John 14:8-27
Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it. "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. "I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.
Pentecost.
John.
Talk about a double whammy.
In the conversation on Sermon Brainwave, something was said that caused me to think a bit differently about the gift of the Spirit.
So often, I find myself doing one of two things with Holy Spirit “gift” talk.
One: I try (in one of the many odd conversations in my head) to argue with the charismatics who see the gift of the Holy Spirit as an ability to speak in tongues - or some other such manifestation of a spiritual gift.
Two: I try to construe the gifts of the Spirit that we are given in more everyday sorts of ways. The gift of faith, the gift of love borne to the lives of those in need, the gift of a community of forgiveness and hope. . .
The sermon brainwave comments (which, upon listening again I don’t see how or why) made me begin to look at the gift of the Spirit in a different light.
They made me consider how this gift God has given - is not so much for me to have the gift - but for God to love the world.
It made me think of a sermon by Willimon, titled: “One Day God Will Finally Get What God Wants.” Willimon, preaching on Revelation 5 says that
“Heaven is that time - that place - that set of arrangements - where God gets what God wants.”
Might that offer a more “fruitful” path for Holy Spirit talk than the odd conversations in my head?
The Spirit is given.
Where do you go from here?
And who will accompany you, and how will that accompaniment be manifested?
Help!
Or, to be more Markan: “I believe; help my unbelief!”
3 comments:
I think of a great line I heard in a sermon in Chicago last month. I can't remember it exactly, but it was something like:
"The mind is like a bad neighborhood. You should never go there alone in the dark."
and then I think of this from George Carlin:
"The wisest man I ever knew taught me something I never forgot. And although I never forgot it, I never quite memorized it either. So what I'm left with is the memory of having learned something very wise that I can't quite remember."
as long as we're on quotes:
here's from my pages of quotes - with the word gift...
I'm not sure where the last one comes from: I think a meditation from the days Plough Publishing had a daily devotion
The community which finds its centre in the Gospel can never shut itself off from the world or turn itself against the waiting world of men for which it is responsible. The centre of the fellowship is the gift which Christ gave to all the nations, and when this gift is enjoyed, the doors of the Church are open for others to enter and share it too.
Wingren, Gospel and Church
Now when God sends forth his holy gospel he deals with us in a twofold manner, first outwardly, then inwardly. Outwardly he deals with us through the oral word of the gospel and through material signs, that is, baptism and the sacrament of the altar. Inwardly he deals with us through the Holy Spirit, faith and other gifts. But whatever their measure or order the outward factors should and must precede.
Martin Luther LW 40.146
Faith is joy at a gift which man received without becoming as good as he hoped.
Wingren, Luther on Vocation 200
Jesus’ resurrection appearances showed his disciples that he had taken to himself human hatred, without fleeing from it or attacking. He returned to them bearing peace, and with the gift of the Holy Spirit made them instruments of his peace. He will make us instruments of his peace as we suffer the anguish of our own anger and that of others and learn slowly, attentively, ever so gently to let God transform it into compassion and peace. In working through discord to unity, through hatred to love, through injury to pardon, we join with the disciples in the experience of the cross. Anger is the cross of love; and we do not finally come into the kingdom of peace except by way of the cross.
C. Gordon Peerrnan
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