Veni Sancte Spiritus

Pentecost Sunday

Today's Readings: Acts 2:1-21; John 20:19-23

Grace and peace to you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today is traditionally the day we say ‘Happy Birthday’ to the Church! Now normally when we have birthdays we are bummed about getting another year older, but I think for the Church it might be the opposite.. how AMAZING is it that the Church has lasted SO long!? How powerful is our God, is the SPIRIT, for being present and moving along the ministry and mission of the Triune God for over TWO THOUSAND years!?! Wow, the Church has been through so much over these last couple millennia, it helps me to trust that not even Coronavirus can slow down the church at work in this world.

What an amazing and powerful story we hear today about the fulfillment of the prophecy from Joel that God would pour out the Spirit on all flesh, and filled with the Spirit the children of God would prophesy, see visions, and dream dreams! Peter’s proclamation and interpretation of this Joel text (and beyond – through v.40) is said to be the first sermon and v.41 tells us that 3,000 people came to be baptized and believe. I stand in awe as God comes to us as promised, as God the Spirit sparks a fire in the hearts of all people, as God the Spirit empowers humanity to believe the seemingly unbelievable. How great is our God?

Yet, this is not the first time God the Spirit has come to earth, has filled the hearts of God’s children. This may be the beginning of the Christian church as we know it today, but make no mistake this is not the beginning of the Spirits movement in, with, through, and among us. The Triune God has been present from the start; in the beginning when God created the earth, a wind from God swept over the face of the waters (Gen. 1:2). That same breath put air into the lungs of the human body God created out of the earth. That same breath raised up a valley of dry bones back to new life. That same breath inspired and empowered prophets throughout the ages and came to rest on Jesus during his baptism. And Jesus shared that breath with his followers.

In our gospel reading today we see Jesus appearing to the disciples who were still locked up tight in that upper room, seized by grief, guilt, and fear. Yet God enters in, speaks a word of peace, and breathes on them the Holy Spirit. Now this is actually a bit of a contradiction, for Jesus says ‘Peace be with you’ but then as he breathes on them the Holy Spirit he is inviting them into participation of the very mission and ministry of God that got him crucified by the government. So what kind of peace does Jesus actually offer?

This word of peace, any word of peace in scripture, is pregnant with the words of justice. For God’s peace is a peace which encompasses all of creation, a peace which comes to all like a breath of fresh air and we cannot breathe that sigh of relief until all can breathe. God’s peace is what is better known as the Hebrew word ‘shalom.’ The meaning of shalom is greater than peace, it is wholeness, harmony, completeness, prosperity, welfare and tranquility. Shalom is one of the underlying principles of the Torah for our Jewish siblings (the Old testament which we share).

As Rev. Dr. Cornelius Plantinga puts it, “In the Bible, shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness and delight – a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts fruitfully employed, a state of affairs that inspires joyful wonder as its Creator and Savior opens doors and welcomes the creatures in whom he delights. Shalom, in other words, is the way things ought to be.”

This peace is the realization of the kingdom of God on earth. This peace is what the Spirit empowers us to strive for. This peace sometimes comes through un-peaceful means. In a couple more weeks we will hear Jesus say that he came not to bring peace but division. This is staggering for us to hear as we are used to the comforting message of the gospel, the good news that is a balm to our ears, but these are honest words from our Lord and Savior. The peace that God strives for on earth as it is in heaven requires hard and uncomfortable work.. requires us to check our privilege and realize that we are not God.. requires us to think beyond our own well-being to the well-being of our neighbor.. requires us to relinquish some of our power and riches so that others might share in wealth. This is hard work.. work we are often not ready or willing to do.

Humanity has been at war with one another since the beginning of time, constantly vying for power and prestige, constantly lifting some while enslaving others, constantly hoarding and sacrificing the poor and vulnerable. Yet God remains faithful. God never once has given up on God’s creation. So faithful and steadfast is our God that God became one of us! Showed up in our own form to show us how it’s done! And when the world rejected Christ and put him to death, still God remained. Christ returned to promise to never leave us orphaned, to promise that no matter how harsh the world could be, no matter how hard we tried to push God away, God would remain. And so the Spirit descended upon us to make it’s home in our hearts, to be in the presence of God forever; a light in the dark, hope in the face of hopelessness, a constant advocate for God’s shalom.

In the Acts story the Spirit descends on Jesus’ followers with tongues of fire, creating an atmosphere of diversity and honoring all of humanity, not just part. There is no country, no race, no ethnicity that the Spirit of the Lord has left out. The Savior of the world has sent the Spirit to all the ends of the earth. If there are obstacles in the way of us receiving the good news of Christ Jesus our Lord, it is perhaps ourselves and our institutions which are in the way.

What was divided the Spirit has mended, has called into relationship, and sent out on one unified mission. We take the Spirit and the name of our Triune God in vain when we give into the sins of racism, white supremacy, and all forms of hatred towards our neighbor. We undermine the work of the Spirit that lives in our hearts when we justify murder and violence. We fail to see the image of God, the fire of the Spirit burning in the heart of our neighbor when we are silent and turn our faces away when part of our unified body is screaming out ‘I can’t breathe.’

What does it mean to evoke the Spirit within us, to be empowered and live as children of God towards a world of shalom? The good news is that God is working, God will never leave us orphaned, and God’s love has overcome the world. Hear the words of Christ this morning, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’ May it bring you peace; peace in knowing that the Spirit has made it’s home in you and you have all that you need to participate in God’s mission and ministry here on earth. May it also invite you into the work of peace, of shalom. It will not be easy, much of the New Testaments talks about how hard it is actually, but you have been called, equip, and sent. God is working towards the reconciliation of all creation, reshaping our reality of greed, violence, and hate into the kingdom of harmony, wholeness, and love. May the Spirit breathe new life into you this day and always, comforting you as your heart rests in God, while also stirring you from complacency to prophesy and dreams of a new world where all can freely breathe.

Amen.