Pentecost and Baptism of Stephen Hutchison Love

Elizabeth M. Hoster
May 27, 2007

Note: The ideas for this sermon came from Rowan William’s chapter “Word and Spirit” in On Christian Theology, 2000, Blackwell Publishers LTD, Oxford.

Of the Three big Holy Days in the Church–Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost, Pentecost is the hardest to understand. Christmas–God dwelling among us in human form–wild, but we have something tangible–a baby. Easter. Wilder still, but we have Jesus walking, talking, even eating.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just leave it at the Ascension? The Word goes back to the Father, Jesus is with God, and that’s that. But that’s not the end of it! We have been given yet another gift from God, on this day known as the Birthday of the Church. But this is the gift in the huge box with the wild wrapping–and no instruction sheet–we open it and say, gee, this is beautiful—um, God, WHAT IS IT?

We don’t quite know what it is or how to deal with it.

And it is harder still because this is a gift from God that gets a bad rap. It’s the member of the Trinity we are not comfortable with, the one that just might make fools of us–the one who, make us talk funny, fall down. We’re Episcopalians, and we want none of that.

In today’s readings, we have two very different accounts of the gift of the Holy Spirit being given. (That’s okay–there are over 100 stories of the holy spirit being given right here!).

John’s account is almost safe–the risen Jesus himself comes back to his followers, bids them peace, shows them his wounds, and breaths on them. The tells them the results of proper and improper use of this gift, with an implied urgency that they use it.

“If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

And then we have the tongues of fire in Acts. THIS is the account that scares us the most! But that gift is not for the building up of individuals, one over another.

That particular scene occurred so that the community of faith could be built and built quickly, and that God’s power would be very clear. Note that the result of the tongues of fire was that all heard the Good News of Christ in their own language. It brought them all IN, it made them understand that Jesus’ story–his union with God, his going through suffering into hope, was THEIR STORY, too.

IT IS ALSO OURS.

The Holy spirit is the Spirit of truth for all of us–not just data, but the deep understanding of Jesus as the Son of God. Holy Spirit comes with the wounds–comes with what Christ did for us, with His being at one with the world in sufferring death, and at one with God.

What makes this gift so hard to understand is that it is not ADDING anything–it is a gift which TAKES SOMETHING AWAY. It takes away the barrier between the creator and humanity. It takes away our blindness of who created us.

The Spirit of truth takes all kinds of things away. If used properly, for the forgiveness of sins, for the building up of the community, it takes away pride, misunderstanding, toxic ego, etc. It takes away the barriers that we set up between ourselves and God. And in taking those barriers away, it gives us the capacity to have an honest relationship with God and humanity beyond what we can ask or imagine.

That is what we are given in this strange gift.

It is a gift from God that we may be tempted to reject. But before we do that, let’s remember a few things:

1. The gift of the Spirit is GOD, a gift From God, an aspect of GOD we are talking about, not some other deity.
2. We are to use it with great humility.
3. The reason for the gift of the Holy Spirit is for the manifestation of God’s Spirit for the common good. Its purpose is to build up the community of faith, not any individual.
4. The spirit’s witness is formation of Son-Like life in the Human world. (RW120)
5. We know its work and its witness, What about its face: “The face of the Spirit is the assembly of redeemed human faces in their infinite diversity. Human faces grown to the fullness of their particular identities, but sharing in the common divine gift of reconciled life in faith, these are the spirit’s manifestation.–Rowan Williams, On Christian Theology, p. 123-4
6. We know that face of the Spirit, and we know its work, when we see it taking away any barrier between God and Humanity.

So congratulations–you’re all Pentecosals now. Shhh-don’t tell anyone.

No, wait, why not? Tell the WORLD!!You all come from a Pentecostal church, a Pentecostal family, a Pentecostal FAITH. A faith that relies upon this indwelling spirit to move us closer and closer into he relationship with our creator that Jesus had.

And in this feast, this birthday of the church, we not only celebrate this gift of Spirit. We also celebrate the gift of a child this morning.

As we celebrate, we are making promises on behalf of the whole community of faith to a child. But we make these promises knowing that it is the Spirit, working in us, that allows us to do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine, and will help us to fulfill, in whatever ways we can, the promises we make today.

At the last Baptism we had, Karl picked up Shawn and said, if you want to see Christ, look at this Child. Today we say to Hutch, if you want to see the Holy Spirit, look around you.

Hutch, receive the Holy Spirit. Receive the hope of God to continue His relationship to Christ in YOU and in this whole community. And receive us, in all of our humanity. Forgive us when we fail you. Help us always to speak and live the Spirit of Truth. Help us to grow toward unity with God, as we will help you grow, in the power of the Spirit.

Hutch, we receive you into the household of God. Christ’s story is now your story. Christ’s words to his disciples–to all who believe–are now his words to you. Grow in His grace, knowing always that the spirit dwells in you, and in the hearts of all who love you.