Genesis 1:1-5; Acts 19:1-7; Mark 1:4-11
God’s Holy Spirit is an important presence in our readings this morning. The opening lines of Genesis start with God creating the heavens and the earth. The wind/breath/spirit of God blows/breathes/moves over the water.
The book of Acts is
often labeled the Acts of the Apostles. It could more appropriately be called
the Acts of the Holy Spirit. Paul asks the believers in Ephesus if they had
been baptized. Yes, they said, with John’s baptism. So, they had repented, they
had been immersed into some water, and had begun a new repentant life.
But they had not been
baptized with the Holy Spirit. When Paul lays hands on the Ephesian believers they
receive the Holy Spirit, and respond the same way the folks did at Pentecost,
speaking in tongues and sharing the good news about Jesus.
… How many of you make
New Year’s Resolutions? What do you resolve to do? Lose weight, stop spending
money on things you don’t need, kick an addiction, pray more, get to church
more often.
Is this not like what
John the Baptizer is calling folks to do? John the Baptizer is at the Jordan River,
calling all to repent and be baptized by being immersed into the water. Repent,
change your ways, he calls. Let the water wash away your sins so you can start
anew.
John draws a crowd, with
his intentional resemblance to the Prophet Elijah. According to the gospels of
Matthew and Luke, he is boisterous, at times offensive, and will lose his life
for his words. He is preparing the way for someone else, for Jesus, who draw
even larger crowds, and will send the Holy Spirit after his death and resurrection.
… A while ago, Mike and
I had a conversation about the Holy Spirit. Since he’s Presbyterian, he didn’t
grow up with going to catechism class like Lutheran youth have done for decades
or centuries. Lutheran youth spend a whole year on the study of Luther’s Small Catechism,
memorizing the explanations of the Lord’s Prayer, the Apostles’ Creed, and the
Ten Commandments. We learned what it means to be baptized and to receive Holy
Communion.
So when Mike asked, “what
do Lutherans believe about the Holy Spirit”, I was able to pull up my memorized
catechism about the Apostles’ Creed. How many of you remember what the Spirit
does? Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies us.
The Holy Spirit calls to
our hearts, reaching beyond the mind into our core being. Lots of the time, we
push God’s Spirit away, not wanting to respond, to be changed. But when we
accept the Spirit’s call, exciting things can happen.
The Holy Spirit gathers
us together for worship, for Bible studies, for conversations about justice,
and for actions based on our conversations.
The Holy Spirit enlightens
us, opening our minds to new thoughts and beliefs. Some may call it being
awakened (dare I say “Woke?”) to the injustices that are all around us.
The Holy Spirit
sanctifies us, makes us holy, without our action, without our repentance. Yet,
the realization that we are holy people of a holy God makes us seek to be more
holy in our lives.
… How do we live this
out? We will each have a different answer, of course, because we all have different
gifts. Here are some stories.
Brenda Doxtator is an
elder in the Milwaukee Indigenous Community who wanted to combine Lutheran
worship with Indigenous ceremonies. A church was planted, based on that vision,
and after 10 years, has its first full time pastor. At Lutheran Church of the
Great Spirit, worship begins with smudging – the use of fragrant smoke and prayers
in the four directions. The sermon honors the Talking Circle, which invites
input from the community. Holy Communion is shared in a great circle around the
altar.
The members hope to grow
their ministry by buying a food truck to take their food into the community and
develop programming for the neighborhood so that local youth can more easily
participate.
… Samuel Jones grew up in
the projects in Rochester, NY. His mother worked two jobs to provide for Samuel
and his brother. One day, Samuel noticed two “little old white Lutheran ladies”
wandering the streets with flannelgraphs. They said they were looking for a
place to do a Bible study. After checking with his mom, he invited them to his
home and they met there every Monday evening for several years.
Decades later, Samuel
says that he is a Lutheran because he loves Martin Luther, and because he
always remembers those two little old ladies who wanted to teach him about the
gospel.
… Carlo Gebler is an
author, novelist and playwright. His grandfather was imprisoned for five years
when Carlo’s father was a child, so they never bonded as fathers and sons are
meant to bond. Carlo and his father struggled to have a strong bond as a
result. Dysfunction and brokenness repeats in families unless there is an
intentional effort to change, to begin again.
As an adult Carlo was
invited to teach creative writing in a prison. He imagined that the process of
writing could help to repair the relationships the prisoners had with their own
sons. He has been doing this for almost 30 years , and is constantly reminded
of the chaos that caused the brokenness, as well as the brokenness that
resulted from the prisoners’ own brokenness.
He learned that it was
necessary to allow the prisoners to choose to make changes in their lives. He
could not force them to change, but by inviting them to write about their own
brokenness, occasionally change, repentance, has indeed happened.
… Three stories of
people responding to the call of God’s Holy Spirit to repent, to make change
happen, to make living better for some other folks. Very different ways in
which they responded to Spirit’s calling, gathering, enlightening, and making
holy.
How are you responding
to God’s invitation? We all have a fresh calendar, a new diary for a new year. This
week, I hope you will listen for the Spirit to nudge you to do something new
and say “Yes, with God’s help, I will do that!”
Amen
