Chaplain
Mel Baars
John
15:26-27; 16:4b-15
May 27,
2012
“Guided In Truth”
The Pentecosts of my past are some of my
favorite church memories. It should be no great surprise that it was the food
element rather than the Holy Spirit which propelled me to get dressed extra quickly
on those Sunday mornings. For years, my childhood congregation would celebrate
Pentecost by hosting a church picnic with a “mile” long ice cream Sunday as the
main attraction. Gallons of ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream, and maraschino
cherries would be hauled out into the lawn and placed on wax paper on top of at
least fifteen folding tables. Ok, so it wasn’t quite a mile, but it was
definitely the most ice cream I had ever seen in one place. As long as I didn’t
get a position at the table, too close to either of my parents, no one was
going to stop me from eating more than my fair share. Dressed in my Pentecostal
red, I would salivate through church, with one thing in mind-- the ice cream
that would be waiting for me once church was over. Looking back, I realize that
sanitation that day was at an all time
low. Between the ice cream melting in the Florida sun and the double and triple
dipping, we likely received more germs that day than the Holy Spirit.
Some of you are probably
relieved to know that Easter is officially over--finally. Jesus is risen so
much so that He is now ascended into heaven. Today we celebrate both the coming
of the Holy Spirit as well as the birth of the church, hence the need for an ice
cream party. Throughout the liturgical world, vestments will be turned from
white into red, representing the fiery nature of the Spirit as it descended
upon the world in a violent rush.
It is no coincidence
that we also happen to share this holy day with our Jewish cousins. For them,
the festival of Shavuot is the fiftieth day after the second day of Passover, commemorating
both the harvest and God’s giving of the Torah, the commandments to the people
of Israel. This “law” was considered an expression of God’s will and a way for
the Israelites to be guided in truth, justice, and peace. Similarly, the Holy
Spirit is the church’s guide, helping her to act according to God’s will, in
ways of truth, justice, and peace. For both Christians and Jews, this is a day
of reception. It is the day when we all remember that it is not what we achieve ourselves, but what we are
willing to receive which really matters,
at least where faithfulness is concerned.
Of course, part of “receiving” is being open. My
days as a tee-ball player definitely demonstrate this important principle. I
had a terrible problem catching the ball when I first started playing. Every
time the ball would come my way I would close my glove and my eyes, too,
turning away from the catch. I must have been hoping for a tee ball miracle,
that somehow, without any effort on my part, the ball would end up squarely in
my glove. I would be responsible for the
final out, ensuring our tee ball World Championship. Logic told me, even at
five years old, that without my hand- and my eyes- open, I would not be in a
position to receive the ball, but my fear of ball as it sailed toward my face always got the better of me. Fear does
have a way of thwarting even our best laid plans.
Reading our passages over and over again this
week reminded me that whenever the Holy Spirit moves, things get shaken up.
Change is unavoidable. In Acts, we have an account of the coming of the Holy
Spirit. With the rush of a violent wind, tongues of fire rest on the mouths of
the disciples who had gathered together for Shavuot. It is important to
remember this next fact. Jews from every nation and every language had traveled
to Jerusalem for this holy day. Suddenly, these masses, from every tribe and
land, could understand what the disciples were saying. No longer was the gospel
limited to the language of Galilee or even to the original group of disciples.
From this point forward, through the Holy Spirit, every nation and people would
be able to receive this Good News.
Likewise, in John’s gospel, we are told that the
Spirit will guide us in all truth. This sounds good, if where the Spirit guides
are green pastures and still waters. But, it includes into hostile territory as
well, where Jesus says, we will be called upon to testify this message: “that he will prove the world wrong about sin and
righteousness and judgment… because the ruler of this world has been
condemned (Jn 16:8-11).” Those who have ever testified this kind of news have
learned, some even unto death, that the powers of world are not often thrilled
to hear it.
What we learn in our readings is, more often
than not, the Holy Spirit can be more of a pain
than a consolation. After all, it is
the Spirit which pushes us beyond our comfort zones. It is the Spirit which
drives us to overcome our fears. It is the Spirit which helps us see the right
choice, often the harder choice, even
when we would rather not face this truth. When we pray for the Holy Spirit, we
are not praying for the status quo, for things to stay the same. We are praying
that we might be pried open and made new in God’s image. We are praying that we
might transcend our complacency and inwardness. We are praying for courage to
overcome our tendencies to hide behind what we have always known just because
it is easier.
Earlier this week, as a part of our Thursday
lunch book club, a group of us discussed the meaning of Truth. Most of us, from
whatever place on the theological spectrum we hail, agree that Truth with a
capital “T” belongs to God alone. Yet, many are quick to claim unequivocal
knowledge of what God’s Truth is. Somehow, they have figured it out perfectly
and anyone who comes to a different conclusion is not only mistaken, but on a
slippery slope to a very bad place. As if any one of us, any one church or
denomination, has that kind of absolute authority. One member of the group told
a story of a conversation that recently happened to her. When she shared what
she had been reading and praying about in her own faith journey with one of her
church friends from home-- about loving her enemies, about tolerance, about how
God’s love was bigger and more powerful than human sin, that in the end, no one
but God has any say about heaven and hell-- this friend told her that she
needed to start praying because she was entering dangerous waters.
But if Pentecost tells us anything, it is that
we are supposed to go into dangerous waters. We are supposed to go down paths
that are dark, paths that are unknown or uncertain, because only by doing this can
we share the Good News with the whole world. Admittedly, it is scary. Dangerous
ground always is. But this is what God is calling us to do, to follow in Jesus’
footsteps by loving those who have hurt us and may even hurt us again, by
reaching out to those who see God differently than we do, by being open to this
truth, that the Holy Spirit is moving and shaping and pulling and stretching
us, always, whether we like it or not. What we think we know for sure, may
shift and change over time. But this is not because Truth is changing. On the
contrary, Truth like God is always steadfast. Instead, it is because we are changing,
growing in wisdom and knowledge, through God’s grace and love, transforming
into more than we ever thought we could be.
As much as we may face a world that is wrought
with peril, pain, and even evil, we never face these things on our own. This is
the gift of Pentecost; this is the presence of the Holy Spirit. For as much as
we are sent into the world, to preach and pray and love and suffer and share
the light of Christ to the very ends of the Earth, we are guided by the Spirit,
guided into all the Truth. And that’s Truth with a capital “T.” But, sometimes
I wonder if we really believe it because if we did, we would trust that God
isn’t going to lead us astray. We would trust that in coming together to pray
and to discern where to go next, as a church, and as a people, our choices
would not be driven by our fears, but instead they would be inspired by our
desire to love and follow God, no matter where that love takes us, no matter
who we embrace along the way.
In this season of our lives, we are gathered
here, working in the largest US held and operated detention facility in
Afghanistan. Some of us deal with detainees. Some of us work with Afghan
partners. All of us are briefed daily
about the dangers of green on blue attacks, about how we need to be watchful
and pay attention because it just might save our lives. It is true. We must be
vigilant in our care of one another and ourselves because there are those who
want to bring us harm. But, I also wonder if what we gain in this Pentecost is
another kind of reminder-- that even here, especially
here, we are still guided by the Spirit into all Truth. If we truly believe
it, we will have courage to go out in peace, prepared to serve and support and
honor all people of every nation and language and tribe. We are sent out into
this place to love our neighbors, friend or foe, and everything between. When
we follow Jesus, we often find ourselves in dangerous waters. For now, this may
cost us our lives. In the end, though, this will also save us. Amen.
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