From the Pastor |
It was the Day of Pentecost… that day that God fulfilled Jesus’ promises of “another advocate… the Holy Spirit… [who] will teach you… [and] guide you into all the truth” (Excerpts John 14 & 16]
The Spirit who would provide power so that the disciples could “be [Christ’s] witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8). Whatever the disciples were expecting when Jesus told them stay in Jerusalem and wait for the Spirit to come… I doubt they were expecting what they got: tongues of fire, rapid onset foreign language fluency, chaos on the streets of Jerusalem that apparently looked something like a drunken party in the middle of the morning... Peter preaching in the streets gaining 3000 new followers of Christ that very day! People… The Spirit has left the building. Wouldn’t all that be an awesome sight to see? Now, I have never experienced the Holy Spirit the way Peter and the disciples did. I have seen no tongues of fire… I have not been able to suddenly speak in another language… Let’s face it… most of us have not experienced the Holy Spirit in such overwhelming ways. In fact, we seem to have trouble grasping who or what the Holy Spirit really is. What is it, really? What is it for? In Hebrew, the word for the Spirit is “Ruach”… in Greek it is “Pneuma”… both of which refer to wind or breath… a life giving element… The divine breath of God… In the Old Testament, the Spirit is an agent of creation… the awesome life-giving… creating power of God. It is the source of inspiration and power for many people… Just like the men in our reading from Numbers. Moses gathered the elders and “When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied… Eldad and Medad… did not go out to the tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp.” [Numbers 11:25b-26] The Spirit is the mysterious power and presence of God… the source of God’s revelation, wisdom, courage and power whenever it rested “upon” someone… inspiring and empowering people with qualities they did not otherwise possess. However it was often temporary as with the elders in the tent. In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is shown to bestow power for mission and ministry…first in Jesus… then later for the Christian Community… the Church. But now the Spirit is not only a vehicle of God’s revelation and wisdom and power… but a constant source of guidance and strength. For through Christ… the gift of the Holy Spirit is no longer temporary. It is the Holy Spirit… the divine presence of God that provides the “gifts” necessary for mission and ministry of the church… it extends the presence and power of Christ to each new generation of believers… Uniting Christians around the world to become one “in Christ”… empowering mission as well as moral and ethical life. God’s gift of the Holy Spirit is a tremendous offering for those who believe. It is a gift of guidance, strength, support and POWER! … The presence and power of God… and it is as active today as it was back then. The Holy Spirit can and does bring power to God’s people… The power to ease our suffering; to put our minds at peace and bringing the strength needed to endure adversity… not simply the power to escape it. The Spirit is the power to love… and the power to serve. This is a gift we and the world most desperately need. And this great gift… comes with conditions… it needs to be accepted… embraced and used, because accepting, embracing and using the Holy Spirit is the mission of the church. It is the Holy Spirit that brings our focus to Christ… working to bring redemption and a life-giving, life-enhancing reality to our lives and the lives of those around us. And as we can see from both of our readings… it is through the Holy Spirit that we are able to bear witness to and take part in the reconciling love of God. The gift of the Holy Spirit is NOT a passive gift… If we are to truly be Christians… Disciples of Christ… we need to live Christ-centered lives… living focused on the mission of the church… You see… The work of the Spirit IS the mission of the church… a mission to proclaim the Good News of forgiveness and reconciliation that comes through Christ… offering care and compassion… protecting the weak and the lowly… using our resources and influence… denouncing injustice and oppression. If we live in Christ… in the power of the Holy Spirit… we live for justice. We want justice. Justice in its simplest form, means to set things right… and as followers of Christ, our sense of justice is given to us by the Holy Spirit… by our sense of and revelation of God. A God who is loving, kind, and merciful… righteous, holy, and just. God has set the standard for love and justice… that standard is clearly visible in Christ. Jesus cared for the outcast… demonstrated compassion for the weak and vulnerable… for those most often overlooked. Jesus actively pursued justice. He physically and spiritually rescued those in need. As we look to Jesus and hear the mandate given throughout Scripture, it is clear that Christians are called to actively continue Christ’s work for justice. Through the Holy Spirit we are called and empowered to care for the vulnerable and to make right that which is wrong… to take action and confront evil wherever we find it… Which is why I have to speak today… There is a quote going around Facebook that says “Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.” When we, as Christians, see cases of extreme injustice… like the actions of Amy Cooper in NYC or the tragedy of what happened in Minnesota to George Floyd… when we see such blatant examples of injustice happening across our nation… If we sit by and remain silent… if we are not enraged… or fail to realize and speak out against the racism and prejudice that is commonplace all across this country… this state and even our own community… if we turn away because we are “unaffected” by it… justice cannot be served, and truthfully, we cannot continue to call ourselves Christians. We cannot continue to claim to be filled with or guided by the Spirit of God. God assures us that one day there will be a world of perfect justice and peace. But today is not that day! Evil still permeates our world… Human trafficking continues in every country… Children still suffer abuse… apathy and a lack of compassion are normal. People of color still live in fear and fight for equality and justice in our nation… they are feared, harassed, threatened and killed because of the color of their skin. And yet we, the “unaffected,” tend to remain silent. We may “like” or put a sad face on a few social media posts, offering our regrets over the tragedy, and then speak out against those who riot in response to the blatant mistreatment. I will never condone their response of violence and destruction but I can understand the level of anger and frustration of the people involved… for my own level of disgust, anger and frustration is great, but must only be a fraction of those who are “affected.” The church of Christ should be leading the way for the pursuit of justice… Fueled by the power of the Holy Spirit… the compassion of Christ… we should be engaged in these issues of injustice… walking with the hurt and downtrodden… pointing the way to the God who heals, restores and redeems. At Pentecost, the Spirit used the presence and power of God to cross boundaries… overcoming our separation from God… but it also broke down the walls that separates people. When we are baptized into Christ… the Holy Spirit brings us into a community… leads and guides us to come together in faith, hope and love… A community that is called to foster justice and inclusivity… where differences are not eliminated, but embraced by a deeper unity. Where we are all bestowed with wondrous Gifts that are to be used for the well-being and peace of all. A community that is motivated by thanksgiving and joy instead of anger or fear… A community that welcomes and recognizes the presence of the Holy Spirit in all fields of human activity. The Spirit does not remain in the church, but is active in science, art, and even politics… Any endeavor that enhances life and peace and works to combat death and destruction. That is what a community created in the presence of the Holy Spirit looks like. The gift of the Holy Spirit is not something we can accept and then put on a shelf… by accepting this gift, we accept the call to become active in God’s reconciling and saving work… The Holy Spirit can be active and present in our hearts and in our lives if we allow it to be. The choice is ours… to open our hearts and live as Spirit filled followers of Christ… or not. To continuing Christ’s redeeming and reconciling work… or going our own way. Begin a Christian is a commitment… It involves time and sacrifice. It means stepping out of our comfort zone and persevering with patience, wisdom and love. This is possible through the Holy Spirit who empowers, guides, supports and strengthen us. So, on this Day of Pentecost… open your heart and mind to the Holy Spirit, and you will see that it has the power to change your life and transform the world. The Holy Spirit works in and through believers to accomplish God’s will. His power leads us, convicts us, teaches us, and equips us to do God’s work and spread the gospel. The Holy Spirit’s power enters us and is an amazing gift we should never take lightly. Amen.
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Yeon Shin
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