by the Rev. Carole Horton-Howe

Please note that the following sermon text was provided prior to the audio recording. The two versions may differ substantially.

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.”

After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

—John 20:19-23

It’s Pentecost! Today we continue talking about the Holy Spirit and hear about the Spirit’s call to Jesus’ followers, startling them and then energizing them to do the work of being the church in the world.

The good news of Easter that we leave behind today was not just about assurance that God had conquered death. It was always also a about mission. Jesus’ resurrection implicated the disciples and us in building the King of God on earth. It draws us into the realm of God’s love for the world and empowers us by the Spirit to love each other as God loves the world.

Bishop Mary Glasspool once told me something important about the Holy Spirit in the context of ministry. Remember, she said, that the Holy Spirit is always at work – always moving, stirring us up, always revealing opportunities for us to participate in God’s dream of creating. The job of ministry, she said, is to go into a place and figure out what the Holy Spirit is already doing there. So your job is to discern what the Holy Spirit is doing. And then figure out what you can do to help the Holy Spirit along.

Her advice isn’t just for clergy and not just for tasks we think of as “ministry,” it’s for all of us all the time.

It’s about living our lives expecting and looking for how the Holy Spirit is moving in the world.

This is where this particular gospel is so important: we are reminded that we do not stand alone in our attempts to follow Jesus. We, too, are given the Holy Spirit that transformed the disciples from a motley collection of followers into an energized and committed troop of missionaries that transformed the world.

Jesus links the coming of the Holy Spirit to forgiveness of sins. Of all the things Jesus could have talked about in this most powerful moment, why forgiveness?

Remember who he’s talking to—his closest friends who have witnessed the trauma of his death. So in telling them to forgive, he wants them to make space in the hearts for the spirit to work in them and through them. Jesus knows the hard emotional work that is ahead of them. How can they do this hard work of building up the kingdom of God on earth with hearts full of pain, blocked with thoughts of anger, anxiety and revenge?

Jesus on the cross asked God to forgive those responsible for his murder. Now Jesus wants his disciples to let go, to make space in their hearts to receive the Holy Spirit and let her guide them. Be strong, be fearless. Be unencumbered to build God’s Kingdom in the World. Allow God to be the forgiver of sins – both our sins and those of others. Our responsibility is not to judge but to let them go into the realm of God. So that we can focus on the work that we have to do.

What did they experience? John’s description of the coming of the Holy Spirit is limited. It’s actually Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians that describes what the experience for us.

Remember that Paul was a contemporary of the disciples, that he spent time with them after his conversion. It’s easy to imagine that he heard from those who were in the room when Jesus appeared and heard them describe the experience of the coming of the Holy Spirit. Paul says:

“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.”

Paul goes on to talk about gifts of wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, performing miracles, prophecy.

The experience of the disciples and their sharing that experience is important for us. Theologians can talk endlessly about God, postulate various ideas about God’s role in the universe. There is just as much conversation about interpreting Jesus’ his words and actions trying to understand as best we can what they meant. These heartfelt attempts are all fine.

But I believe the Holy Spirit is different – the Holy Spirit is personal and intimate for each of us. We are given gifts as Paul said “individually just as the Spirit chooses.”

I think we know if we’re doing that, I think we can discern the presence of the Holy Spirit if we see the Fruits of the Holy Spirit that Paul talks about later. He describes the qualities we experience as the Holy Spirit is working in and through us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Holy Spirit works in us in big, spectacular ways that bring on those Ah-Ha! moments. And also in quiet ways, that rescue us, comfort us, nudging us along.

Whenever I’m a little short on Joy, as happens sometimes these days, I remember the day this photo was taken. It was my ordination day. I’m surrounded by so many of you on the steps of St. John’s cathedral. During the ordination service, I clearly heard the Holy Spirit speaking to me that day as I lay prostrate on the floor. “You have done everything that was asked of you,” she said. “Your fears, your anxieties about the future – leave them on the floor. I’ll sweep them away. Make space in your heart for me. Get up.” And I have this photo to remind me of the joy generated by the Spirit that day. I keep in it my office at home and look at it everyday.

Saint Matthias Group Photo at Rev. Carole’s Ordination - Photo by Bob Howe

Rev. Carole’s Ordination Service - Photo by Bob Howe

If we take this call to follow Jesus seriously it quickly becomes clear that we as mere humans are not capable of doing so on our own. The powers of sin arrayed against us are too great. We need the Holy Spirit and we need each other.

The events going on around our country that have unfold in the last few days that led to the death of one man and the response of thousands to it are disturbing. The reasons for it are complex and deeply rooted in generations of behavior that clearly never had even a passing acquaintance with God’s dream for the world, with the teachings of Jesus or the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

As followers of Jesus Christ, our call today is to figure out what the Holy Spirit is stirring up in our lives, and to live out that call in lives saturated with those qualities of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control so that they may pass through us to others. Make space for the Holy Spirit. And get up. This is our Holy work. Amen.

by Fr. Bill Garrison

Please note that the following sermon text was provided prior to the audio recording. The two versions may differ substantially.

One of the things I do each week, early in the week, is send a little something about the scriptures for the coming Sunday to the Sunday school teachers to help them in their lesson planning. I looked at the scriptures for today and honestly none of them appealed to me as the subject for today’s sermon or the subject of Sunday school. And then I began to think about next Sunday, Pentecost, and the celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit. And I thought, what if we thought about the nature of the Holy Spirit?

We are familiar with the theological concept of God we call the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We think a lot about God and Jesus Christ, but not so much about the Holy Spirit. I think many of us do not have terribly well-developed notions about the Spirit. So, I want to share some of my personal thoughts with you today on the subject.

But first here is a funny, one I don’t believe I have told in this forum for a few years. It’s about being an “advocate,” one of the names Jesus used to describe the Holy Spirit. And this little story is about a terrific advocate.

During a game of little league baseball, Coach Rogers called aside little Jimmy and asked him this question. “Tell me Jimmy, do you understand the words co-operation and teamwork?” Jimmy nodded in the affirmative.

The coach asked again. “Do you agree that what matters is whether we win or lose together as a team?” Jimmy nodded in agreement.

Coach Rogers continued, “Then I am sure you would agree that when a batter is called out on strikes, we shouldn't shout at or argue with the umpire, or call him names. Do you agree to that?” Little Jimmy nodded in the affirmative again.

Coach Rogers went on, “And when I take you out of the game so another player gets a chance to play too, it's not good sportsmanship to call your coach a moron or lunatic is it?” Jimmy shook his head “No.”

“Good”, said coach Rogers, “Now could you go over there and explain all that to your grandmother?”

Now one thing we don’t need to worry about is whose side the grandmother is on do we? I imagine Jimmy knew full well how much his grandmother loved and supported him.

As we begin our study of the Holy Spirit, it would be wise to recognize a couple of things. The Holy Spirit is just that, spirit. We cannot see the Holy Spirit. Just like the wind we can only see the impact of her actions. The wind moves the branches in the tree and blows away your hat invisibly. The Holy Spirit involves herself in our lives the same way.

And let me also explain to you my own most basic way of understanding the Holy Spirit. I see the Spirit as feminine. I am not alone in this viewpoint, but I respect your own viewpoint if you cannot see the Holy Spirit in this way. I do this because Wisdom in the Old Testament is presented as feminine and I see Wisdom and the Spirit as the same. I also see her in this way because it balances the books of the Trinity. Father, Son, and Spirit. But please, if this raises your hackles, I respect that. Think of her as you will. When I say she, referring to the Spirit, during the rest of our time on the subject today insert your own preferred word if you like.

So, let’s use some metaphors to describe and understand her. Jesus said “advocate.” We might think of attorney, but I think even more than that. The Holy Spirit is in our corner. Perhaps not like the young man we discussed a bit ago, but she is on our side. In fact, think about Jesus and how he had compassion for people and prayed to God on the behalf of people. He said the Holy Spirit was coming. He wasn’t going to leave the people as orphans. To me this means the Holy Spirit represents us to God, converses with God about us, just like Jesus did. The Holy Spirit cares about us and advocates on our behalf.

Photo by Daria Obymaha from Pexels — Photo by **Daria Obymaha** from **Pexels**

I think of the Holy Spirit as “Comforter,” a term Jesus also used. When things are hard, when we find ourselves in physical or psychic pain, the Holy Spirit is right there with us. That feeling of warmth that suddenly comes on us out of nowhere is her seeking to comfort us. Think back over your lifetime and I am sure you will find times when during the worst of times suddenly you unexpectedly felt better, comforted.

I also think of the Holy Spirit as friend, a companion if you will. We are never alone. This is one of the things I tell folks before a baptism. We receive the Holy Spirit and no matter what happens in our lives, no matter how alone we might feel, we are never by ourselves. Being aware of our companion, the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference, every day, but especially when we need a friend.

Another way I experience the Holy Spirit is as a playmate. When times are great the Holy Spirit celebrates with us. When we are happy the Holy Spirit shares in our happiness. When we are experiencing joy in our lives the Holy Spirit is joyful with and for us. It’s like being out having a great time with your best friend, which in essence you are.

And this is going to sound a little weird, but I experience the Holy Spirit as the first search engine. Think Google. There is nothing in all the cosmos that God does not know. The creator knows everything. I mean literally everything. So, when we have decisions to make, or are trying to understand an issue, the Holy Spirit, if allowed, will lead us to the truth. It may not be the truth we expected, but we almost immediately get a glimmering of the reality of a situation the moment we ask for help for help from her.

I am sure we could come up with many more metaphors for the Holy Spirit if we sat down and began to list them. A couple of times I have led groups who were attempting to describe the attributes of Jesus. We came up with over one hundred key terms on each occasion. I have no doubt the Holy Spirit would lead us down the same path if we went there and we would list just as many. She is after all the third part of the Trinity, that impossibly difficult concept of God. Martin Luther said that attempting to understand the Trinity could make a person insane. So, I think it is enough just to say that She is God, is one third of the Godhead, and leave it at that.

So here is our invitation today as we get ready for Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit. Think about her. What does she mean to you? Do you know her as your advocate, your companion, and your friend? Do you feel that your relationship with her could be enlarged? Would that be a good thing? Would you like to know her better? Some things to ponder – relax and enjoy the possibilities.