Message by Janice Good : December 9, 2007
We’re Expecting – Part 2 – That’s the Spirit!”
Marcy was a “normal” average woman. She lived a comfortable life, in a nice home, had a husband, Joe, who loved her deeply, and both of them had rewarding careers. But Marcy often sensed something was missing in her life. She couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was that was missing, but she just knew there was something else that might make her feel more alive. She tried various activities – joining an exercise class that worked out three times a week. She joined a women’s Bible study, where she made several new friends, and found the study quite rewarding. But there was still something missing.
One day Marcy woke up not feeling very well. She thought maybe she had just eaten something that didn’t agree with her, or maybe that she was coming down with the flu. Well, for a number of days she got up each morning with the same feeling, but by afternoon she felt better. So she decided she should probably visit her doctor to find out what this strange sickness was. Marcy was somewhat shocked and surprised when her doctor called her later to inform Marcy that she was pregnant. Marcy was not quite sure this was a good thing. Marcy and her husband hadn’t really talked about having children. She wasn’t really sure whether her husband would think this was a good thing either. So, Marcy kept this information secret for a couple of days while she pondered it and tried to wrap her head around what this would mean. What would having a baby do to her career, how it would affect the friendships she and her husband had with their friends? Even more, how it would affect her relationship with Joe?
Well, just as that tiny embryo was growing inside Marcy, thoughts of parenthood began to grow in Marcy’s mind. She soon discovered that she was very excited about this possibility and shared the good news with Joe. He too was a just a bit apprehensive, but because he loved Marcy dearly and seeing how joyful Marcy was he embraced her and they began to talk about what to expect – now that they were expecting!
Well, those of you who have been pregnant, or lived with someone during a pregnancy know that the excitement and wonder of pregnancy sometimes turns to fear and frustrations. All these changes! How do you deal with the funny feeling in the pit of your stomach when someone walks by with a cup of nauseatingly sweet smelling raspberry flavored coffee? And then there are all those changes in your very own body. You thought you knew your own body pretty well. You thought you could manage your food intact, eat a balanced diet. Now, there are all those strange sensations, those growing pains that may start in your stomach, and radiate upward and outward! Or, what about those balloons that now appear around your ankles by the end of each day? Even though Marcy was careful what she ate, avoiding all those things that might be bad for the growing child within her she no longer had control of her body. Marcy, who always dressed professionally in slim skirts and fitted jackets, soon discovered that nothing in her closet even came close to buttoning without gapping. The elastic-waisted sweat pants, that she vowed she would never wear, now become the blessed retreat as soon as she arrived home from work. Joe doesn’t quite know what to make of all this. He tried to be supportive, but just when he thought he did something nice, Marcy would just yell at him to get out – to go away and leave her alone. But when he left then she cried and wanted to know why he didn’t love her anymore.
The expected child continued to grow inside Marcy and she continued to experience great changes in her life. As the months went by, Marcy soon came to understand the changes taking place in her life and she slowly came to accept them, even enjoy them. She noticed the changes not only in how she looked physically, but in how she related to other people, especially her husband, her mother, even small children she saw on the street. As Marcy began to anticipate the arrival of this unexpected addition, she began to wonder more and more about what color eyes he or she would have, what color hair. Would the child look like her or like her husband Joe? Or, oh dear, perhaps like quirky old Uncle Zake!!! Time was spent planning for the expected child, wondering what to expect and expecting more changes in the family’s lifestyle. The anticipated day of delivery came closer and closer. Marcy began to become restless and unsettled. She wondered if she would be a good mother, would she love the child as she should? And then the time came. Marcy and Joe rushed off to the hospital, expectantly, excitedly, and eagerly.
As you heard last week, during this Advent Season we will be following the theme: We’re Expecting. Last week John shared with you how this season reminds of how our relationship with God the Father rests not on anything we can give to Him, but rather on the overflowing abundance of what He gives to us in Jesus Christ. Today my assignment is to talk with you about the Holy Spirit. We Presbyterians don’t talk much about the Holy Spirit. A lot of what we say acknowledges God the Father, the creator, the maker of heaven and earth. And of course, we center our beliefs on God the Son, Jesus Christ. But what do we really know about the Holy Spirit and the impact of a Spirit filled life?
We are told in Luke’s gospel that the Spirit of the Lord overshadowed Mary and she would bear a child, a holy child, called the Son of God. Jesus, this Son of God, was conceived by the Holy Spirit. At Jesus’ baptism the Spirit of God descended upon him like a dove. By the power of the Holy Spirit Jesus cast out demons, healed the sick and ministered to the poor. The Holy Spirit is God’s personal and powerful presence in the world, the one who calls forth faith and unites human beings with what God has done for them in and through Jesus Christ. It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that we receive salvation.
From the very beginning, when God created this world, the Spirit of God was there, hovering over the darkness. The Spirit, or in Hebrew ruah, which means wind, breath, or spirit was in on the creation. The Spirit was involved in the very creation of the world, as well as taking a major role in the conception of Jesus. The Holy Spirit is intricately part of the Triune God, the Three-in-One. Our experience of God the Holy Spirit always involves our relation to God as Creator (Father) and to God as Savior (Son). The Holy Spirit comes to us throughout scripture, from the very beginning of the sacred text. It is found throughout the history of the people of Israel, as well as in the coming of the Word of God in human form, Jesus Christ, and continues to the close of the sacred canon.
From the New Testament we learn the Holy Spirit is the presence and power of God that awakens our human hearts. The Spirit makes Christian believers alive to the presence of God, enabling us to be transformed into the image of Christ. Christians pray in the Spirit, and the Holy Spirit prays in them and for them. Having the Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts enables us to confess that Christ died for us. We are bound together in community by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit unites us with Jesus Christ.
This Spirit comes to us, working within us through and with the Scriptures, the sacraments, and the communal worship and work of our faith community. The New Testament also tells us of a number of the Spirit’s gifts. Not all gifts are given to every Christian, but all are given at least three: new truth, new life and new community. [1] Last week, if you remember, John spoke about a lot of R’s: Remember, Restrain, and Receive. Today I want to talk about TLC, truth, life and community. These are three gifts we receive through the Holy Spirit. They are not gifts we give ourselves. Nor can we force the Holy Spirit to come to us and give us these or any other gifts. The Holy Spirit is not controlled by any of our actions or motives. The Gospel of John says that the Spirit is like the wind, nobody knows where it comes from or where it goes (John. 3:8). Nor it is bound or limited by any human means. The Spirit works when and where it pleases.
The first gift, this gift of new truth is a gift of the creator who is source of all true wisdom and truth in the world. When we think of this gift of the Spirit, we mean the gift of true wisdom and understanding, this gift of new truth. The Spirit of truth opens our minds as well as our hearts so that we are able to live by this truth as well as to feel the presence of God within our community of faith by sharing this common experience, which is best stated by the Old Testament scripture, and quoted by Jesus. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Deuteronomy 6:5) We can think about God, perhaps even feel God’s presence, but only God can impart to us the real truth. As a faith community we work together to seek and claim this gift of truth by praying together, sharing our thoughts and feelings, working together to understand the truth of God, studying His Word with the Holy Spirit’s guidance. The first gift then is the new truth given to us by the Spirit.
The second gift we receive is new life. For some people when the Holy Spirit breaks into their lives there is a tremendous emotional experience, a sudden event when they can claim they were born again. But for many the Holy Spirit’s indwelling is a gradual process taking place over a number of years, even over a lifetime. Being reborn in the Spirit opens up to being recipients of many good and wonderful things. The Apostle Paul mentions a number of gifts that can be received by letting the Holy Spirit into our lives. These gifts include speaking in tongues, working miracles, and healing. Many Christians feel these gifts are the most impressive evidence of the Spirit. But Paul also talks about other gifts that are perhaps more subtle results of a Spirit filled life. These gifts are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). But all these gifts of the Spirit are not tangible gifts, they are mental attitudes – the things that no amount of money can buy. These gifts are things that you could never ask or expect a family member to give you. But these gifts come from the Spirit and will grow in you as the Spirit abides in you, stretching and challenging you, spreading out to all those around you, encompassing them in the radiance and warmth of this new life in Christ. The most important gift of all those that I just listed though is love! Not a romantic, sentimental love, but a no holds barred, no strings attached, all-inclusive love of God in Jesus Christ. Without love like that we are just a bunch of noisy people, spouting our wisdom and showing off. When we are living a Spirit filled live, we are in a new relationship with God, seen through our new relationship with the people around us. In living a Spirit-filled life we are transformed by the gifts of new truth, and new life.
The third gift we receive is the gift of new community. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are not just for individual personal benefit. These gifts are for the greater benefit and enjoyment of the faith community, building up the church for the work of its ministry and for building up the Body of Christ. Where two or three are gathered in the divine name, there the Spirit is, working through worship, scripture, fellowship, and sacraments bringing us closer to Christ. Just like a child cannot be born and grow to adulthood all-alone, neither can Christians be born of the Spirit and grow in faith all by themselves. None of us can do this alone. We need to be part of a community of faith.
There was a member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, suddenly stopped coming to church. After a few weeks, the pastor decided to visit.
The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire. Guessing the reason for his pastor’s visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace and waited. The pastor made himself at home but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the dance of the flames around the burning logs. After some minutes, the pastor took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone.
Then he sat back in his chair, still silent. The host watched all this in quiet contemplation. As the one lone ember’s flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and lifeless. The pastor glanced at his watch and realized it was time to leave. He slowly stood up, picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow, once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.
As the pastor reached the door to leave, the host, with a tear running down his cheek, said, “Thank you so much for your visit and especially for that fiery sermon. I’ll be back in church next Sunday.” (http://www.bprc.org/parables/silentsermon.html)
The Holy Spirit is God’s most intimate powerful and mysterious presence with and in us. The coming of God as Holy Spirit into our lives is always and simultaneously both individual and corporate. There is no such thing as a lone Christian, living in his or her own relation with God in splendid isolation. When we reject the church, not just the local church, but the larger Church of Christ, and withdraw to develop our own spiritual growth apart from church, we deprive ourselves as well as others of the very renewing power and gift of the Spirit that is being sought.
These three gifts, this TLC, come from the Holy Spirit. This new truth, new life and new community, is the mark of our true Christian spirituality. We cannot give these gifts to ourselves. But if we desire and open ourselves to receive them, if we pray confidently, then our prayers will be answered in amazing and surprising ways in our own lives, in the church community and in the world around us.
We who are Christians should be able to relate to the story of Marcy and Joe, to their doubts and fears at the transformation that was taking place in our lives. This growth in faith, this continual development toward righteousness is not easy. It’s not in instant change. Pregnancy has a timetable from conception to birth. But we who have been called to be in Christ, to have the Spirit of the Lord dwelling within us, have a lifetime for which we must be preparing, changing, growing, stretching. This transformation from the old me to the new me takes time and struggles. We experience the same type of growing pains, the same doubts and apprehensions as we grow from our infancy in the faith to a mature believer. We have good days and bad days. We don’t want to sin, but sometimes it seems we just can’t help it. This transformation of our lives is a gradual, uphill struggle, slowly progressing, experiencing growing pains, with changing emotions and unexpected changes in our relationships with those around us.
So here’s the rest of the story… well sort of. Marcy and Joe arrived at the hospital. After many long hours of intense labor and struggle, tears of joy replaced the cries of pain. A beautiful baby boy was born. He looks just like his daddy, but considerably smaller, and a whole lot cuter! Marcy counts his fingers and toes, yes, they’re all there. She inspects this precious new life and raises a prayer of thanksgiving for this beautiful creation. She didn’t quite know what to expect, but she knew that all her former fears were now replaced with joyful expectations of watching this child grow, of watching him learn to roll over, to crawl, to sit up and soon to walk on his own; even as she herself would grow in her love and affection for this child.
But, then the unexpected happened! The doctors told Marcy and Joe that this perfect looking child, this delight in their sight, this joyous miracle of human reproduction… is not perfect. The child has a birth defect… it is not visible from the outside, but it involves a major organ… a defect within this tiny, now fragile-looking beautiful baby boy. But even in Marcy’s initial shock, she still looked lovingly at this child, this small and wonderful creation, this blessed son that she held in her arms and her heart swelled with love no matter what the imperfection. She knew that she would continue to love him, to nurture him, to teach him all the things that infants and growing children need to learn. And the child grew. Marcy and Joe never ceased loving him, but as he grew they grew to embrace the uniqueness of his imperfection as the child’s own individuality. Each time he stumbled and fell, Marcy or Joe was there to help him get back on his feet.
Growing in our new birth in Christ we too have our defects and imperfections that makes each one of us unique in the eyes of God. We stumble and fall, failing to live up to divine expectations. But each time we fall, we know that God the Holy Spirit is with us, strengthening us, helping us to get back on our feet, helping us to find the right path. And each one of us is still precious in God’s sight. The Spirit who dwells within us helps us to grow in our faith, embracing our uniqueness and human foibles as long as we continue to set our sites on Christ. We have been re-born, and part of that rebirth is a longing to be unblemished in our motives, our actions and our words. The new person cries out to be Christ-like, because we are servants of the Lord, and we want to be as much like Him as possible.
But often we just don’t get it. Like Mary, we need to be humble and obedient servants, opening ourselves to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in our faith community. We need to submit our lives to the Word of God, and release our entire life, with all the doubts and frustrations, the growing pains and uncertainty, give it all to God, letting the Holy Spirit descend upon our hearts, moving us closer to what God intended each one of us to be, to become what God expected.
So, what are you expecting this Christmas? Christmas is a wonderful time to exchange gifts among family and friends. But if you are thinking that all Christmas is about is searching for that perfect and most special gift for a loved one, you can’t see the tree for the flashing lights. The special gifts of the Holy Spirit cannot be bought. They will not be found lying under your Christmas tree, all wrapped in pretty paper and glimmering ribbons. These gifts which have been specially selected and given with the most perfect love and care can only be acquired by letting the Holy Spirit in your life. Are you open to the TLC of the Spirit?
[1] From the work of Shirley C. Guthrie, Jr. Christian Doctrine, Westminster John Knox Press, 1994. 302-312