June 9, 2018
John 14:8-17, 25-27
There is an anxiousness that often times will creep up within me when I find myself in a place that is unfamiliar. Perhaps, you know exactly what I am talking about. It is that feeling when you feel yourself at an unease and you begin looking around for someone that you may know. Someone familiar to make the unfamiliar not seem as unnerving.
Believe it or not, some people live for these moments! And to be honest with you, as an introvert I do get anxious, but that little bit of the extrovert within me loves the new surroundings and the ability to experience new people and places. I want to believe that extrovert is the Holy Spirit within me pulling me in a direction to try and experience new activities, people, and places. It is the same Holy Spirit that energizes us to go out and share the good news of Jesus Christ.
Our first reading this week unfolds onto the birth of the Christian church as we know it. Now, Pentecost is not a new celebration for the followers of Jesus. It has been known as the Feast of Weeks, Shavuot, and eventually Pentecost by the Jewish people. Pentecost would follow 50 days after Passover and on it they would celebrate the handing down of the Torah, or law, to Moses and also the giving of the first fruits of the harvest at the temple. Therefore, the disciples are already gathered, and it is in this place that Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to take up residence in them. It will guide and teach them in the ways of the Lord and drive them out into the world to spread the gospel.
Amid this Pentecost celebration the anxiety had to be escalated! This was not a normal Pentecost, as everyone was speaking in their native language speaking about the amazing deeds God has and will continue to accomplish. I would like to know how Philip felt at this point in time following the conversation that he had with Jesus in the gospel lesson this week.
Philip needs to learn a little patience as the disciples walk with Jesus. Philip asks Jesus to show them the Father so that they will be satisfied. He does not sound much different from Thomas after Jesus’ resurrection. He wants some proof of who Jesus really is. This will satisfy him. He knows that it had happened before with Moses, so why can’t Jesus just reveal the Father to the disciples so that they are better equipped to go and share Jesus’ message. There must be more. Philip could simply be afraid. His expectations of God, the Father is not what he has witnessed so far with Jesus as he eats with sinners and touches the outcast. He is afraid and his heart is troubled because he is still looking for God among the actions of Jesus. This therefore feeds into the unbelief that Jesus addresses further in the gospel lesson.
Fear and a troubled heart can lead us in many wrong directions. Out of fear, we seek to exclude those that are different from us. Out of fear, we lock all our doors and are afraid to step out into the greater world. Out of fear, countries engage in war with one another. When this fear takes over our very being, our hearts become troubled and we fail to see Jesus in anything. The enemy has worked its way in and is doing exactly what it intended to do; to believe that we are separated from the love of God.
Personally, it is hard to overcome that unbelief! On my own, I struggle with this from time to time. The moment that we think we have it all figured out ourselves is when we begin to find ourselves in trouble. If we keep going down that hole, it just keeps getting deeper and we definitely cannot climb out on our own.
While Philip cannot help is own unbelief, Jesus can. And Jesus does the same thing for each one of us, for every person in our community, state, country, and around the world. The proof of Jesus helping our unbelief is that fact that he laid down his own life to share with us the depths that God is willing to go to bring us a love greater than we could ever imagine in our earthly home.
To relieve Philip’s anxiety and fear, Jesus gives him peace. It is a peace that will wash over him and guide him. This peace comes to him in the form of the Holy Spirit. Jesus once again reminds the disciples that he is different from anyone that has come before him. He tells them, “I do not give as the world gives.” What a blessing this is for us to live into. You name it, we can find it out there somewhere in the world. But if we are looking for a grace and love that knows no bounds and is willing to knock down all barriers, that alone can be found in Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit is alive and active in our lives and is just waiting for us to listen and heed her guidance. It is not just for us individually. The Holy Spirit is also alive and well at Trinity Lutheran and it is our hope with the Tune-In team that we hear that Spirit moving and calling us to new and wonderous ministries.
Are you praying for the Holy Spirit to reveal itself in the life of our congregation? If not, will you? The Holy Spirit is just waiting to set us on fire with the passion to go out and share the good news, and oh, how much sweeter it is when we are able to do it in community.
Jesus went to the cross for us. It is here that we lay our unbelief and are reminded of the gifts of God found in the waters of baptism and the presence of Christ in the bread and wine at communion. The Holy Spirit is not a noun. The Holy Spirit is a verb that is active and moving around us as we continue to be God’s hands and feet in the world. It is the Holy Spirit that keeps everything moving. It is the Holy Spirit that takes up residence within our very beings and guides us and teaches us in the ways of the Lord. The promise of Jesus Christ has been fulfilled in the Holy Spirit!
Let us pray. God of Spirit, you have sent us your Son, Jesus to heal the sick, walk with the outcast, feed the poor, and so much more. May the Holy Spirit that comes to us as an advocate continue to teach us and guide us to be bearers of your goods news. Amen
a mysterious way 