Sermon for May 31st, 2020 - Revision history

Iraneal: /* Receive the Holy Spirit */

2020-05-31T02:01:27Z

‎Receive the Holy Spirit

Iraneal at 01:03, 31 May 2020

2020-05-31T01:03:08Z

Iraneal at 00:47, 31 May 2020

2020-05-31T00:47:20Z

Iraneal at 23:41, 30 May 2020

2020-05-30T23:41:45Z

Iraneal at 23:04, 30 May 2020

2020-05-30T23:04:23Z

Iraneal: Created page with "==John 20:19-23== 19When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus..."

2020-05-30T04:07:44Z

Created page with "==John 20:19-23== 19When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus..."

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==John 20:19-23==
19When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

==Receive the Holy Spirit==
In today's scripture passage, the disciples are gathered in the upper room, and the door is shut. The door is locked. They are afraid. And this is where Jesus truly missed his greatest opportunity ever: He's about to make his entrance, but I would have gone for something a little different. Let me tell you what Jesus *should* have done...

Knock knock. Who's there? Theodore. Theodore Who? Theodore is locked, you wanna open it?

Knock knock. Who's there? Usher. Usher who? Usher wish you would let me in, guys!

Knock knock. Who's there? Hal. Hal who? Hal'll you know unless you open the door and find out?

Knock knock. Who's there? Candice. Candice who? Candice door open, or not?

Knock knock. Who's there? Doris. Doris who? Doris locked, that's why I've been knocking!

Knock knock. Who's there? Ben. Ben who? Ben knocking for a long time now...

Knock knock. Who's there? Howie. Howie who? Howie gonna finish this story if you don't let me in?

Knock knock. Who's there? Dolores. Dolores who? Dolores my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, he restoreth my soul.

Oh, hey Jesus, it's you!!

Unfortunately, Jesus didn't go that route. Instead he just came straight through the locked door, stood among them and said "Peace be with you." They were already afraid, and I'm sure that really comforted them. In the King James translation, the next verse is "and then they wetteth their undergarments and screameth like little girls." Humor would have been much better...

Today is Pentecost Sunday, and today we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit. In Luke's version of the story (in Acts) this happens 50 days after Jesus leaves the scene, out in the marketplace with tongues of fire (which is why we wear red) descending upon the disciples. But this year we're going with John's version, which is a little more understated, a little more intimate, and the focus is on breath more than on fire. I'm not sure what the liturgical color of breath is, so we can stick with wearing red for now.

In fact, the Greek word for Holy Spirit used in this passage, and anywhere else the Holy Spirit is referred to, is Pneuma (as in Pneumatic tires) which is more literally translated, Holy breath, or holy wind. In the Old Testament, in ancient Hebrew, the word for spirit is ruah, which can also be translated as breath or wind.

This makes sense. To most ancient peoples, breath was life. When you stopped breathing, you were dead. When you breathe in, you take something of the world inside you. When you exhale or breathe out, something leaves you and goes out into the world. Your breath...is your life...is your spirit.

So Jesus, who was dead but now alive again, gives one last gift to his disciples: He breathes on them. He gives them his breath...his life...his spirit.

Just as he had drawn them in at the beginning of his earthly ministry (breathe in) now he sends them out in his name (breathe out). The disciples of Jesus have figuratively become his breath, his life, his spirit. They are exhaled into the world.

And so are we.

1. Graduation season
2. El Pasoans cautiously venturing out into the world again
3.

At Pentecost, Jesus gave the disciples his last gift, his breath, his life, his very spirit. I'm not Jesus, but I'd like to give three pieces of wisdom, three pieces of advice to our confirmands, our missionary, and our graduating seniors--all in the various stages of their faith journeys, of learning and living and going. Really its to all of us, as all of us are somewhere along the path of our own faith journeys, too. It is simple advice, gleaned from today's passage and from Jesus' example.

First: Breathe. Breathe in. Take in the world, take in God's word, take in all the education you can get, both in school and in church. And then breathe out. Give of yourself. Give back to your church, to the world and the people around you, to the world and the nations far away from you, too.

Second: Show your scars. Before Jesus gives his breath, his spirit, he shows his disciples the wounds in his hands and in his side. You'll get wounded too. Being sent out into the world is dangerous business, and you'll come away with scars. Emotional ones, physical ones, spiritual ones. Jesus didn't hide his scars--he shared them with others so they would know that his scars did not defeat him. Neither will yours.

Third: Forgive. This is what follows immediately after he breathes on them and tells them to receive his spirit: He gives them the power to forgive others. This is not a magical power--all of our sins are already forgiven by the great sacrifice that Jesus made. But if we are to follow in his footsteps, to live in his spirit, then we are to forgive others. You'll need to forgive others, because if you don't, he says they will be retained. But that doesn't necessarily mean THEY will retain THEIR sins. I think it means that if you can't forgive someone, you're the one retaining something. That's why we use the expression to "carry" a grudge. If you don't forgive, you end up carrying a lot of weight that will slow you down on your journey. So forgive others, whether they deserve it or not. And none of us do.

That's it: Breathe in, Breathe out. Show your scars. Forgive everyone.

May your journeys be long, and may they take you far. May they be filled with the spirit of God's love, and someday lead you home to his heavenly arms.

Knock knock. Who's there? Ward. Ward who? Ward of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God!

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
-==Receive the Holy Spirit==
+==Instructions Before Opening the Door==
 In today's scripture passage, the disciples are gathered in the upper room, and the door is shut.  The door is locked.  They are afraid to go outside, and who knows how long they've been locked inside the house?  This should sound a little bit familiar to us.

@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 Oh, hey Jesus, it's you!!
-That would have been epic.  Unfortunately, Jesus didn't go that route.  Instead he just came straight through the locked door, stood among his friends who up until this point had assumed he was dead, and said "Peace be with you."
+That would have been epic.  Unfortunately, Jesus didn't go that route.  Instead he just came straight through the locked door, surprised his friends who up until this point thought he was dead, and said "Peace be with you."
 In the King James translation, the next verse reads "and the disciples soiled their undergarments and screameth like little girls."  I'm just kidding--that's not in the Bible (but I bet that's exactly how it happened).
-Today is Pentecost Sunday, the day when we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit.  The version of the Pentecost story most people are familiar with--the one we just heard from Ms. Marina and the Jesus Storybook Bible comes from the book of Acts.  In that version of the story, the Holy Spirit comes 50 days after Jesus ascends into heaven, outside in the marketplace with tongues of fire descending upon the disciples.
+Today is Pentecost Sunday, the day when we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit.  The version of the Pentecost story most people are familiar with--the one we just heard from Ms. Marina--comes from the book of Acts.  In that version of the story, the Holy Spirit comes 50 days after Jesus ascends into heaven, outside in the marketplace with tongues of fire descending upon the disciples.
 But this year we're going with John's version of the story, which is a little more understated, a little more intimate, and the focus is on breath more than on fire.  Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit onto his disciples.
@@ Line 51: / Line 51: @@
 And of course that's where the metaphorical sense comes in:  Here at First Presbyterian Church we like to think of ourselves as Wanderers, Wonderers, and Wisdom-Seekers.  But all of those things are difficult to do when you are (metaphorically) stuck in a spiritual rut, locked up in the nice, imaginary rooms of habit or comfort or security, afraid to strike out on the kind of faith journey, the kind of spiritual adventure that gives life meaning and purpose; the kind Jesus is talking about when he tells his disciples (and us) that, "As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
-Every time you open the door and step out into the world (literally or metaphorically) there will be risks and dangers. The very first thing Jesus does when greets his disciples is show them the scars and the wounds that his journey inflicted upon him. Venturing out into the world will hurt you, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. You might even get crucified. But there is also danger in never opening the door, never answering the call of the Spirit, never taking the first step on the road that God has prepared for you.  In the end, there isn't much difference between death and a life un-lived.
+Every time you open the door and step out into the world (literally or metaphorically) there will be risks and dangers. The very first thing Jesus does when greets his disciples is show them the scars and the wounds that his journey inflicted upon him. Venturing out into the world will hurt you, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. You might even get crucified. But there is also danger in never opening the door, never answering the call of the Spirit, never taking the first step on the road that God has prepared for you.  In the end, there isn't much difference between death and a life that is never lived.
 So I think the trick is in the balance--we don't rush through the open door recklessly, just for the sake of being on some sort of journey.  Instead, we do so thoughtfully, purposefully, and always mindful that we walk with others on the path. You can recognize the call of God's spirit, because it's almost always a call to help other people on that path.
-Oh, and there's one more thing Jesus tells his disciples to do before they open the door and step out into the world:  Forgive people.  Verse 23 says, "If you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven [by God] and if you retain the sins of any, they are retained [by God].  Only the words "by God" aren't really there, even though we add them in our mind.  We could just as easily read the verse as "If you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven [by you] and if you retain the sins of any, they are retained [by you].  In other words, how much baggage do you want to carry with you on your journey?  Do you want to carry around the weight of all the people who have wronged you, hurt you, disagreed with you...or would you rather let it go and walk out the door with nothing on your shoulders?  Try it sometime.  Stop before you leave the house, and forgive someone.  Let something go.
+Oh, and there's one more thing Jesus tells his disciples to do before they open the door and step out into the world:  Forgive people.  Verse 23 says, "If you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven [by God] and if you retain the sins of any, they are retained [by God].  Only the words "by God" aren't really there, even though we add them in our mind.  We could just as easily read the verse as "If you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven [by you] and if you retain the sins of any, they are retained [by you].
 So to recap all of that:  Breathe in, Breathe out.  Follow the Spirit.  And forgive.

@@ Line 35: / Line 35: @@
 Yes, you heard that right.  Jesus...breathes...on his disciples.  He has recently been out of the country, and now he comes uninvited into a house crowded with people, he does not observe social distancing, and he does the one thing we are trying really hard NOT to do to each other right now, the reason we're all wearing masks whenever we go outside.  Because bad, bad things come from breath and breathing...things like viruses that can make you sick and possibly kill you. Way to be an example, Jesus.
-Of course, all of this takes place in an entirely different context from ours, where Coronavirus does not yet exist.
+Of course, all of this takes place in an entirely different context from ours, where Coronavirus does not yet exist. And, in fact, where Christianity did not yet exist, either.  Pentecost is considered the birthday of the Christian church.  And so today, on this two-thousand-and-something anniversary of the birth of the church, while most of us are locked safely in our homes (like the disciples were) and perhaps a little bit afraid for our lives, I want to invite you all to do something you might not have done for awhile.  Take a deep breath.  Hold it in for awhile.  Then let it out, slowly.  Keep doing that a few more times as you're listening.
-In fact, the Greek word for Holy Spirit used in this passage, and anywhere else the Holy Spirit is referred to, is Pneuma (as in Pneumatic tires) which is more literally translated, Holy breath, or holy wind.  In the Old Testament, in ancient Hebrew, the word for spirit is ruah, which can also be translated as breath or wind.
+When you breathe in, you take something from the world inside you--sometimes it's a nasty virus, but sometimes it's a breath of fresh mountain air, or the smell of cookies baking in the oven!  Likewise, when you exhale or breathe out, something leaves you and goes out into the world.  Lately we've been really worried about that, but let's remember that list of things going out into the world on our breath also includes our speech--every time you've spoken or heard the words "I love you," every song you've ever sung or that has been sung to you, has been carried out into the world on the wings of a breath.  Your breath...is your life...is your spirit.
-This makes sense.  To most ancient peoples, breath was life.  When you stopped breathing, you were dead.  When you breathe in, you take something of the world inside you.  When you exhale or breathe out, something leaves you and goes out into the world.  Your breath...is your life...is your spirit.
+So Jesus, who was dead but now alive again, gives one last gift to his disciples:  He breathes on them. He gives them his breath...his life...his spirit.  There's a bit of metaphor in that act as well.
-−
 So Jesus, who was dead but now alive again, gives one last gift to his disciples:  He breathes on them. He gives them his breath...his life...his spirit.
 Just as he had drawn them in at the beginning of his earthly ministry (breathe in) now he sends them out in his name (breathe out).  The disciples of Jesus have figuratively become his breath, his life, his spirit.  They are exhaled into the world.
-And so are we.
+And so are we, both literally and metaphorically.  This week many El Pasoans have been (or will be) cautiously wandering out of their doors for the first time in quite a while--little by little, hopefully using common sense and courtesy, and not all at once--but it is beginning to happen.  I know that for some of you that's exciting, and for others it's terrifying.
 At Pentecost, Jesus gave the disciples his last gift, his breath, his life, his very spirit.  I'm not Jesus, but I'd like to give three pieces of wisdom, three pieces of advice to our confirmands, our missionary, and our graduating seniors--all in the various stages of their faith journeys, of learning and living and going.  Really its to all of us, as all of us are somewhere along the path of our own faith journeys, too.  It is simple advice, gleaned from today's passage and from Jesus' example.

@@ Line 47: / Line 47: @@
 Just as he had drawn them in at the beginning of his earthly ministry (breathe in) now he sends them out in his name (breathe out).  The disciples of Jesus have figuratively become his breath, his life, his spirit.  They are exhaled into the world.
-And so are we, both literally and metaphorically.  This week many El Pasoans have been (or will be) cautiously wandering out of their doors for the first time in quite a while--little by little, hopefully using common sense and courtesy, and not all at once--but it is beginning to happen.  I know that for some of you that's exciting, and for others it's terrifying.
+And so are we, both metaphorically and literally.  This week many El Pasoans have been (or will be) cautiously wandering out of their doors for the first time in quite a while--little by little, hopefully using common sense and courtesy, and hopefully not all at once--but it is beginning to happen.  I know that for some that's exciting, and for others it's terrifying. People in each of those groups would do well to listen carefully to each other, to understand and respect the different circumstances and contexts that sometimes lead us on different paths.
-At Pentecost, Jesus gave the disciples his last gift, his breath, his life, his very spirit.  I'm not Jesus, but I'd like to give three pieces of wisdom, three pieces of advice to our confirmands, our missionary, and our graduating seniors--all in the various stages of their faith journeys, of learning and living and going.  Really its to all of us, as all of us are somewhere along the path of our own faith journeys, too.  It is simple advice, gleaned from today's passage and from Jesus' example.
+Every time you open the door and step out into the world (literally or metaphorically) there will be risks and dangers. The very first thing Jesus does when greets his disciples is show them the scars and the wounds that his journey inflicted upon him. Venturing out into the world will hurt you, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. You might even get crucified. But there is also danger in never opening the door, never answering the call of the Spirit, never taking the first step on the road that God has prepared for you.  In the end, there isn't much difference between death and a life un-lived.
-First:  Breathe.  Breathe in.  Take in the world, take in God's word, take in all the education you can get, both in school and in church.  And then breathe out.  Give of yourself.  Give back to your church, to the world and the people around you, to the world and the nations far away from you, too.
+So I think the trick is in the balance--we don't rush through the open door recklessly, just for the sake of being on some sort of journey.  Instead, we do so thoughtfully, purposefully, and always mindful that we walk with others on the path. You can recognize the call of God's spirit, because it's almost always a call to help other people on that path.
-Second: Show your scars.  Before Jesus gives his breath, his spirit, he shows his disciples the wounds in his hands and in his side.  You'll get wounded too.  Being sent out into the world is dangerous business, and you'll come away with scars.  Emotional ones, physical ones, spiritual ones.  Jesus didn't hide his scars--he shared them with others so they would know that his scars did not defeat him. Neither will yours.
+Oh, and there's one more thing Jesus tells his disciples to do before they open the door and step out into the world:  Forgive people.  Verse 23 says, "If you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven [by God] and if you retain the sins of any, they are retained [by God].  Only the words "by God" aren't really there, even though we add them in our mind.  We could just as easily read the verse as "If you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven [by you] and if you retain the sins of any, they are retained [by you].  In other words, how much baggage do you want to carry with you on your journey?  Do you want to carry around the weight of all the people who have wronged you, hurt you, disagreed with you...or would you rather let it go and walk out the door with nothing on your shoulders?  Try it sometime.  Stop before you leave the house, and forgive someone.  Let something go.
-That's it:  Breathe in, Breathe out.  Show your scars.  Forgive everyone.
+So to recap all of that:  Breathe in, Breathe out.  Follow the Spirit.  And forgive.
-May your journeys be long, and may they take you far.  May they be filled with the spirit of God's love, and someday lead you home to his heavenly arms.
+May your journeys be long, and may they take you far.
-Knock knock.  Who's there?  Ward.  Ward who?  Ward of God for the people of God.  Thanks be to God!
+Knock knock.  Who's there?  Lettuce.  Lettuce who?  Lettuce pray...