Pentecost Sunday

Day of Pentecost, Year B

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Have you ever felt the Holy Spirit’s presence near you? Have you ever felt like God was trying to lead you to something? There are undoubtedly some shenanigans that happen with some people when you start to talk about the Holy Spirit…and certainly some stories should be treated with great skepticism. I’d like you to listen to this story from 70 years ago, and think about the Holy Spirit in these terms.

“In the north of England they have been digging coal for generations. The miners go miles and miles away from the shaft, so there is always danger of men getting lost. I heard of two old miners who did lose their way. Their lights went out, and they were in danger of losing their lives. After wandering around for a long time, all at once one of them felt a light touch on his cheek. Up he sprang to his feet, exclaiming, ‘I felt it!’ They went in the direction in which the air was moving and thus reached the shaft.

“Sometimes there comes a breath from God that touches your soul. It may be so gentle and faint that you barely recognize it; but if you do, do not disregard it. Thank God that He has spoken to you, and praise Him for it, and, whatever may come, do not go in the opposite direction. Give yourself up to be led by it, and you will come out of darkness, out of bondage, out of sorrow, into perpetual light and joy. In the same way the Holy Spirit should be welcomed by the church.”

[Hallock, G. B. F., ed. New Sermon Illustrations. (Westwood, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1953), pp 186-187.]

So back to my original question: have you ever felt the Holy Spirit lightly brush your cheek? Ever had an urge that you couldn’t explain? Have you ever felt led to do something that you just KNEW wasn’t your own idea, but it was something that was truly for the benefit of someone else? We all know that we have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit in our Baptism, right? But how does the Holy Spirit work?

Well, the short answer is that the Holy Spirit works however He wants to work. And yes, I know that’s not very helpful. But we have plenty of Biblical witness to turn to which helps us to know some of the ways that the Holy Spirit works. Sometimes He breathes the breath of life into dried bones covered in sinew and muscle and skin to give them life. Other times he rests on believers and gives them the gift of speaking in various languages and tongues. And sometimes we can’t see the Holy Spirit at work, until we see the fruit of His labor…such as when He creates life - knitting a new child together inside a mother’s womb at conception.

Of the three persons of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit may perhaps be the least understood of them. And while we may not see or hear or feel Him plainly or easily, it’s important that we at least understand what His purpose is. In today’s Gospel reading, He is called “the Helper”…that’s how the ESV translates it. But if you look up other versions you’ll hear:

Comforter - Advocate - Intercessor - Strengthener

Counselor - Companion - Friend - Divine Encourager

Paraclete (defined as advocate, intercessor, comforter)

All of these are accurate descriptions of the Holy Spirit. Since Jesus ascended to be with the Father, the Holy Spirit now intercedes for us. He advocates for us with the Father. We have said before that the Holy Spirit prays for us when we cannot find the words. St Paul tells us in Romans 8:26 “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” The Holy Spirit is doing for us now what Jesus had done for his disciples while he was with them.

At (and before) Jesus’ ascension, he promised his disciples that they would not be left alone. He would make sure that they would have - in addition to an Advocate and Intercessor - a Helper. We first hear him described as “the Spirit of Truth” - this points to his work in the world, testifying to the world concerning Jesus. [R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. John’s Gospel (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961), 1067.] That very Spirit - the Holy Spirit - comes upon the disciples on the day we celebrate today - Pentecost. This is the day that is recognized as the church’s birthday - the formal beginning of the Christian church. And it is a day that we focus more than usual on the 3rd person of the Trinity.

One of my favorite scholars describes this day this way: “The entire revelation of Christ in the world since the day of Pentecost is here summed up in one brief expression. All that the Spirit was to do by means of inspiration, by means of the inspired Word, in and through the apostles, in and through the church, all of it is included. So the work will be carried forward by one who is as great as Jesus himself, one who is at the side of the disciples, working ceaselessly through the ages just as Jesus had worked at the side of his disciples until this hour.” [Lenski, 1071]

Brothers and sisters - we have been given this same Helper. He was given to us in our Baptism, and he works on us each time we hear the Gospel proclaimed, each time we partake of the Eucharist. We are not alone. He is at our side, STILL working ceaselessly with us. Just as He worked through the original group of Jesus’ apostles, He can and does work through us. We, like them, are the Spirit’s instruments for the work He has been sent to do. He uses the Word that has been written down, and He uses the church which he has built and maintained. [Lenski, 1072]

We are that instrument. We are that church. So what does that mean? That’s the good Lutheran question, right? That’s what we’re always supposed to ask. The Small Catechism has a good answer here, under the 3rd article of the Creed: Sanctification. “I believe that by my own reason or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him. But the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified and preserved me in true faith, just as he calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth and preserves it in union with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church he daily and abundantly forgives all my sins, and the sins of all believers, and on the last day he will raise me and all the dead and will grant eternal life to me and to all who believe in Christ. This is most certainly true.” [Theodore G. Tappert, ed., The Book of Concord the Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. (Philadelphia: Mühlenberg Press, 1959), 345.]

Luther tells us that the Holy Spirit makes us holy, and He does so “through the Christian church, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.” [Tappert,416] For the Holy Spirit to do what He was sent to do - to make us holy - we must participate in the church…we must be the church. “The Holy Spirit reveals and preaches [the Word of God], and by it he illumines and kindles hearts so that they grasp and accept it, cling to it, and persevere in it. Where he does not cause the Word to be preached and does not awaken understanding in the heart, all is lost.” [Tappert, 416]

We are here, hearing God’s Word, about to receive the Sacrament. The Spirit is with us…we can be confident of that…even if we don’t see tongues of fire resting on each one of us. We are gathered here - by the Spirit - as a communion of saints. This is one of the definitions of the church. We are who we are because of the Holy Spirit. Luther suggests that the word “communion” should actually be translated as “community”. Ok, we’re a community of saints. That’s an easy change. Here’s what Luther’s Large Catechism says about this community: “This is the sum and substance of this phrase: I believe that there is on earth a little holy flock or community of pure saints under one head, Christ. It is called together by the Holy Spirit in one faith, mind, and understanding. It possesses a variety of gifts, yet is united in love without sect or schism.

Of this community I also am a part and member, a participant and co-partner in all the blessings it possesses. I was brought to it by the Holy Spirit and incorporated into it through the fact that I have heard and still hear God’s Word, which is the first step in entering it. Before we had advanced this far, we were entirely of the devil, knowing nothing of God and of Christ.

Until the last day the Holy Spirit remains with the holy community or Christian people. Through it he gathers us, using it to teach and preach the Word. By it he creates and increases sanctification, causing it daily to grow and become strong in the faith and in the fruits of the Spirit.” [Tappert, 417]

The last 14 months or so have been a true challenge to this community of saints…both to our own congregation, and to the larger Church of Christ as a whole. Many people have not gone to church in person since March of 2020. Some may never go back. Some will not have a church to go back to. The community has been frozen, fractured, divided, and isolated - the very opposite of the work of the Holy Spirit. Now that we are beginning to see an easing of restrictions and activities starting to resume, the Holy Spirit can start to again do that “gathering” part of his mission, so that he may also enlighten us and sanctify us.

Although this day is the day when we talk a great deal about the Holy Spirit, let’s never forget that everything that the Spirit is doing is to bring us to Christ. It’s still Christ who took on flesh to be among us and like us. It’s still Christ who suffered and died for us. It’s still Christ who defeated sin and death and freed us from their bonds. It’s still Christ who was resurrected from the dead and gave us a glimpse of the eternal plan for all of us. And it’s still Christ who comes to us through His Word and Sacrament - even if He, too, is using the Holy Spirit to help do the work. It’s all about Christ and what He has done for us. After all, we’re the Church of Christ, not the church of the Spirit. We’re Christians, not Spiritualists. It’s all about Christ. And all that the Holy Spirit does serves to point us to Christ, to bring us closer to Christ, and to make us more like Christ.

So on this day of Pentecost, as we look back to the actual birth of the church, let us all pray that the Spirit would work on us more and more. Let’s pray that we will be given the opportunity to share the Good News to those who don’t know what God has done for them. And let’s pray that the Holy Spirit would brush each and every one of our cheeks and show us the path where we can bear good fruit for the kingdom, and make disciples who will shine light into the world that seems like it’s enjoying the darkness that is always trying to consume it.

In the name of the Father, and the +Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.