have to Christian Neighbors. You have to go there.”

Over the years, Christian Neighbors grew. Each month, churches collected specific types of food: mac and cheese, or vegetables, or rice. Because everyone loves soup, churches took turns providing a monthly soup supper, with donations going to Christian Neighbors. They began to offer classes on financial management and making nutritious meals on a small budget.

Eventually, they outgrew their space in the basement. A congregation with some extra land donated it to Christian Neighbors and helped fund the new building. Now, Christian Neighbors has a kitchen for teaching nutrition, small private meeting rooms for counselling, and adequate storage space for food distribution.  

How was Spirit involved? It started with helping the pastors see that the way they were helping was unfair, and guiding them to the simple solution of pooling their resources. And then at each step along the way of their growth. As you can imagine, there were quiet whispers and loud shouts of Spirit urging, pushing, challenging, and celebrating.

I admit I don’t know this congregation well, but I suspect Spirit is moving here. New things will happen here, and not just because Pr Terrance is leaving. New things will happen here because Spirit has been making her presence known, even during a Covid shut-down, even though things are not yet back to normal. How do I know this? Because Spirit is always moving and making her presence known.

In the bible texts for today, the word you is y’all. Jesus is speaking to all the disciples. He is speaking to all of us today as a community. Yet, it’s often one person who hears Spirit’s message more clearly, more loudly than others do. At those times, it’s important to share with others what you hear Spirit saying.

How do you know it’s Spirit? Is your heart beating faster? Is God glorified in what you hear? When you share it, do others agree it’s a great, Spirit-given idea? Then voice it, act on it, and let Spirit lead the way!

Amen