05 May SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2024
Descriptions of the approaching Holy Spirit suggest that the Spirit comes from above. At Jesus’ baptism, the Spirit descends from heaven like a dove, today in the Book of Acts the Spirit falls upon and is poured out as if all along the Spirit was hanging above in the atmosphere waiting.
It seems as though whoever desires to witness the Spirit’s coming need only look up to see or hear proof of her arrival. The Spirit’s presence is noticeable. Something or someone will appear different and changed.
In the Book of Acts, all who hear the word receive the Spirit from above. And those who heard the word in this case were Gentiles. Strangely enough, non-Jews began to speak in tongues and enthusiastically praise God. Can you imagine witnessing such mass faith conversion right before your eyes?
The circumcised believers, the known faithful Jewish followers, were astounded by what they saw and heard. They could not deny new evidence presented before their eyes and ears. It proved that God would not withhold full participation from those considered outsiders if they too, could demonstrate comprehension and practical use of their spiritual gifts.
Peter wisely realized what this occurrence meant. If God made the choice to dispense the Spirit among outsiders, who among the chosen would dare argue with God? Peter’s response was to call for water and to order the non-Jews to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Notice how everyone fell into one of two groups: either Jews or Gentiles.
Like the Jews, we still define others in similar terms: Is the person a U.S. Citizen or not? Is the suspect Black or White, Hispanic or Non-Hispanic? What do they believe? Are they Christian or do they subscribe to other concerns? Are they Democrat or Republican? At every turn, we practice sorting. In order to determine who a person is, we begin by first placing them in a category.
Scripture especially can’t resist categorizing people. Its authors feel compelled to define why either good or bad things happen. They seek to explain the prerequisite attitude or heart condition necessary to get God’s attention, to either obtain God’s blessing or deserve God’s curse.
According to Luke, the Gentiles did nothing but hear the word to receive the Holy Spirit. Nothing else preceded their hearing as far as we know. Then, as a result of the Jews seeing and hearing evidence of their being so endowed, they choose to baptize the Gentiles as believers in the name of Jesus Christ.
So the first point to make is that the Holy Spirit was given to non-Jews in the same way that Lutherans claim grace as a free gift. The Spirit did not come as a result of genetic lineage or by being born into a particular culture. The Spirit’s coming was not a result of a person’s upbringing, their family’s lifestyle choices, or religious practices.
The Spirit didn’t come as a result of anything they did or didn’t do on a day to day basis. It was not earned, but freely given by hearing God’s word. It’s one reason why a Lutheran church service will always include Scripture readings. We believe that hearing the word is a necessary requisite for the Spirit to act and move around us, to be within our midst and to make change possible.
The beloved apostle John basically agrees. He says that belief in Jesus Christ comes as a result of being born of God. And as we all know, we had nothing to do with being born of our parents, now did we? The act of being born comes after a decision made way before the time we came to be. We can claim no consciousness or to have contributed any agency.
Being born of God, like receiving the Holy Spirit is God’s doing, not ours. And when John refers to our ability to love God or obey God’s commandments, the same is true. We can claim no consciousness or agency to either love God or obey God’s commandments. We need essential elements of God’s provision to come together and be received, elements like the Holy Spirit and grace. Otherwise belief/faith is not possible.
It is the opposite of Humanism which attaches prime importance to what humans are capable of on their own, which values above all else the idea of individual potential and stresses the good aim of ever increasing social evolution with regard to greater achievements through the exercise of agency. Humans are deemed rational and autonomous enough to be wise and just in their own right without the need for divine or supernatural help.
The Augsburg Confession makes a somewhat circular argument about belief. It states that “human beings cannot obtain forgiveness of sin and righteousness before God by their own powers, merits or works. Justification or being made right before God is the sole work of Christ. Grace is not merited, it is received as a free gift.
By grace, we have been saved through faith. Through the office of preaching, hearing of the Word, and administration of sacraments, the Holy Spirit is given. The Holy Spirit affects faith where and when it pleases God. When those who hear come to believe, it is not on account of their own merit, but on account of Christ. Today’s readings are confusing with regard to wondering whether belief is a prerequisite of faith or a requisite of being claimed by God.
Secondly, I wonder whether love can be separated from obedience to God’s commandments. I don’t think so. Luther said that it is impossible to please God without first being claimed by God. On our own, we have no ability to obey. Otherwise, the Humanists are correct. An argument could be made that whoever loves or is a “good person” stands before God as our equal. This subject is exhausting. You may be thinking, “Why, Pastor. Why did you go here?”
Because Scripture is confusing with regard to what we must do. Must we believe or simply receive? Does obedience to the commandments prove our love for God? What concern is it of ours to have or possess faith? I can’t stop reminding you that everything we’re asked to do is strictly for our benefit.
Even when it comes to politics, I sometimes wonder whether we trust in God more than we trust our own human ability to do good. A core source of disagreement between our two parties revolves around what each party claims to be “their” values. Both sides believe to some extent that their party’s values uphold what is right, fair, and just. Each claims that they understand the value of freedom better. But if God’s intentions cannot contradict each other, how can both be right?
Descriptions of the approaching Holy Spirit suggest that the Spirit comes from above when in fact, the Spirit must come from within. Proof of the Spirit may only be discerned through acts of love, by dwelling in love, by obeying God’s commandments and realizing the joy of being in a fully trusting relationship, a similar kind of relationship as demonstrated between Jesus and his Father, a sacrificial relationship, a friendship.
Love is a given. It is assumed to be the core and foundation of how to live. It leads to joy that Jesus describes as complete. Does this sound like the same kind of love most of us know? Don’t most of us know love as a mixed bag of tricks, sometimes full of wonderful surprises, sometimes full of disappointment and heartache? Listen to what else Jesus says about his love for us so that his joy may be in us and our joy may be complete.
I love you as the Father loves me. Think about that. Jesus loves you in the same way his Father loves him. Knowing that the Father and Son are of one mind, one heart, one Spirit and one substance means they can’t get any closer or love each other more. As the Father loves the Son, so the Son loves us.
There are very few times that I’ve experienced love that way, love so special that it is without reservations. I feel incapable of loving quite that way. Instead, most of us experience many different types of love, love defined by a whole host of parameters.
Coming from a small family, I’ve been all too aware when I’m excluded from certain types of love. I know that my kids reserved a different kind of love for their significant other than I share with them. I know that my friends love me differently from the way they love family members or those related through marriage. There are parameters that pertain to intimate love, unconditional love, sacrificial love.
For those who text, you like me may have had to learn in the past few years the different meaning between heart emoticons of differing colors. What kind of love does a blue heart represent, or a yellow, purple or green one? Jesus deals only in red or hearts. He does not differentiate love into categories like we do.
After saying he loves us as the Father loves him, he goes on to say, “And I call you my friends. And because I call you my friends, I won’t keep secrets or deprive you of knowing the contents of any private conversations held with Dad. I will make known to you everything I hear from my Father.” Evidently, all of this transparency and sharing is okay with God the Father, too.
Finally he reminds us, “I choose you, not the other way around.” Let Jesus set the record straight. Nothing a human can do precedes what Jesus does on our behalf. Everything he tells us to do becomes possible through his efforts and qualifies as a response: obeying the commandments, loving one another, making a willing sacrifice. These things just aren’t possible unless Jesus did them first.
He was trying to convince us of the order of things by letting us know that because he kept his Father’s commandments, he is able to abide in the Father’s love. Because he considers us friends, Jesus is able to confide in us and willingly lay down his life. Because he has appointed us to go and bear fruit, the Father will give us what we ask for in his name. The entire goal of being in such a trusting relationship is for love to make everyone’s joy complete, even the joy of the triune God. Let us pray.
Dear Loving Son of the Living God, we wish to abide in you, to dwell with you, the Father and Holy Spirit, to remain and be ever present to your being, to be held and kept in love. Help us depend on you to find our posture and place in relationship to you, our brothers and sisters, our earth and all that you created. Make us one as you are one. In your holy name we pray, Amen.