Today is Pentecost Sunday, and we
remember and celebrate the day
which the exalted and ascended
Christ poured out the Holy Spirit upon his disciples. And in and through this pouring out
Jesus Christ formed his church, his living body, equipping it with the means of
grace and bestowing it with spiritual gifts. But this work of the Holy Spirit
was not a one time action. The Spirit continues to do its work—for the Holy
Spirit is at work wherever God’s Word is proclaimed in purity and in truth.
The Holy
Spirit is as much God as is the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is an equal
member of the Holy Trinity. Yet it seems that over the course of the history of
the church, the Holy Spirit has not received the attention that it
deserves—especially amongst Lutheran Christians, whose theology has been
identified by other Christians as “Christocentric”. In other words, we tend to
place most of our emphasis on Christ and his work. It is true that Lutheran have historically emphasized Jesus
Christ. And the reason is simple: it is
through Jesus Christ that we humans can know God. Jesus Christ is God for
us. It is through Jesus Christ that sin is forgiven and eternal life given.
But the
work of Jesus cannot be viewed in isolation from the Holy Trinity. This would
heresy, or wrong teaching. For Jesus Christ has a Father, the Creator of Heaven
and Earth, the Father who sacrificed his only Son for the sake of the world,
the Father who raised Jesus on the third day, the Father who exalted Jesus by enthroning him on high and
seating him at His right hand, the Father who will bring in the New Age. The work of the Father is every bit as
important as the work of Jesus, and the same holds true for the Holy Spirit.
But while the work of the Father and of Jesus are concrete and evident in the
pages of scripture, the work of the Holy Spirit is more mysterious, subtle, and
seemingly occasional. But note that the Spirit was there at the beginning when
it moved over the waters at creation as described in Genesis 1.
Indeed, the
work of this “Shy member of the Trinity” (a term coined by theologian Bill Hordern) is every bit as
important as that of the Father and the Son—and not in ways that seem to be the
most obvious.
When modern
Christians think of the Holy Spirit, the inclination might be to think
primarily in terms of spiritual gifts or charisms, and Christians who identify
themselves as charismatic. These
obvious charisms include healing, prophesying, and speaking in tongues. These
gifts and their expression remain a matter of controversy in the Christian
church—especially concerning the gift of tongues. What does it mean to speak in tongues? Some argue that what you
might witness in a charismatic church—speaking randomly in an unidentified
manner-- is not what happened in the early church. Others stand by the
legitimacy of this gift. Whatever the case, what cannot be denied is that on
the occasion we read about today in Acts, that Holy Day of Pentecost, an
extraordinary phenomena occurred. Disciples were able to speak in foreign
languages. Those who heard their native languages spoken were amazed. Others
were dismissive—attributing all of this to new wine. In First Corinthians, Paul
speaks further about the gift of tongues, acknowledging its legitimacy, but, at
the same time emphasizing that all
spiritual gifts are meaningless in the absence of love.
But
as Christians debate and discuss the validity of spiritual gifts, and focus on
the unusual and ecstatic, it is easy to overlook the most important spiritual
gift the Holy Spirit bestows upon the Church—the gift of faith, Faith in Jesus Christ. Indeed this gift if the
gift through which all other gifts flow. And the gift of Faith comes in only
one way—the hearing of the Word, the Living Word of Jesus Christ, the Word
above all Words, the Word which doesn’t simply say something, but does
something, to all who hear it.
The
Holy Spirit makes this hearing possible. The Holy Spirit takes the written
words of the Bible and makes them the Holy Word of God.
There
is and has been a great temptation in the Christian Church to separate the work
of the Holy Spirit from the proclamation and hearing of the Living Word.
In Luther’s day, not long after the beginning of the Reformation, there
were a group of theologians who argued that the Spirit simply fills a person,
and such a spiritual indwelling can occur apart from hearing the external word. Luther called these
theologicans “enthusiastes” and rightly
identified their approach as heresy, as wrong teaching, for as St Paul tells us
in Romans 10:14-10:17,
14 But how are they to
call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one
of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to
proclaim him? 15And how
are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful
are the feet of those who bring good news!’ 16But not
all have obeyed the good news;* for
Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our message?’ 17So faith comes from what is heard,
and what is heard comes through the word of Christ. (NRSV online)
It is the external Living Word
which transforms the heart. Martin Luther put it this way: “The Word must
precede, or must be spoken first, and thereupon the Holy Spirit works through
it. The order, then, must not be reversed and a Holy Spirit dreamed of Who
comes without the Word and before the Word; but He comes with and through the
Word and never goes beyond the Word.”(664).
Never goes beyond the Word. This is an
important truth to keep in mind when we evaluate preaching and teaching. Last
month Harold Camping predicting the end of the world would come on the 21st. But when we read Matthew
28, Jesus tells us clearly that the time of the day of judgment is not for us
to know. In his teaching, Camping clearly sought to go beyond the word as it is
plainly read. Just because he was quoting the Bible in his sermons doesn’t mean
that he was guided by the Spirit. The enemy is good at quoting scripture. But
quoting scripture--even studying scripture from an academic perspective--and
proclaiming the Living Word are not the same. All truly inspired teaching
begins with the truth outlined by Paul in Second Timothy: 3:14-3:15.Paul
exhorts Timothy to, “ continue to hold to the things that you have learned and
of the things which you are convinced, knowing from who you learned them. And
how from your childhood you have had a knowledge of and been acquainted with
the Sacred Writings, which are able to instruct you and give you understanding
for salvation which comes through faith in Christ Jesus.”
Creation
of faith is the foundational work of the Spirit which began on the Holy Day of
Pentecost. And when Faith is
created, those who once were sinners are made saints. But the sainthood of
Christians, contends against the ongoing reality of sinfulness. Faith needs to
be strengthened. The work God has begun in baptism and in the initial hearing
of the external Word is ongoing—and that, also, is the work of the Spirit. The
Spirit makes us aware of our sinfulness, our pride, our stubborn attachment to
the worldly, our moral bankruptcy, our determination to do it our way even
against God’s clearly written and spoken Word.
But despair
is not the destiny for a
Christian. The spirit gifts us with the knowledge of what God has done for us
through Christ, and that there is nothing we need to do or can do to earn our
salvation. This is the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit bestows
spiritual gifts for one purpose and one purpose only—to strengthen the
body of Christ so God’s Word can
be heard within in and outside of it.
The
Holy Spirit brings faith to life in us, and always, always, points us to
Christ, makes us aware of our sin, and our need of a Saviour who makes us
whole, who heals us. The Holy Spirit is working here today, effecting faith,
bringing comfort, and giving joy.
In a moment
we will be celebrating Holy Communion, and there, especially, the Holy Spirit
will be working--working wherever the words “Shed for you,” and “broken for
you” are believed in head and heart. Here Christ’s visible and taste-able Word
is proclaimed to your body and soul. Without God’s life giving word and spirit,
what we eat is mere bread, what we drink is mere wine. But God’s Word and
Spirit bring these elements alive, to enliven us in faith, to heal us and strengthen
us. And we need strengthening,
both as individuals and as a community in faith, so that we would carry
out what the Holy Spirit formed us to do—proclaim the gospel in Word and
Action. Now may the peace which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
