Some day you will die. Me, too. In that moment it won’t
matter how good you were, how generous you were, how many little old ladies you
helped cross the street; it also won’t matter how rotten you were, how many
lies you told, or how many cats you kicked. If those things won’t matter, what
will matter?
God – his mercy and salvation in Christ. Jesus’ death and
resurrection will matter. And the Holy Spirit’s work to make you a temple – a
place where he dwells, a place to proclaim Jesus’ salvation, a place where
prayer happens, a presence that tells everyone that God is with us. He makes us
into the contact point where God meets people. In the end this is what matters:
what God has done for you.
Now, did I just say that it’s okay to lie, kick cats, and
generally lead a rotten life? No, I did not. Jesus said, “If anyone loves me
that person will keep my word ….” In other words, we are going to take Jesus’
teaching into our hearts and it will shape and guide how we live. It also means
that we are going to guard and hold on to the message Jesus proclaimed. We will
cling to what Jesus said about sin and grace. We will hold on to the message
that this world stands condemned (John 3:18-19) but God in his love sent our
Savior to be condemned to the cross for us and to set us free from sin, death,
and the power of the devil. We will treasure the message that while this world
is dominated by death, the Son of God has risen from the dead and has given us
a new life.
The problem is that we forget these things so easily. We
get wrapped up in our work, our woes, and our daily lives. Jesus knew that
these things pull at our hearts and cry for our attention so he sent a Helper
to teach us and remind us all about how he has overcome the world and given us
hope and peace. The Holy Spirit takes Jesus’ word – which is also the Father’s
word – did you catch that in the reading? The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are
in perfect harmony. The Holy Spirit takes Jesus’ word and he applies it to us,
and the result of the Spirit’s work is that we have peace.
It is not that we won’t have troubles. We talked about
that a couple weeks ago. Jesus said, “In this world you will have troubles, but
take heart, I have overcome the world.” Jesus’ victory allows us to take heart,
the Holy Spirit applies that message – that word – to you and gives you peace
in the midst of the trouble. So when Jesus says, “Let not your hearts be
troubled, neither let them be afraid,” this isn’t a command to get our act
together and pull ourselves out of our fear. Instead, it is a word of
encouragement because we are not alone. The Holy Spirit is our Helper, and he
does not abandon us.
That word that is translated, “Helper,” can also be
translated “Comforter.” This is also part of why we can have peace, because the
Holy Spirit is always at work reminding us that Jesus has both died and risen.
He is always pointing us away from ourselves – our sins as well as the good we
do – he points us away from these things and toward the cross.
As our bodies break down and we near death, he is there
reminding us that our sins are forgiven for Jesus’ sake, that Jesus will come
to us, and that because Jesus is risen from the dead we too will rise to
eternal life.
When our relationships break and we get estranged from
our loved ones, the Spirit draws us back to Jesus’ forgiveness to empower us to
forgive one another and to be reconciled.
When we feel broken, abandoned, worthless, and depressed,
it is the Holy Spirit who brings to mind the word of God’s love, faithfulness,
protection, and comfort to give us peace.
On Pentecost Sunday, we remember that God poured the Holy
Spirit out on the Apostles in a powerful and miraculous way. We celebrate the
appearance of the Spirit in tongues of fire and the amazing way they Apostles
preached about Jesus’ resurrection in different languages – languages which
they had never learned! Those events fulfilled – at least in part – the promise
that Jesus made in our Gospel reading.
On Pentecost Sunday, we should also remember that God has
poured his Holy Spirit out on you. You were filled with the Holy Spirit when
you were baptized, The Spirit continues to fill you through hearing Jesus’ word
– from Genesis to Revelation, it’s all Jesus’ word, and it all speaks of him! That
same Spirit gives you Jesus’ word to be his witnesses and to share the hope
that is within you because of Jesus’ death and resurrection – hope of
forgiveness, everlasting life, change, holiness, peace, and more!
You
may never speak in the tongues the way the Apostles did, and if there is a
flame over your head you probably need to stop, drop and roll. Nevertheless,
the Holy Spirit is your Helper. He is your Comforter. He is constantly applying
Jesus’ forgiveness and salvation to your life. He is always prompting and
empowering you to keep Jesus’ word so you can live by it – both as a guide, but
also as the message of new life. He is also present in you so that others can
experience God’s peace and forgiveness through you.
It’s
easy to think that this is all for us – Jesus’ sacrifice, the forgiveness, the
peace, the hope, the new life – even the presence of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes
we don’t want to talk to others about Jesus, his life, death, and resurrection,
and we give the impression that the things we cherish here are solely for our
benefit. The Holy Spirit reminds us today that while this is for our benefit –
the cross is for us, and we desperately need it! – it is not solely for us. So
the Spirit goes with us back into our Monday-through-Saturday lives. He goes to
be present with us, and through us he is present for the world to proclaim that
Jesus is risen from the dead and to draw all people to faith in Jesus.
I
want you to notice something today. In our sin and brokenness, Jesus came to us
to save us. In our day-to-day lives the Holy Spirit comes and dwells in us and
among us. When we think about all the gifts that God gives us – one of the
greatest has to be that he gives us himself. In his love for us he comes to us.
Consider that for a moment. Now think of this. Through us, God comes to our
neighbors. What a gift the Holy Spirit is! God comes to us, and, through us, he
comes to the world as we share Jesus’ word. Thanks be to God! Amen.
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