On My Way to a Sermon: I Corinthians 12; To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit
To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses. (1 Cor 12:7-11)
What if Paul really means what he is saying here? I mean what if Paul really means that every member of the church is the recipient of a charismatic gift from and through the Holy Spirit?
How many times have I read these verses before myself and instead of pausing to really pay attention to the charismatic nature of these gifts and then launched into the cliched encouragement of accountants to use their gifts on the Finance Committee and teachers to use their gifts on the Christian Ed committee? I don’t know exactly how many times, but I am a bit ashamed to think about it.
I know why I’ve smoothed the rough edges of these verses. I read ‘gifts of healing’ and in my minds eye come images of Benny Hinn slapping people in the forehead using his ‘gift of healing.’ I read ‘various kinds of tongues’ and I remember watching Jimmy Swaggart with my grand-mother. He would regularly go into a little tongues in his sermons. It never struck me as all that authentic frankly.
I don’t want to be compared to Benny or Jimmy so I’ve neatly tamed these verses to mean using in church the skills that we already have acquired in school or in our careers. I don’t want to turn worship into cheap entertainment and I don’t want to promise people results that I cannot guarantee.
But here is the thing. If we only read these verses and then think about skills we already possess we are closing off the possibility that God could still be creating in and through us, in strange, amazing and unexpected ways. Reading 1 Cor 12 as an encouragement to use the skills we possess in the long-run limits God to what we think we can do ourselves. Well, ok, God isn’t limited, but we are limiting ourselves. While lingering for a moment with the possibility that the Holy Spirit could empower us to do unexpected things, give gifts beyond our imagining and everyday experience might just challenge some of our dearly and rarely questioned assumptions. God is no longer some distant ‘higher power’ waiting patiently around the corner for our call, but a present and active, and perhaps inconvenient, reality. Church is no longer an occassional boost to the ego or massage for the spirit, but a training ground for the mission that God has called us to undertake. Faith no longer some dusty old ideas that we affirm upon occasion, but a process and a practice and a journey which stretches us and challenges us daily to grow into the Image of God that we were created to reflect into the dark corners of the world.
Maybe we are missing a golden opportunity by skimming over these verses and this whole idea. Perhaps there are many people out there who are waiting for someone to tell them that they were created to make a difference in the world. Perhaps there are people out there who are waiting for the opportunity to be a part of something good in a world that seems over-run by violence and greed. Perhaps they are waiting, expectantly to be told that there is a path through life that will bring more satisfaction than cruises and retirement accounts, something worth sacrificing for. Do we offer that? Paul was convinced that the Holy Spirit would empower the new Christians at Corinth to do great things. Do we challenge each other to great things? Or are we stuck in a system that offers people a place on a committee, which doesn’t sound much like a world changing kind of activity?
What if Paul really means that we are all recipients of a manifestation of the Spirit? God would no longer be a cosmic butler, church no longer a matter of convenience, membership no longer having one's name on a list, discipleship no longer joining a committee, and faith no longer a collection of ideas. All of which is good news if we’ve long been haunted by feelings of insecurity and the fear of our inadequacy. Bad news if we like our God distant, our church convenient and comforting and our faith safely ensconced in our mind.
Showing posts with label Holy Spirit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holy Spirit. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Sunday, May 9, 2010
The Holy Spirit Unites us in Community
The Holy Spirit Gives us the gift of Unity and Community
Primary Text:
1 Co 12:12-13
12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body — whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free — and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
Secondary Text:
Gal 3:26-29
26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek , slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Eph 4:3-6
4 There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Ro 14:5-8
5 One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. 8 If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
Can we really proclaim with authenticity or conviction, the unity that Paul writes about throughout the New Testament letters?
For example, when we try to explain to someone new to faith who we are as American Baptists, we end up talking about other Christians whom we are NOT like and then comes a list of denominations;
Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and then Protestant, which then divides into Lutheran, Methodist, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Congregationalist, Baptist. Even these break down further; American Baptist, Southern Baptist, National, Progressive, Alliance of Baptists, and on and on… The differences that divide us are often spoken of more than the similarities that unite us (not to mention the Lord that unites us). Most prevalent in the public eye is the division that surrounds the inclusion of gays and lesbians in the church and/or in ministry.
So can we really speak about the unity of the church as a gift of the Holy Spirit? I suppose we can either give in and stop hoping for unity, but Paul says we are already unified by the Spirit.
Perhaps I am naïve, or perhaps I am overconfident but I think that one reason we struggle to be united and find ourselves separating into groups so often as Christians is because we mistakenly assume that our unity is born of our agreement. We all assent to this creed or in the case of Baptists, we all agree on these general principles.
But when we look at the churches to whom Paul wrote we see that he is proclaiming unity to churches that are divided and in disagreement. The Church at Corinth was divided up into a number of factions. The wealthy and the impoverished, those with gifts of the Spirit and without, and apparently a hierarchy set up among those who had the ‘important’ gifts and those that had ‘less important’ gifts. There was division in Galatia and division in Rome about what day to worship, diet, and ethnicity.
Apparently Paul did not see agreement as the seedbed of unity. As a matter of fact Paul seemed to think that the impossible could happen and that the Spirit just might unite people despite or even through their differences.
let me bold and say that one of the reasons that the church has failed and continues to fail to preach and teach peace is because we keep assuming that our unity is born of agreement. When we do not agree, we divide amongst ourselves, the Spirit is a concept but not an active presence and we loose our ability to be a relevant witness to the peace of Christ. We are not willing to build it, so it becomes a word we use, but not a activity we pursue.
Lets look particularly at Romans 14
5 One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.
Did you hear that? Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. Paul does not only accept that there are differences, but seems to celebrate here and in 1 Corinthians, the diversity of the church.
Unity is a process. When we disagree and then either fall to the side of not speaking about it, or fighting and voting and ending the conversation, OR fighting and leaving or firing someone… we are cutting the work of the Spirit in the church out. We are not trusting that the Spirit is both guiding and instructing us and in essence we are proclaiming that we know best, not the Spirit.
Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind is the key, but not as a scriptural proof that we should be stubborn. When we disagree and honestly admit it, and lovingly engage in disagreement, The Spirit can work to instruct us. Disagreement is an opportunity for me to reflect carefully about what I believe and why. Being clear about my own perspective and going to scripture and tradition to check my views out, is a process by which the spirit instructs me. Listening… let me say this again, Listening to another persons perspective is also a way for the Spirit to instruct. I have to be open to the fact that the Spirit may change my mind. The Spirit may want me to hear another perspective so that I can grow.
And even if my mind is not changed, nor is theirs, I can learn patience, I can learn appreciation for the wideness of God’s glory… I can learn to accept others without demanding that they be like me. In a sense we are truly learning how to love for we are valuing the image of God in the other without that other changing for our comfort.
Let me make an illustration, a risky illustration because I’m going to talk about a current disagreement.
You may have figured it out now, that I am uncomfortable with the presence of the American Flag in the sanctuary. To me it is idolatry. But others do not hold that view. To others it is a prayer of blessing and reminder of the goal, what we aspire to Christians in America, to witness to our faith.
The flag is here. I remove it for Christmas Eve and Holy Week.
It isn’t about winning or loosing. It isn’t about being right or wrong. So often we as a church fail to let the Spirit move among us because we are stuck thinking that we have to prove right and wrong. Let me tell you. There is value and wisdom in the perspective of those who want the flag in the sanctuary. I still disagree, but I appreciate the wisdom. They are fully convinced in their own mind… I disagree, but I accept that they have thought this through and struggled with the issue.
Because we believe that the Spirit unites us we can leave behind dealing with disagreements through thinking about right and wrong, winning and loosing.
We listen carefully, we speak honestly, we are open to new perspectives. Instead of being entrenched we are open to change. If there is not change we are learning patience and appreciation for the ‘other.’
And in all this we are creating peace. In the disagreement and the way we behave in the disagreement we are creating peace.
I will not be the pastor you have called me to be if you always agree with me. But neither will you be the congregation you are called to be if I do not disagree and challenge you upon occasion.
Now I hope that the issue of the flag isn’t the main topic of discussion at coffee hour.
But the reality is we will have many topics to discuss in the coming months and years together. We are planning of exploring becoming a green congregation with a green church building. There will be many perspectives on this issue. And even if we agree to pursue this goal, we will disagree about how to pursue it. We may disagree about how much to spend or what steps to take. But I am convinced that if we can hold onto our belief that we are already unified, even in our disagreements on this issue, the Spirit will be working and guiding and leading us and we will not only find a way to become more green together, but we will also show the world how to create peace.
We will also begin to talk about becoming an AWAB church which means that we will openly proclaim our welcome of our gay and lesbian sisters and brothers. This is sure to stir up a variety of opinions and emotions. We must remember at that point that we are already unified… one Lord, one faith, one Baptism. In the disagreement the Spirit is working to unify us, instruct us, guide and guard us. And in a day when churches are dividing over this issue, I still hope that we will stay together, unified and we will show the world how to live in peace.
God Bless You All
Primary Text:
1 Co 12:12-13
12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body — whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free — and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
Secondary Text:
Gal 3:26-29
26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek , slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Eph 4:3-6
4 There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Ro 14:5-8
5 One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. 8 If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
Can we really proclaim with authenticity or conviction, the unity that Paul writes about throughout the New Testament letters?
For example, when we try to explain to someone new to faith who we are as American Baptists, we end up talking about other Christians whom we are NOT like and then comes a list of denominations;
Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and then Protestant, which then divides into Lutheran, Methodist, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Congregationalist, Baptist. Even these break down further; American Baptist, Southern Baptist, National, Progressive, Alliance of Baptists, and on and on… The differences that divide us are often spoken of more than the similarities that unite us (not to mention the Lord that unites us). Most prevalent in the public eye is the division that surrounds the inclusion of gays and lesbians in the church and/or in ministry.
So can we really speak about the unity of the church as a gift of the Holy Spirit? I suppose we can either give in and stop hoping for unity, but Paul says we are already unified by the Spirit.
Perhaps I am naïve, or perhaps I am overconfident but I think that one reason we struggle to be united and find ourselves separating into groups so often as Christians is because we mistakenly assume that our unity is born of our agreement. We all assent to this creed or in the case of Baptists, we all agree on these general principles.
But when we look at the churches to whom Paul wrote we see that he is proclaiming unity to churches that are divided and in disagreement. The Church at Corinth was divided up into a number of factions. The wealthy and the impoverished, those with gifts of the Spirit and without, and apparently a hierarchy set up among those who had the ‘important’ gifts and those that had ‘less important’ gifts. There was division in Galatia and division in Rome about what day to worship, diet, and ethnicity.
Apparently Paul did not see agreement as the seedbed of unity. As a matter of fact Paul seemed to think that the impossible could happen and that the Spirit just might unite people despite or even through their differences.
let me bold and say that one of the reasons that the church has failed and continues to fail to preach and teach peace is because we keep assuming that our unity is born of agreement. When we do not agree, we divide amongst ourselves, the Spirit is a concept but not an active presence and we loose our ability to be a relevant witness to the peace of Christ. We are not willing to build it, so it becomes a word we use, but not a activity we pursue.
Lets look particularly at Romans 14
5 One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.
Did you hear that? Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. Paul does not only accept that there are differences, but seems to celebrate here and in 1 Corinthians, the diversity of the church.
Unity is a process. When we disagree and then either fall to the side of not speaking about it, or fighting and voting and ending the conversation, OR fighting and leaving or firing someone… we are cutting the work of the Spirit in the church out. We are not trusting that the Spirit is both guiding and instructing us and in essence we are proclaiming that we know best, not the Spirit.
Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind is the key, but not as a scriptural proof that we should be stubborn. When we disagree and honestly admit it, and lovingly engage in disagreement, The Spirit can work to instruct us. Disagreement is an opportunity for me to reflect carefully about what I believe and why. Being clear about my own perspective and going to scripture and tradition to check my views out, is a process by which the spirit instructs me. Listening… let me say this again, Listening to another persons perspective is also a way for the Spirit to instruct. I have to be open to the fact that the Spirit may change my mind. The Spirit may want me to hear another perspective so that I can grow.
And even if my mind is not changed, nor is theirs, I can learn patience, I can learn appreciation for the wideness of God’s glory… I can learn to accept others without demanding that they be like me. In a sense we are truly learning how to love for we are valuing the image of God in the other without that other changing for our comfort.
Let me make an illustration, a risky illustration because I’m going to talk about a current disagreement.
You may have figured it out now, that I am uncomfortable with the presence of the American Flag in the sanctuary. To me it is idolatry. But others do not hold that view. To others it is a prayer of blessing and reminder of the goal, what we aspire to Christians in America, to witness to our faith.
The flag is here. I remove it for Christmas Eve and Holy Week.
It isn’t about winning or loosing. It isn’t about being right or wrong. So often we as a church fail to let the Spirit move among us because we are stuck thinking that we have to prove right and wrong. Let me tell you. There is value and wisdom in the perspective of those who want the flag in the sanctuary. I still disagree, but I appreciate the wisdom. They are fully convinced in their own mind… I disagree, but I accept that they have thought this through and struggled with the issue.
Because we believe that the Spirit unites us we can leave behind dealing with disagreements through thinking about right and wrong, winning and loosing.
We listen carefully, we speak honestly, we are open to new perspectives. Instead of being entrenched we are open to change. If there is not change we are learning patience and appreciation for the ‘other.’
And in all this we are creating peace. In the disagreement and the way we behave in the disagreement we are creating peace.
I will not be the pastor you have called me to be if you always agree with me. But neither will you be the congregation you are called to be if I do not disagree and challenge you upon occasion.
Now I hope that the issue of the flag isn’t the main topic of discussion at coffee hour.
But the reality is we will have many topics to discuss in the coming months and years together. We are planning of exploring becoming a green congregation with a green church building. There will be many perspectives on this issue. And even if we agree to pursue this goal, we will disagree about how to pursue it. We may disagree about how much to spend or what steps to take. But I am convinced that if we can hold onto our belief that we are already unified, even in our disagreements on this issue, the Spirit will be working and guiding and leading us and we will not only find a way to become more green together, but we will also show the world how to create peace.
We will also begin to talk about becoming an AWAB church which means that we will openly proclaim our welcome of our gay and lesbian sisters and brothers. This is sure to stir up a variety of opinions and emotions. We must remember at that point that we are already unified… one Lord, one faith, one Baptism. In the disagreement the Spirit is working to unify us, instruct us, guide and guard us. And in a day when churches are dividing over this issue, I still hope that we will stay together, unified and we will show the world how to live in peace.
God Bless You All
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
The Holy Spirit: Fruit
Another follow-up devotion from this past sunday's sermon
Verses for Wednesday Gal 5:22-26
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no
law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature
with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in
step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying
each other.
Prayer for Wednesday:
Be present, Spirit of god, within us, your dwelling place and home,
that this house may be one where all darkness is penetrated by your light,
all troubles calmed by your peace, all evil redeemed by your love,
all pain transformed in your suffering,
and all dying glorified in your risen life.
Jim Cotter
Thought for Wednesday:
Yesterday we meditated on the fact that we are freed so as to pursue the love of God, but sometimes we need some more concrete virtues to pray for and meditate on as a focus. Paul offers Gal 5 as one example of concrete virtues for the disciples to ask for, develop and seek. While Paul does not call these ‘fruits’ as a plural, but all of them are the one ‘fruit’ of the Holy Spirit, I confess that I am stronger at
some and weaker in others. So while we pursue all of these slices of the
orange which is the fruit of the Spirit, each may personally want to petition
the Holy Spirit for specific ones.
The fact that Paul calls them ‘fruit’ is intended, I believe, to teach us an
important lesson. To pursue patience, for example, relying on our own
strength of will, is not what Paul is describing. The fruit of the Spirit is not
something that we attain with our own labor. The fruit of the Spirit is a gift.
So while we must, through prayer, worship and the fellowship of the
believers seek to practice these virtues, we do so relying not on our own
wills, but on the support of others and the generosity of the Spirit. My point
is, don’t view the exercise of these gifts as something you must do yourself.
Instead, through prayer and the support of other disciples, receive these as gifts.
Don’t try to muster them of your strength alone, but instead ask to receive
them and imagine yourself and how you will look, act, and feel having
received them.
Verses for Wednesday Gal 5:22-26
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no
law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature
with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in
step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying
each other.
Prayer for Wednesday:
Be present, Spirit of god, within us, your dwelling place and home,
that this house may be one where all darkness is penetrated by your light,
all troubles calmed by your peace, all evil redeemed by your love,
all pain transformed in your suffering,
and all dying glorified in your risen life.
Jim Cotter
Thought for Wednesday:
Yesterday we meditated on the fact that we are freed so as to pursue the love of God, but sometimes we need some more concrete virtues to pray for and meditate on as a focus. Paul offers Gal 5 as one example of concrete virtues for the disciples to ask for, develop and seek. While Paul does not call these ‘fruits’ as a plural, but all of them are the one ‘fruit’ of the Holy Spirit, I confess that I am stronger at
some and weaker in others. So while we pursue all of these slices of the
orange which is the fruit of the Spirit, each may personally want to petition
the Holy Spirit for specific ones.
The fact that Paul calls them ‘fruit’ is intended, I believe, to teach us an
important lesson. To pursue patience, for example, relying on our own
strength of will, is not what Paul is describing. The fruit of the Spirit is not
something that we attain with our own labor. The fruit of the Spirit is a gift.
So while we must, through prayer, worship and the fellowship of the
believers seek to practice these virtues, we do so relying not on our own
wills, but on the support of others and the generosity of the Spirit. My point
is, don’t view the exercise of these gifts as something you must do yourself.
Instead, through prayer and the support of other disciples, receive these as gifts.
Don’t try to muster them of your strength alone, but instead ask to receive
them and imagine yourself and how you will look, act, and feel having
received them.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
The Holy Spirit Frees us to be Embraced by God's Love
This post is a prayer and devotional guide following this past sunday's sermon.
Verse for Tuesday Romans 8:1
8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in
Christ Jesus
Prayer for Today:
O Holy Spirit, whose presence is liberty, grant us that freedom of the Spirit which will not fear to tread in unknown ways, nor be held back by misgivings of ourselves and fear of others. Ever beckon us forward to the place of your will which is also the place of your power, O ever-leading, ever-loving Lord.
George Appleton
THought for Today:
The frightening thing about freedom is the challenge of the
unknown. ‘Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t’ is a
maxim that rules many of us from time to time.
Today I want to encourage you to focus on what the Spirit frees you
for! We spoke about this briefly two weeks ago in the sermon. We
are freed for God’s love, ‘there is now no condemnation.’ We are
freed from guilt and anger which keep us from being loved by God,
so that we can participate in God’s love. This is important because
sometimes the sinful things that enslave us, say anger, have been vital
for our lives. If we have been hurt deeply, anger is an effective shield
which guards us from ever being hurt again. It will not be enough to
ask the Spirit help us let go of our anger… that will leave us feeling
vulnerable. Instead we ask the spirit to lower the walls so that we
might know God’s love… we can take a risk for God’s love. Find a
verse about God’s love and make that your centering prayer for the
day.
Verse for Tuesday Romans 8:1
8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in
Christ Jesus
Prayer for Today:
O Holy Spirit, whose presence is liberty, grant us that freedom of the Spirit which will not fear to tread in unknown ways, nor be held back by misgivings of ourselves and fear of others. Ever beckon us forward to the place of your will which is also the place of your power, O ever-leading, ever-loving Lord.
George Appleton
THought for Today:
The frightening thing about freedom is the challenge of the
unknown. ‘Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t’ is a
maxim that rules many of us from time to time.
Today I want to encourage you to focus on what the Spirit frees you
for! We spoke about this briefly two weeks ago in the sermon. We
are freed for God’s love, ‘there is now no condemnation.’ We are
freed from guilt and anger which keep us from being loved by God,
so that we can participate in God’s love. This is important because
sometimes the sinful things that enslave us, say anger, have been vital
for our lives. If we have been hurt deeply, anger is an effective shield
which guards us from ever being hurt again. It will not be enough to
ask the Spirit help us let go of our anger… that will leave us feeling
vulnerable. Instead we ask the spirit to lower the walls so that we
might know God’s love… we can take a risk for God’s love. Find a
verse about God’s love and make that your centering prayer for the
day.
The Holy Spirit Frees Us!
The Holy Spirit Frees Us!
Acts 16:16-40 & Romans 6:22-23
Question: The Holy Spirit promises us a future, a new creation, but how do we move toward that?
Bad News: The Freedom of the Spirit is a gift, but it is a challenge to experience it and grow into this freedom.
Good News: The joy of serving and suffering
Celebration: In order to grow into the future that God has promised, the Spirit frees us from our past and present sins, fears, and doubts.
Introduction:
So, we started a new sermon series last week focusing on the Holy Spirit. Instead of getting bogged down in creeds and what they have to say about what the Holy Spirit it, I decided we would focus on what the Bible tells us the Holy Spirit does. As we have also just finished us our Long Range Planning process, and we are focusing on the future of BBC, last week we started with the Holy Spirit’s activity which is promising and creating a future. To make this a bit less theoretical and more practical we looked at Paul’s situation in the church at Corinth which inspired him to write about the future that is promised or guaranteed by the Holy Spirit. Suffering, you may recall, was the immediate problem, the question, the need… Paul’s emotional suffering by feeling embarrassed by a church member at Corinth, watching the church in Corinth struggle to move into the future because some many of the old behaviors, and cultural norms, which went against the ethics and practices of this new community created around Christ, remained so prevalent.
That particular struggle, the struggle of leaving behind, of being freed of that which holds us back from becoming what God created us to be, that we have witnessed is our potential in witnessing and remembering the life of Christ, that is what I want us to consider momentarily today. Paul is certain that the Holy Spirit promises us a future, a new creation. And the first step toward that new creation, that future, is freedom from the past, or even the present. The Holy Spirit Frees Us from that which hinders us from growing into the future the Spirit promises and God is creating.
Which is what the stories we read from Acts 16 poetically illustrate. The Holy Spirit is mentioned, but the presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the apostles is the storyline throughout Acts.
First the girl, possessed by ‘spirits.’ She is bound not only by this ‘spirit’ but also by the men who have enslaved her for their own profit. In the greek she is enslaved by a Pythian Spirit, pythian is related to python… which I think gives us a amazing image of a young girl who is strangled, totally constrained by this spirit and these men… with no possible way to be free.
As we read Paul casts out this spirit, and her owners first get incite a mob and then get Paul and Silas arrested, thrown in prison, their feet in the stocks. Another image… bound in chains, locked in stocks…
But the Holy Spirit causes an earthquake which frees them.
And then finally the prison guard himself… distraught at the fact that Paul and Silas were free, and the thought of the reprisals of his superiors for ‘letting’ the prisoners free, draws his sword to do himself in… until again, Paul intervenes. And he is freed from his own sword.
The point is unmistakable. No matter what binds us… the frighting and unknown in the evil spirit, the abuse and oppression of others in the girl’s owners, the mob, the guard,
Regardless of what constrains us… the stocks, even when we feel the sword at our necks… the Holy Spirit will free us, is freeing us.
All this meant to stir not only the heart of the Christian, but the imagination… whatever binds me and holds me back from following Christ and becoming the image of God I’m created to be, the Holy Spirit will free me of.
BUT, as nice as that sounds…
I couldn’t help but think of Brooks Hatlen, one of the characters from ‘the Shawshank Redemption.’ Brooks Hatlen had been a prisoner in Shawshank Prison for most of his life. He had made a life in that prison, working in the library. By the time he was released, he was an elderly man, and he didn’t know how to fit into this new freedom. He couldn’t adjust to freedom and so took his own life.
What happened to the girl, to the jailer? Did they stay free? Did they fall back into old patterns, struggle to overcome the habits that had formed them? What did they do to grow into this freedom, because as wonderful as it sounds that the girl and the jailer were instantly free…
Our experience tells us that we are more like Brooks… it can be tough to adjust to this new found freedom.
Even Paul acknowledges the struggle to live into and up to the freedom we are given.
Rom 7:18-19 I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. 19For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.
As exciting and important as the stories found in Acts 16 are… that we can be free, that the Holy Spirit frees us from our past, our sins, our doubts, fears, regrets… I still want more. Acts 16 gives us a promise, a vision… we too are free. But I feel like Paul and Brooks… I struggle to adjust to this freedom and I want some pointers, some steps, some specific actions to take so as to insure that the Holy Spirit is freeing me.
But as much as I look, and I have been looking and reading and thinking all week, I don’t find specific steps in being freed by the Holy Spirit. And this has really frustrated me. What must I do to be free by the Holy Spirit?
Then it occurred to me that if God gave us specific steps beyond believing in Christ and following in his path, if we received specific instructions, we, like the disciples in Corinth from last week, would soon find a way to feel ourselves superior to others. It would cease to be the mysterious gift of the Spirit that freed us, but our own labor and work and will, which we would use to feel superior to others. We aren’t told specifics so that we humbly rely on grace, trust that the Holy Spirit is freeing us… stay focused on the vision of being free.
But then the Holy Spirit did reveal one secret. I almost said, ‘I found one secret’ but it wasn’t me, it was the Holy Spirit really.
This one secret was revealed.
When Paul was freed from his terrorist lifestyle, arresting Christians and supervising the stoning of Stephen, when he was freed from that… it took a community. He was sent to Ananias for prayer.
When the Holy Spirit freed the girl, She (the Holy Spirit) worked through the community of believers represented by Paul and Silas.
When Paul and Silas were freed by the Holy Spirit from prison, they were together…
And the jailer too, depended on Paul and Silas, a community of believers through which the Spirit would work.
It hit me then that the one hint to remaining open to the freeing work of the Holy Spirit is to stay faithful to the community of those who follow Christ. It is in the gutsy work of remaining together in community; in which our fears, doubts, bad habits, sins sometimes rub up against others, hurt them, disappoint them, affect them… that the Holy Spirit, through the support and honesty of others, frees us. We will not be freed in isolation, but experience the freedom of the Holy Spirit when we stick together, lift one another up, prayer, sometimes struggle, reflect honestly, confront lovingly, but always in love and humility… when we are this kind of community, the Holy Spirit, Paul says, makes us free.
God Bless You All
Acts 16:16-40 & Romans 6:22-23
Question: The Holy Spirit promises us a future, a new creation, but how do we move toward that?
Bad News: The Freedom of the Spirit is a gift, but it is a challenge to experience it and grow into this freedom.
Good News: The joy of serving and suffering
Celebration: In order to grow into the future that God has promised, the Spirit frees us from our past and present sins, fears, and doubts.
Introduction:
So, we started a new sermon series last week focusing on the Holy Spirit. Instead of getting bogged down in creeds and what they have to say about what the Holy Spirit it, I decided we would focus on what the Bible tells us the Holy Spirit does. As we have also just finished us our Long Range Planning process, and we are focusing on the future of BBC, last week we started with the Holy Spirit’s activity which is promising and creating a future. To make this a bit less theoretical and more practical we looked at Paul’s situation in the church at Corinth which inspired him to write about the future that is promised or guaranteed by the Holy Spirit. Suffering, you may recall, was the immediate problem, the question, the need… Paul’s emotional suffering by feeling embarrassed by a church member at Corinth, watching the church in Corinth struggle to move into the future because some many of the old behaviors, and cultural norms, which went against the ethics and practices of this new community created around Christ, remained so prevalent.
That particular struggle, the struggle of leaving behind, of being freed of that which holds us back from becoming what God created us to be, that we have witnessed is our potential in witnessing and remembering the life of Christ, that is what I want us to consider momentarily today. Paul is certain that the Holy Spirit promises us a future, a new creation. And the first step toward that new creation, that future, is freedom from the past, or even the present. The Holy Spirit Frees Us from that which hinders us from growing into the future the Spirit promises and God is creating.
Which is what the stories we read from Acts 16 poetically illustrate. The Holy Spirit is mentioned, but the presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the apostles is the storyline throughout Acts.
First the girl, possessed by ‘spirits.’ She is bound not only by this ‘spirit’ but also by the men who have enslaved her for their own profit. In the greek she is enslaved by a Pythian Spirit, pythian is related to python… which I think gives us a amazing image of a young girl who is strangled, totally constrained by this spirit and these men… with no possible way to be free.
As we read Paul casts out this spirit, and her owners first get incite a mob and then get Paul and Silas arrested, thrown in prison, their feet in the stocks. Another image… bound in chains, locked in stocks…
But the Holy Spirit causes an earthquake which frees them.
And then finally the prison guard himself… distraught at the fact that Paul and Silas were free, and the thought of the reprisals of his superiors for ‘letting’ the prisoners free, draws his sword to do himself in… until again, Paul intervenes. And he is freed from his own sword.
The point is unmistakable. No matter what binds us… the frighting and unknown in the evil spirit, the abuse and oppression of others in the girl’s owners, the mob, the guard,
Regardless of what constrains us… the stocks, even when we feel the sword at our necks… the Holy Spirit will free us, is freeing us.
All this meant to stir not only the heart of the Christian, but the imagination… whatever binds me and holds me back from following Christ and becoming the image of God I’m created to be, the Holy Spirit will free me of.
BUT, as nice as that sounds…
I couldn’t help but think of Brooks Hatlen, one of the characters from ‘the Shawshank Redemption.’ Brooks Hatlen had been a prisoner in Shawshank Prison for most of his life. He had made a life in that prison, working in the library. By the time he was released, he was an elderly man, and he didn’t know how to fit into this new freedom. He couldn’t adjust to freedom and so took his own life.
What happened to the girl, to the jailer? Did they stay free? Did they fall back into old patterns, struggle to overcome the habits that had formed them? What did they do to grow into this freedom, because as wonderful as it sounds that the girl and the jailer were instantly free…
Our experience tells us that we are more like Brooks… it can be tough to adjust to this new found freedom.
Even Paul acknowledges the struggle to live into and up to the freedom we are given.
Rom 7:18-19 I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. 19For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.
As exciting and important as the stories found in Acts 16 are… that we can be free, that the Holy Spirit frees us from our past, our sins, our doubts, fears, regrets… I still want more. Acts 16 gives us a promise, a vision… we too are free. But I feel like Paul and Brooks… I struggle to adjust to this freedom and I want some pointers, some steps, some specific actions to take so as to insure that the Holy Spirit is freeing me.
But as much as I look, and I have been looking and reading and thinking all week, I don’t find specific steps in being freed by the Holy Spirit. And this has really frustrated me. What must I do to be free by the Holy Spirit?
Then it occurred to me that if God gave us specific steps beyond believing in Christ and following in his path, if we received specific instructions, we, like the disciples in Corinth from last week, would soon find a way to feel ourselves superior to others. It would cease to be the mysterious gift of the Spirit that freed us, but our own labor and work and will, which we would use to feel superior to others. We aren’t told specifics so that we humbly rely on grace, trust that the Holy Spirit is freeing us… stay focused on the vision of being free.
But then the Holy Spirit did reveal one secret. I almost said, ‘I found one secret’ but it wasn’t me, it was the Holy Spirit really.
This one secret was revealed.
When Paul was freed from his terrorist lifestyle, arresting Christians and supervising the stoning of Stephen, when he was freed from that… it took a community. He was sent to Ananias for prayer.
When the Holy Spirit freed the girl, She (the Holy Spirit) worked through the community of believers represented by Paul and Silas.
When Paul and Silas were freed by the Holy Spirit from prison, they were together…
And the jailer too, depended on Paul and Silas, a community of believers through which the Spirit would work.
It hit me then that the one hint to remaining open to the freeing work of the Holy Spirit is to stay faithful to the community of those who follow Christ. It is in the gutsy work of remaining together in community; in which our fears, doubts, bad habits, sins sometimes rub up against others, hurt them, disappoint them, affect them… that the Holy Spirit, through the support and honesty of others, frees us. We will not be freed in isolation, but experience the freedom of the Holy Spirit when we stick together, lift one another up, prayer, sometimes struggle, reflect honestly, confront lovingly, but always in love and humility… when we are this kind of community, the Holy Spirit, Paul says, makes us free.
God Bless You All
Saturday, April 24, 2010
The Holy Spirit Gives the Promise of a Future
First Sermon on the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit Gives a Promise for the Future
2 Cor 5:1-5
Understanding the Holy Spirit can be challenging.
Perhaps this is because talking about the Holy Spirit can lead in one of two confusing directions.
First, we can get bogged down in the creedal language which tries to explain the Trinity, such as the insertion of the word filioque in the Nicene Creed which caused the East-West schism in 1054. I will admit, my eyes glazed over at this point in my History of the Church class. It isn’t particularly interesting or meaningful, and we Baptist’s tend to take a pragmatic approach to theology in general.
On the other hand we may have some experience with the Holy Spirit through the charismatic church, Pentecostals and the practice of speaking in tongues, dancing, and in rare and extreme cases the snake handling. And while I’m not denigrating speaking in tongues, it’s just not my thing, nor is it yours I suspect. But since we’ve seen or heard of these practices ‘In the Spirit’ we get a little nervous about this thing called, the Holy Spirit.
Which is why I wanted to talk about the Holy Spirit by focusing on the work of the Holy Spirit. Today, we are going to talk about the Holy Spirit as a Promise, as providing Hope.
But to get there we have to turn to Paul and understand a little about the situation he is in with the church at Corinth. Because this situation leads him to write about a number of things, including the Holy Spirit.
First, as much as Paul loved the church at Corinth, a church which he started, he had a contentious relationship with this church. They were famous, many years after the writing of letters we now call 1 and 2 Second Corinthians for being ‘engaged in strife’ (1 Clem. 47.3) NIB
Paul wrote many letters and made visits to the church at Corinth after he established it. At one of those visits it is suggested that one of the church members made a verbal attack against Paul, none of the other church members defended him and this left him feeling hurt and angry. He left, thought about another visit, decided against it as it may have lead to a confrontation which may have made him feel better, morally superior and powerful, which publically embarrassing someone else can do I suppose, but it isn’t the way to handle things in church, so he decided not to risk it.
The Episode at Corinth:
The church at Corinth, which Paul is exchanging correspondence with, is a bit of a mess.
There are many issues that Paul has to deal with... We find the list of problems detail in the first letter to the Corinthians.
Factions are forming around who has been baptized by whom...Peter, Paul, or in the name of whom... Jesus... cliques about whose baptism is... correct... those who baptisms are (quote unquote) correct consider themselves to be of higher status than the others.
A man is living with his father's former wife
while other groups are espousing abstinence from marital intimacy
both again based on their... enlightened faith... both those who have an anything goes view and those who have an abstinence only perspective...feeling themselves superior
there are groups fighting about meat sacrificed to idols... some say that their faith means that it does not matter where the meat has come from... others thinking that practice of eating meat sacrificed to idols is a sin... both thinking themselves better than the other.
Some speak in tongues and think themselves superior... some prophesy and think themselves better...
The wealthy members are starting communion with cocktail hour and are inebriated... with little food or drink left for the poor members to share in the agape meal... at the Lord's supper that they are supposed to share. They assume their economic status enables them special benefits that the poor members are not worthy of.
I mention all of this because what inspires Paul to write about the Holy Spirit isn’t his love of metaphysics, logic or philosophy. What has inspired him to write his letters and to write about the Holy Spirit is his experience with suffering, trauma and the trials of life. And although our lives may not compare to arrest, imprisonment, angry mobs and beatings… we can identify with this experience in a much deeper and more personal way than in considering the fine metaphysical points of the filioque.
But Paul’s view of suffering is, well, strange…
For Paul suffering and trauma is a confirmation that the Holy Spirit is working… He is comforted by suffering because it proves to him that God is saving, re-creating, renewing individuals, humanity, community, all creation, through the Spirit.
And that is Paul’s comfort… as Ernest Best says, ‘ [for Paul] comfort is not the removal of suffering nor the assurance that everything will turn out all right in the end nor that others have suffered worse things nor that it will soon be over…’ ‘the comfort lies in knowing Christ better, in being more firmly united with him…’
Did you hear that? All of us as disciples are in a process of being saved from sin, old destructive, selfish, hurtful ways. The Holy Spirit is working in us and through us, saving us and saving others… but that causes suffering. To face our own failings and fears is painful. To patiently walk with others as they are confronted by the Holy Spirit with their failings can really hurt. To stand up to the sin that surrounds us, that causes poverty, bigotry, intolerance, or violence can be frightening. But Paul see’s this as proof that the Holy Spirit is doing something.
Let me insert the clichéd and obligatory ‘Pastor’s Children’ illustration here.
Lance is playing baseball this spring. Lance takes after his father (me) in many ways. He has talents and gifts… but baseball is not one of them. Catching and throwing and batting just doesn’t come naturally to him, it is a struggle. It frustrates him that he can’t do well. Just the other day he was very disappointed with himself for not hitting every ball pitched to him at batting practice. So he wants to quit. The frustration and discomfort of learning something new and difficult overwhelms him a bit. Now I know from personal experience, that with a little patience, some work and some time, he can learn. I know he has the potential… but to get to the potential, he has to suffer the frustration…
This, I think, is how Paul views the suffering he goes through in his ministry. The personal suffering of squabbles, the suffering of watching his churches struggle with sin and past behaviors that they cannot seem to leave behind, the suffering of mobs and arrests and beatings. All of it is the momentary frustration of growth… growth in him, growth in his church, growth in the community… toward Christ, the Kingdom… the Spirit is working in all of this for our growth.
This is perhaps the challenge to the church, a critique really, of the church, not just ours but all…
Because instead of teaching people how to face frustrations, new and challenging situations, ideas, differences as the Holy Spirit working in and through us… we avoid the whole situation. Send it to a committee, take it to a vote, loose patience and argue our point of view, leave and go somewhere less challenging where our perspective will not be challenged, stay home…
In a sense Paul I think has a good word about conflict, which we try to avoid. Conflict that he certainly didn’t enjoy, but which he fervently believed was the work of the Holy Spirit fulfilling a promise of a future of a tomorrow in which we will be close to Christ, resurrected with Christ, made a new creation as God intends. The Holy Spirit gives Paul the gift of seeing what is being accomplished, salvation, what is yet to come, new Life in Christ… which will cause some conflict within and among us… but the end result is New Life…
Paul has the crucifixion of Christ fixed firmly in his mind. Through that suffering the Spirit created new life. Which is why Paul could have such an odd view of suffering and strife, could virtually celebrate it.
I must be doing something right… Paul seems to say… the Holy Spirit must be working here…
Which is not my first reaction. Someone boos and I stop singing. Someone criticizes and I stop speaking or acting. But not Paul, Paul saw resistance and struggle as a sign that the Spirit was renewing. The Spirit gave him a vision of what he was to become and what all creation was to become, and suffering and struggle is just the process; like learning to hit a ball, or do algebra, learning a new skill for a new job, marriage counseling… facing the discomfort of today, because the Holy Spirit promises us a tomorrow closer to Christ, a tomorrow in which we are that much closer to the image God created us to be.
How do we do it?
That is the question right?
That is another thing that makes the Holy Spirit difficult to think and talk about. It is mysterious because it can’t be qualified.
But I think that Paul had some promises in his mind that I want to share with you to close…and if you want to learn, as I too want to learn, how to stop avoiding the struggle and to see it as a process of growing in faith, remember these verses, read them daily, meditate on them, pray them…
Isa 32:14-17
The fortress will be abandoned,
the noisy city deserted;
citadel and watchtower will become a wasteland forever,
till the Spirit is poured upon us from on high,
and the desert becomes a fertile field,
and the fertile field seems like a forest.
17 The fruit of righteousness will be peace;
the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.
Isa 44:4
Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant,
Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring,
and my blessing on your descendants.
4 They will spring up like grass in a meadow,
like poplar trees by flowing streams.
Eze 37:12-14
13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.'"
I don’t know for a fact that Paul was thinking of these verses. But I do know that Paul was convinced that the Holy Spirit used suffering and struggle and difference and even division as a catalyst for growth…
Ro 8:34-39
Christ Jesus, who died — more than that, who was raised to life — is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
"For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
2 Co 4:16-18
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
NIV
2 Cor 5:1-5
Understanding the Holy Spirit can be challenging.
Perhaps this is because talking about the Holy Spirit can lead in one of two confusing directions.
First, we can get bogged down in the creedal language which tries to explain the Trinity, such as the insertion of the word filioque in the Nicene Creed which caused the East-West schism in 1054. I will admit, my eyes glazed over at this point in my History of the Church class. It isn’t particularly interesting or meaningful, and we Baptist’s tend to take a pragmatic approach to theology in general.
On the other hand we may have some experience with the Holy Spirit through the charismatic church, Pentecostals and the practice of speaking in tongues, dancing, and in rare and extreme cases the snake handling. And while I’m not denigrating speaking in tongues, it’s just not my thing, nor is it yours I suspect. But since we’ve seen or heard of these practices ‘In the Spirit’ we get a little nervous about this thing called, the Holy Spirit.
Which is why I wanted to talk about the Holy Spirit by focusing on the work of the Holy Spirit. Today, we are going to talk about the Holy Spirit as a Promise, as providing Hope.
But to get there we have to turn to Paul and understand a little about the situation he is in with the church at Corinth. Because this situation leads him to write about a number of things, including the Holy Spirit.
First, as much as Paul loved the church at Corinth, a church which he started, he had a contentious relationship with this church. They were famous, many years after the writing of letters we now call 1 and 2 Second Corinthians for being ‘engaged in strife’ (1 Clem. 47.3) NIB
Paul wrote many letters and made visits to the church at Corinth after he established it. At one of those visits it is suggested that one of the church members made a verbal attack against Paul, none of the other church members defended him and this left him feeling hurt and angry. He left, thought about another visit, decided against it as it may have lead to a confrontation which may have made him feel better, morally superior and powerful, which publically embarrassing someone else can do I suppose, but it isn’t the way to handle things in church, so he decided not to risk it.
The Episode at Corinth:
The church at Corinth, which Paul is exchanging correspondence with, is a bit of a mess.
There are many issues that Paul has to deal with... We find the list of problems detail in the first letter to the Corinthians.
Factions are forming around who has been baptized by whom...Peter, Paul, or in the name of whom... Jesus... cliques about whose baptism is... correct... those who baptisms are (quote unquote) correct consider themselves to be of higher status than the others.
A man is living with his father's former wife
while other groups are espousing abstinence from marital intimacy
both again based on their... enlightened faith... both those who have an anything goes view and those who have an abstinence only perspective...feeling themselves superior
there are groups fighting about meat sacrificed to idols... some say that their faith means that it does not matter where the meat has come from... others thinking that practice of eating meat sacrificed to idols is a sin... both thinking themselves better than the other.
Some speak in tongues and think themselves superior... some prophesy and think themselves better...
The wealthy members are starting communion with cocktail hour and are inebriated... with little food or drink left for the poor members to share in the agape meal... at the Lord's supper that they are supposed to share. They assume their economic status enables them special benefits that the poor members are not worthy of.
I mention all of this because what inspires Paul to write about the Holy Spirit isn’t his love of metaphysics, logic or philosophy. What has inspired him to write his letters and to write about the Holy Spirit is his experience with suffering, trauma and the trials of life. And although our lives may not compare to arrest, imprisonment, angry mobs and beatings… we can identify with this experience in a much deeper and more personal way than in considering the fine metaphysical points of the filioque.
But Paul’s view of suffering is, well, strange…
For Paul suffering and trauma is a confirmation that the Holy Spirit is working… He is comforted by suffering because it proves to him that God is saving, re-creating, renewing individuals, humanity, community, all creation, through the Spirit.
And that is Paul’s comfort… as Ernest Best says, ‘ [for Paul] comfort is not the removal of suffering nor the assurance that everything will turn out all right in the end nor that others have suffered worse things nor that it will soon be over…’ ‘the comfort lies in knowing Christ better, in being more firmly united with him…’
Did you hear that? All of us as disciples are in a process of being saved from sin, old destructive, selfish, hurtful ways. The Holy Spirit is working in us and through us, saving us and saving others… but that causes suffering. To face our own failings and fears is painful. To patiently walk with others as they are confronted by the Holy Spirit with their failings can really hurt. To stand up to the sin that surrounds us, that causes poverty, bigotry, intolerance, or violence can be frightening. But Paul see’s this as proof that the Holy Spirit is doing something.
Let me insert the clichéd and obligatory ‘Pastor’s Children’ illustration here.
Lance is playing baseball this spring. Lance takes after his father (me) in many ways. He has talents and gifts… but baseball is not one of them. Catching and throwing and batting just doesn’t come naturally to him, it is a struggle. It frustrates him that he can’t do well. Just the other day he was very disappointed with himself for not hitting every ball pitched to him at batting practice. So he wants to quit. The frustration and discomfort of learning something new and difficult overwhelms him a bit. Now I know from personal experience, that with a little patience, some work and some time, he can learn. I know he has the potential… but to get to the potential, he has to suffer the frustration…
This, I think, is how Paul views the suffering he goes through in his ministry. The personal suffering of squabbles, the suffering of watching his churches struggle with sin and past behaviors that they cannot seem to leave behind, the suffering of mobs and arrests and beatings. All of it is the momentary frustration of growth… growth in him, growth in his church, growth in the community… toward Christ, the Kingdom… the Spirit is working in all of this for our growth.
This is perhaps the challenge to the church, a critique really, of the church, not just ours but all…
Because instead of teaching people how to face frustrations, new and challenging situations, ideas, differences as the Holy Spirit working in and through us… we avoid the whole situation. Send it to a committee, take it to a vote, loose patience and argue our point of view, leave and go somewhere less challenging where our perspective will not be challenged, stay home…
In a sense Paul I think has a good word about conflict, which we try to avoid. Conflict that he certainly didn’t enjoy, but which he fervently believed was the work of the Holy Spirit fulfilling a promise of a future of a tomorrow in which we will be close to Christ, resurrected with Christ, made a new creation as God intends. The Holy Spirit gives Paul the gift of seeing what is being accomplished, salvation, what is yet to come, new Life in Christ… which will cause some conflict within and among us… but the end result is New Life…
Paul has the crucifixion of Christ fixed firmly in his mind. Through that suffering the Spirit created new life. Which is why Paul could have such an odd view of suffering and strife, could virtually celebrate it.
I must be doing something right… Paul seems to say… the Holy Spirit must be working here…
Which is not my first reaction. Someone boos and I stop singing. Someone criticizes and I stop speaking or acting. But not Paul, Paul saw resistance and struggle as a sign that the Spirit was renewing. The Spirit gave him a vision of what he was to become and what all creation was to become, and suffering and struggle is just the process; like learning to hit a ball, or do algebra, learning a new skill for a new job, marriage counseling… facing the discomfort of today, because the Holy Spirit promises us a tomorrow closer to Christ, a tomorrow in which we are that much closer to the image God created us to be.
How do we do it?
That is the question right?
That is another thing that makes the Holy Spirit difficult to think and talk about. It is mysterious because it can’t be qualified.
But I think that Paul had some promises in his mind that I want to share with you to close…and if you want to learn, as I too want to learn, how to stop avoiding the struggle and to see it as a process of growing in faith, remember these verses, read them daily, meditate on them, pray them…
Isa 32:14-17
The fortress will be abandoned,
the noisy city deserted;
citadel and watchtower will become a wasteland forever,
till the Spirit is poured upon us from on high,
and the desert becomes a fertile field,
and the fertile field seems like a forest.
17 The fruit of righteousness will be peace;
the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.
Isa 44:4
Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant,
Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring,
and my blessing on your descendants.
4 They will spring up like grass in a meadow,
like poplar trees by flowing streams.
Eze 37:12-14
13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.'"
I don’t know for a fact that Paul was thinking of these verses. But I do know that Paul was convinced that the Holy Spirit used suffering and struggle and difference and even division as a catalyst for growth…
Ro 8:34-39
Christ Jesus, who died — more than that, who was raised to life — is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
"For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
2 Co 4:16-18
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
NIV
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