Pentecost

The Good News Written

Romans 8.14-16

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Mother! Father!”

it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

From the Odes of Solomon, Ode 6

As the wind moves through the harp and the strings speak, so the spirit of the Lord speaks through [me] and I speak though divine Love. Our spirits praise the holy Spirit; for there went forth a stream, and it became a river great and broad. Indeed… it spread over the surface of the earth, and it filled everything. Then all the thirsty upon the earth drank, and thirst was relieved and quenched. From the Most High the drink was given… Alleluia!

Acts 2.1-4

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.

And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.

Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.

All of them were filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

John 14.11-12, 14-17

Believe me that I am in Eternity and Eternity 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 dwelling in Eternity.

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 for you to be given another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees nor knows Truth. You know the spirit of Truth, because it abides with you, and it will remain in you.

The Good News Proclaimed

Preached by the Reverend Doctor Durrell Watkins at the Sunshine Cathedral on Pentecost Sunday, May 23, 2010.

“Come O holy Spirit, all our hopes renew!”
This is Pentecost Sunday, a very dramatic and exciting day in the Church year. This is the day when we imagine the Church being invigorated with the very breath of God, raised from the ashes of despair and defeat to become a new phoenix-like presence in the world.

In reality, the evolution of the Church was just that, an evolution; but in communal and ritual memory Luke gives it a day of birth, a day of beginning, a day of coming fully alive and waking up to its purpose and potential. And so we play along, and as we do, maybe we’ll find ourselves waking up to our purpose and potential today.

Luke shows us the spirit of God working through Jesus from the Nativity to Pentecost, and at Pentecost, that same spirit then is meant to work through us.

Luke imagines the angel Gabriel coming to Mary when she discovers she is pregnant; and Luke has Gabriel say, “The holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the son of God.”

Then, borrowing from Mark’s gospel, Luke has that prediction of the spirit’s anointing empowering Jesus come to fruition at Jesus’ baptism. Jesus is baptized and the Spirit descends on him like a dove and a heavenly voice says, “You are my beloved child; with you I am well pleased.” Those of us who gather in Jesus’ name today can here that same voice in our hearts saying to each of us, “YOU are my beloved child; with you I am well pleased.”

Later, of course, Jesus is arrested, tried, and condemned. He is sentenced to death, and so we see this spirit-filled, godly prophet and holy teacher taken from us by the bloody and evil violence of execution; but execution isn’t the end of his story! His tomb is reportedly found empty, and he is revealed in story-telling and in the sharing of bread on the road to Emmaus. He lives in the memory and experience of his disciples! And he did, and he still does.

Then, in Acts, Jesus (like Elijah), ascends into the heavens. But then at Pentecost, the spirit of hope and healing and wisdom and love and justice that Jesus so fully embodied returns to enliven the church to be the resurrected body of Christ! Just as Elisha received a double portion of Elijah’s spirit, the church receives a full measure of the liberating spirit of Jesus. This Pentecostal, spiritual renewal in Acts chapter 2 is what some people believe the second coming really is.

This is Luke’s story: The spirit of God anointed Jesus’ mother when she was pregnant, it anointed him at his baptism, it raised him up in our shared memory after he had been taken from us, it lifted him to eternal significance, and now it is empowering us to follow Jesus’ example and for us to be Christ in the world.

And as we remember the story, let’s imagine how this life-giving spirit is with us today, lifting us up, empowering us, healing us, comforting us, and calling us to be the expression of God’s grace even still.

Pentecost comes 7 weeks after the Easter. Of course there are 7 days in each of those weeks. In Roman Catholicism there are 7 sacraments, and in church tradition there are 7 archangels. In Eastern traditions there are 7 main energy centers in the body, and in numerology, 7 is the number of spiritual fulfillment. And, there are said to be 7 gifts of the spirit!

The Energy, the breath, the presence, the spirit of God offers gifts as we recognize Her presence in our lives. One of the contributors to the Book of Isaiah identified 7 gifts of the spirit: Wisdom, Understanding, Sound Judgment, Courage, Knowledge, Reverence, and Awe (Is. 11.2-3). St. Paul names 7 Charismatic gifts of the spirit: prophecy (which includes unusual linguistic gifts), miracles, healing, faith, wisdom, knowledge, and discernment. The number seven as a symbol of spiritual renewal and empowerment is a recurring theme in the life of faith.

Following this theme of spiritual renewal, and the spiritual gifts that come with renewal, I want to examine 7 ways the Spirit is showing up for us today.

The presence of God, the wind of heaven is here today as the spirit of Empowerment, “for you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption… It is that very spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we ARE children of God” (Romans 8).

The divine energy is present today as the spirit of Compassion, “from the Spirit a stream went forth and it became a river… and it filled everything! Then all the thirsty upon the earth drank, and thirst was relieved and quenched” (Ode 6).

The life-giving presence is with us today as the spirit of Inclusion, “Wind… filled the entire house… Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on EACH of them. ALL of them were filled with the holy Spirit…” (Acts 2). All of you are filled with God’s beautiful presence.

The universal power of God is with us today as the spirit of new Beginnings, “All of them… began in speak in NEW ways as the Spirit gave them ability” (Acts 2). Can you think in new ways today, can you embrace a new attitude, can you speak in new ways?

The spark of divinity is with us today as the spirit of Accomplishment, “The truth of the matter is, anyone who has trust in me will do the works I do – and greater works besides!” (John 14), Jesus said.

The Breath of renewal is with us today as the spirit of Support, “I will ask for you to be given another Helper to be with you forever” (John 14).

And the Energy of life is with us today as the spirit of Fidelity, “[this spirit] abides with you, and it will remain IN you!” (John 14).

A traditional prayer for the spirit is simply, “Come holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.” Even more simply, that fun hymn “Looking for a City” says, “Come O holy Spirit, all our hopes renew!”

Do you feel the spirit this morning? Do you sense the presence of Love, the power of Life, the Reality of Grace burning in your heart, surging through your body, filling your mind with hope, peace, patience, gentleness, and kindness? Do you sense the Spirit of Empowerment, the spirit of Compassion, the spirit of Inclusion, the spirit of New Beginnings, the spirit of Accomplishment, the spirit of Support, the spirit of  Fidelity lifting you up and building you up in this holy instant?

The Wind is blowing; I hope you can feel it. It is here kindling within us the fire of divine love, all our hopes to renew. Amen.

The Good News Affirmed

Come O holy Spirit…

All our hopes renew!

And so it is.

The Good News Repeated

“I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church; for you and I are children of one religion, and it is the spirit.” Kahlil Gibran