May 24, 2015
Holy Spirit
- Acts 2:1-21
- Dr. Teri Thomas
May 24, 2015
Holy Spirit
Acts 2:1-21 John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15
Ever forget to breathe? It actually is fairly difficult to not breathe.
The reason is, that unlike other system in our bodies,
the respiratory system has two distinct sets of controls.
One is automatic, involuntary and continuous.
We do not have to consciously think about it.
But we also have a voluntary control we can use to consciously regulate our breathing.
We use it when we swim, or for speaking, singing and playing some instruments.
We also change our automatic breathing in response to stress and emotional stimuli.
I don’t often think about my breathing, except when I am working out and when I am doing yoga.
I get so focused on the task, the pose, the lift, that I hold my breath,
which only makes it harder, until I hear the reminder…breathe Teri.
And when I take a breath I feel the relaxation of my entire body
and an increase in the strength or endurance needed to complete the task.
We have a sign in the office- JUST BREATHE
I am not sure where it originally came from.
Someone in the office was going through a stressful time
and the sign appeared on their desk.
Then it started moving around the office.
Debbie gets it the week before VBS.
Nancy gets it the week multiple bulletins are printed.
Susan had it during her recent cancer treatments.
Lori gets it around the time of the audit.
It goes to one of the custodians when we have a wedding, a funeral, and worship all on the same weekend.
You can almost predict that if you start stressing out, the sign will appear.
And it is not bad advice.
Breathing releases stress. It helps us focus. It increases energy.
But what does it have to do with Pentecost?
Pentecost is about the spirit.
The word in Hebrew and Greek is the same as the word for breath.
It is the breath of God in each of us. It is that part of God which enters our being, giving us strength, energy and focus.
In the reading from John’s Gospel we are still in the Jesus’ farewell discourse.
He tells the disciples - “If I don’t go away, the Comforter won’t come to you;
but if I go, I’ll send the Spirit.”
Sure enough, it is after Jesus is gone that some of the best stuff happens.
That is why the story doesn’t end with Easter.
Remember, by this point in their journey,
the disciples are probably quite breathless themselves. Consider all that has happened.
Jesus' goodbye. His arrest and crucifixion- then, his resurrection.
Then Jesus appeared to them and then, he was gone again.
And before the disciples knew what was happening, they heard a mighty wind.
The wind blew, filling each of them with a breath that came from somewhere else.
The wind, the breath, filled them with a power they did not understand.
They had not asked for this breath nor expected it.
This power, this breath, this courage
just swooped into the room and filled them up
in a way they could have never predicted.
And with it, they discovered a reserve of strength they did not know they possessed.
They came face to face, lung to lung, with the gift of God's Holy Spirit, God's holy breath.
These timid, stressed-out disciples found themselves preaching, testifying,
to who God was and what God had done in their lives.
And the people listened. The crowd grew.
And the breath of God blew freely and wildly, filling their lungs, and the lungs of those around them. And Christ's body, the church, was knit together and began to move.
But the story still wasn’t over. Still isn’t over. God's Spirit still works this way.
The Holy Spirit, the breath of God, is at work, here and now.
Through Scripture and prayers, through music and proclamation,
through experience and relationships, God's holy breath challenges us,
comforts us, scares us, clarifies things for us.
The story of Pentecost tells us if we are open to breathing it in,
we will find our own lungs filled to the gills with a courage, a reserve of strength,
a passion of faith we did not even know we had.
We are invited to breathe deeply and consciously in every moment of our lives.
Breathing, expecting to be filled with God's Spirit, God's holy breath.
Expecting to be changed by it as it fills our lungs.
Expecting that we might see things we could never imagine seeing,
or speak things we did not think we had the courage to say.
For some it was a worship service at Montreat –
while singing "Oh Christ surround us" –
Wind started moving through the curtains on the large windows.
Later that evening the while group shared, they all had chills.
Some of you tell of feeling the Holy Spirit during the ordination/installation of officers
when we have the "laying on of hands."
Being surrounded by and physically connected with
other deacons and elders while we pray together.
It can feel like being plugged into a light socket—
sort of an electrical charge of positive energy and support and joy.
For others it is like the man who was overwhelmed with grief and sorrow after his wife died.
One night he was alone, anxious, pacing, agitated,
he tried to get in touch with his children, but they were busy.
He paced. He tried to reach the pastor, but no luck.
Then suddenly, there came into the room a quiet he could hear. He swears the room just got still. Everything stopped. Then he began to feel something.
It filled him with a stillness; it calmed him down.
Brought him some kind of peace and assurance he would get through this.
The spirit has been given to us all.
Your experience of the Spirit, may be mostly in the form of quiet encouragement and gentle guidance, but, in whatever form, God is breathing the Spirit upon us.
If we listen carefully we can hear the sound of it whispered in hospital rooms,
or as a kind word spoken to a stranger, or a word of forgiveness uttered to a friend.
Just breathe.
We have received the Holy Spirit. So don’t forget to breathe. Deeply.
Receive your life as a gift invisible as air, and prepare to be astonished by all the forms that breath can take. Under the power of the Holy Spirit, shy people have been known to step up onto platforms and say audacious things. Cautious people have become daredevils, frugal people have become philanthropists, and people who used to be as sour as dill pickles have become rich with friends.
There is no limit to what the Holy Spirit can do. You just cannot hold your breath, that’s all.
You have to keep breathing, keep paying attention, keep responding to whatever crazy idea you come up with next. Some people call it intuition. Others call it inspiration. Forever and ever, the church has called it Holy Spirit. (Barbara Brown Taylor , Bread of Angels, page 73)
Just breathe.
Thanks be to God
Amen