Day 1637 - Got Spirit?

A sermon shared with First Presbyterian Church, Spring City, TN, June 4, 2017 on Pentecost, speaking in tongues and gifts and birth of the Church.

First Reading:  Acts2: 1-21

Second Reading:  1 Corinthians 12:4 - 13

Here it is, fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus and ten days since his ascent. Jerusalem is in the Festival of weeks, the celebration of the gift of the Law. How much spirit can his followers have left?

I am not sure it is possible to understand fully the emotional rollercoaster of the followers of Jesus in the days after he entered Jerusalem for the last time. In the span of a little over 6 weeks - 1 ½ months – every part of their world has been completely disrupted. They soared the loftiest emotional high you can imagine toying with visions of becoming ministers in the court of the new King, and plummeted to the depth of deepest despair as he was killed on the cross. They did not see him die, they were seized by powerful fear expecting their own deaths next and fled. In an inexplicable event he appears among them again, but no one comes back from the dead. This had to be the most frightening, upsetting event of an already fantastic week.

As Jesus remained with them for 40 more days, they realized that a power beyond human capability had changed permanently, not only their world, but the entire Universe and reality itself in an inexplicable, cosmic “earthquake.” Was he going to stay and pick up where he left off - or leave again?

He continued to teach his commands to them, preparing them for a future ministry in unrecorded words. Luke only tells us (24:44-48) he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem…You are witnesses of these things.

On the 40^th day he gathered them at Mt. Olivet the place of his arrest and told them the news (Act 1:4,5) “This is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” They asked Jesus, (Acts 1:6 ) “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority… you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” And as Luke tells us (24:49), he commanded them, “I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Then, he was gone, again.

They returned to Jerusalem, with great joy this time elated over something they heard that we do not know, and for ten days worshipped in the temple remaining in continual prayer along with the other believers and those Jews who had come to Jerusalem from distant lands for the Jewish Festival of Weeks celebrating the gift of Law through Moses… only for the disciples the irony is to be a celebration of the perfection of the Law by Jesus. What was to be next?

Clearly, they were thinking of the coming Day of the Lord prophesied by the prophets of old because when it happened Luke tells us Peter quotes Joel (2:12-14, 28-32), “In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

And then, in that final earth-shaking moment came the Holy Spirit.… 

Let’s stop a moment and ask a question.  Have you ever had an “Aha! Moment?” because this was THE “Aha! Moment.”

An “Aha! Moment” is when you find yourself looking at something that has sat in front of you for a long time, maybe a memory of an act of compassion someone did for you (or you for them) long ago, a close call with death, or maybe something you see or do that suddenly defines your purpose, clarifies why things are the way they are, and really, who you are. Most of us who haven't experienced it have an unsettled, and ill-defined worry. 

The “Aha! Moment” may creep up on you so slowly you never realize exactly when it happened because you feel as if you have always known and acted that way. 

For others, it comes upon you violently like the wind of a storm.  Have you ever been in the house, or outside when the rushing wind of a storm surged quickly ahead of the rain, wildly swaying the trees and snapping small twigs and leaves that fly freely in the air and on the ground, and you can hear the crack of thunder or of wind-blown limbs in a tree somewhere nearby, The splatter of big rain drops darken the sidewalk or porch and maybe there is a hint of ozone in the air? You know the storm is about to hit, and all you really can do is watch it happen.

That is the way this final earth-shaking moment, a violent incarnation of the HS came upon the first congregation of these disciples and Jews gathered together, birthing the Church.  The Church came alive! Foreigners with different languages could understand the disciples talking as if in their own language.  More other-worldly events!

This ‘speaking in tongues’ isn’t the modern-day rambling practiced in some Pentecostal congregations where no one understands what is being said, not even the speakers (Glossolalia). At this Pentecost, everyone understood the disciples as if the disciples were speaking in the other person’s language. When someone speaks in tongues that you do not understand, you can safely ignore them as swept up in emotion.

There is a profound symbolism behind this “speaking in tongues.” It is the communication of the message of grace in a manner that is heard and understood by all people in every language. It is a language of action following the commands of Jesus, not of words. The Holy Spirit imparts that gift to every believer. As Paul told the Corinthians, it empowers each believer to use their gifts to communicate the good news to others so they understand. We all have gifts, the question is, “Will we use them?”

Last week the sermon was about the question Paul argued, “Is saying ‘I believe’ a sign of faith strong enough to earn the gift of God’s grace, eternal life?” Now, as he talks to the Corinthians, Paul acknowledges that his anger at the Galatians and Judaizers might be overdone and the answer to the question is “not really.” James puts it more bluntly, (2:17) “…faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead,” Paul makes it clear that those who have the spirit given to the body of believers at Pentecost gain the gift to use that blessing for the glory of God. We all have a gift AND ARE CALLED TO USE IT, what is your gift?

I really like the prophet Joel’s expansive description of the Day of the Lord, “When the old men dream dreams and the children prophesy, then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Old men will dream dreams and children prophesy inspired by faith… What does it mean, “to call on the name of the Lord.”  

I have to ask you, “Do you have a dream? Do you have faith enough to trust the Lord and dream of a better future?” When we say, “I believe in that future,” we inherit the gift of God’s grace but we need to ask the second question that tags along behind, “Am I glorifying God? Do my actions speak the good news to people the dream of what I believe – that there is a home?

What else better shows we have faith than compassionate action towards our fellow people?  Folks can’t eat our words, can’t use them to build buildings, or drive to the doctor. What shows we have faith is a commitment to the last command Jesus gave us (John 13:34-35), “You also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples.”

It all boils down to one Greek word, “compassion” that separates the men and women from the girls and boys. The revelation of Pentecost is that the Church is alive with our peculiar gifts. Our gifts reveal the power and glory of God. It isn’t how much money you have, it isn’t being a great speaker, your grades or your beauty or how you vote. It is how well you share your gifts that measures your faith, and shows whether you’ve got the Spirit.

Have you got the Spirit?  Can I get an amen for that?

Day 1627 - Free at Last?

A sermon shared at First Presbyterian Church, Spring City, TN May 28, 2017

Genesis 12:1-7, 17:1-8

Galatians 3:1-29

Are we free of the Law at last?

Of all the letters of Paul with the possible exception of Romans, Galatians has perhaps the greatest impact on the shape of Christian thought about salvation and the issue of “faith or works.”  I suspect this is so because most people view the world as an absolute, “either-or” proposition. We listen to Paul sand hear what we want to hear, that not works but “faith alone is the path to eternal life.” It resonates with our either-or/in-or-out thinking. Either or thinking is a heritage of Jewish and Greek theology that sees the world as light and dark, good and bad, Law or sin, and chosen or not-chosen. This is Paul’s world-view and it deeply shaped his thinking, and ours, but is Paul letting it mislead himself and us?

When we read Galatians, we should know also from the earliest time that at least two distinct groups of Christians with quite different understanding of the gospel were spreading Christianity. (Do you remember when John ran up to Jesus protesting that someone was casting out demons in his name, and Jesus said, don’t bother him, if someone does a power in my name they cannot speak evil of me?) 

As Galatians (and Acts) shows, there was significant friction between these groups, such as between Catholics and Protestants, and between Protestant sects today. It was their version of arguing over polity than essential tenets.

One side of the argument arose primarily from Christians in the conservative Jewish synagogues who were obviously influenced by their Jewish heritage. The other group, exemplified by Paul, was oriented ostensibly towards Gentiles of the Mediterranean but in fact towards “Godfearers” and Jews in the synagogues of the Diaspora in regions such as Galatia and influenced by Platonic thought.

The ideas of these Jewish Christians who insisted that following the Law is a necessary precondition for being a Christian enthralled the Galatian congregations founded by Paul. Specifically, each male believer must be circumcised as are all Jewish males. (If one were a Jew and a Christian, isn't this a moot point?) This argument over circumcision is the reason that Paul takes the Galatians to the wood shed in this highly emotional letter for straying from his message.

Paul’s arguing with his self in his struggle with his Jewish and Greek heritage that sees reality as divided into the either/or world I described earlier stoked his anger at these Jewish, Christian ”missionaries” (he calls them Judaizers). For Paul, it is either Jesus Christ or the Law. As I said, that heritage also influences us.

Paul saw these Jewish Christians as more of the same Jewish leaders (that included him previously) whose hearts are harden by preoccupation with technical requirements of the Law that demanded obedience (or works) that kept them faithful. They called adhering to the list of technical rules and regulations for behavior and purification the mark of righteousness. Paul called it hypocrisy and death. As Jesus said, they were clean on the outside, but dirty on the inside. They ignored the admonishment of Moses that the Law is found in their hearts.

In Paul’s mind, insisting on obedience to the Law disconnected salvation from faith in the Grace of God who wiped away the need for the Law in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The heart of Paul’s message is that Jesus is the product of the faith of Abraham. We are called to have that faith in Jesus Christ. Paul argues that Abraham on faith alone obeyed God’s call and left Aram, his home that contained everything of importance to him, and become a wanderer until he reached Canaan, the future Promised Land. Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise made by the faith of Abraham. Jesus Christ, a son of Abraham perfected the Law expecting from us only faith in God’s promise to Abraham. We are called to faith, not the Law as a guide for living because God knows our human nature is to sin. Paul says the attempt to follow the Law is death because sin will always cause us to violate the Law. We cannot work our way to eternal life.

Today we might hear someone criticize Catholics or Seventh Day Adventists for the same thing, making one’s works or confession the primary criteria for salvation rather than faith.

Paul’s argument rests on the covenant between Abraham to God that all humanity inherits through Abraham.  What does “covenant” mean in the religious thought of the Old Testament?  Covenant is an agreement or promise, usually between a subordinate and a superior.  Paul argues correctly that the covenant with God involves two things, Abraham had faith in God, and the gift of God’s grace in the promise to Abraham to be the father of many nations, both Jew and Gentile.

The Cliff Notes version of Paul’s view goes something like this: Abraham responded to God’s call to leave home in Aram many years before the Lord gave the Law to Moses and Israel. His name was Abram (high or holy father), and God called him to pull up everything he owned and leave his home to become a wanderer, a sojourner until he reached the land of Canaan. He accepted this call based only on his confidence in the promise of the Lord. For this, the Lord reckoned Abram righteous and did two things, he named him Abraham (father of many nations) and promised he would be father of many nations. Three great peoples arose from Abraham, the Jews, the Muslims and Gentiles. Thus each major religion calls Abraham, “Father.” Because Abraham had faith in God’s promise, God reckoned Abraham righteous before the Law existed.

Because of Abraham, Protestants can say, “We are reckoned righteous, justified by our faith alone.” This is the basis of the claim by Paul and many modern Protestants that we come to Salvation by our faith alone. But isn’t there more to it?  Didn’t Jesus say he did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it?

Paul’s either/or view presents two difficulties to us he would not want us to have. First, to say that only faith not the Law is essential to salvation can put us in a “I can do anything since I believe” mindset. Second, seizing this faith-or-the-Law viewpoint overlooks the subtlety of Jewish understanding of the Law that demands a change of life – a turnaround or repentance.

Did God make his promise to be the defender of Israel contingent on Israel obeying the law since it defines righteousness? Paul says the answer must be no because sin is the barrier to righteousness. But the Pentateuch is not so absolute about the Law being a two-way covenant (“If I do this, then you will do that”).

Paul solves this problem by saying God’s covenant with Abraham precedes the Law and extends to all humanity through Jesus Christ, the offspring of Abraham and fulfillment of the promise of being the father of the offspring. If you have faith in the promise of steadfast love through Jesus Christ, you are in God’s care.

But there are nagging issues with this idea of faith or works. First, Paul, in his anger at the Judaizers, conveniently overlooks the issue is faith AND works, not OR works. Abraham’s faith caused him to obey God’s call and leave for Canaan. For this he was reckoned righteous; but, Abraham’s righteousness was locked to his action (work) in obedience to God. To have faith and be reckoned righteous implies Abraham’s obedience to God’s commands(Law).

Second, we know Paul’s inspired letters yield great insight into living the Christian life, but he was not a contemporary disciple of Jesus. He heard the accounts of the disciples and observed the faith of those Christians he took to trial in his former life, but he never walked with the ministry of Jesus on Earth except in that post-resurrection appearance on the road to Damascus that turned his life around.  Paul struggled to explain how the life, death and resurrection of Jesus completes the promise of God of his Jewish heritage. Believers argue these issues today. Truly Paul writes scripture inspired by God but colored by his experience. So, our interpretation of Paul must be held up against the words of Jesus recorded by the authoritative witnesses who wrote the four Gospels to determine how we live the Christian life.

We do that by the process of discernment that I described last week. When confronted with a hard question, we read scripture, pray, consult with our fellow Christians and follow the Holy Spirit to an answer. It is the process built into the whole idea of being a Protestant. Let’s use it to see how we can understand Galatians. What do the gospels say?

I’ve been using John for my sermon texts and if you have been listening, you may leap right to an answer that John 3:16 makes it perfectly clear that faith is the crux of the matter:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

But what about the following verses (17-21)

 “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”

Listen to those words:…(T)hose who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.

Lest you think this is an accidental verse, listen to John 12:26, 44-50:

“Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness. I do not judge anyone who hears my words and does not keep them, for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my word has a judge; on the last day the word that I have spoken will serve as judge, for I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I speak, therefore, I speak just as the Father has told me.”

Paul in his anger over the teachings of the Judaizers did not have these words of Jesus in the Gospel of John to read:

“47 I do not judge anyone who hears my words and does not keep them, for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my word has a judge; on the last day the word that I have spoken will serve as judge,” and John 13:15-20,

For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. Very truly, I tell you, whoever receives one whom I send receives me; and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.”

By now, you may say, “Henry, doesn’t John’s gospel tell us the promise contains a command for obedience? Isn’t John 13:34-35, like the Law?

34-35 "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

So, Are we free of the law? Is Paul correct? Yes, and no. Our relationship to God is a matter of faith AND works, not faith OR works. Our salvation is based on faith. Our faith demands our constant action to improve our righteousness by following that command of love. When we want to sit back in the easy chair, happy to believe we have “hit the big time” with our salvation do not be so overconfident that we overlook the people who cry for help and love, who see us waste our money and time on idleness rather than the starving or sick child whose parents cannot afford medical care. The actions guided by what is in our heart prove our faith.

Let's be charitable towards Paul and temper his words by remembering that Jesus said he came to complete or perfect the Law, and in doing so he gave us two primary commands; (1) Have faith in the promise of God in Jesus; and (2) “If you love me, you will love one another the same way I love you, so that everyone will know you are a disciple of Christ."

Think about the freedom that the gospel gives you the next time you want to argue with, or condemn another Christian about Biblical interpretation.