John 16:12-15
In 1992, a woman named Gwen Shamblin created a religious weight loss program called Weigh Down. It grew from a business conducted out of her garage to a multi-million dollar corporation with over 30,000 churches and organizations participating. But last year the whole movement was threatened and the business was put in jeopardy when Shamblin made public comments regarding her beliefs in the Trinity. She said, “As a ministry, we believe in God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. However, the Bible does not use the word Trinity and our feeling is that the word Trinity implies equality in leadership or shared lordship. It is clear that the Scriptures teach that Jesus is the Son of God and that God sends the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does not send God anywhere. God is clearly the head.
Her comments sent shockwaves through both the religious and business community. She was removed from the Women of Faith website, influential evangelical churches dropped her program and even some key employees left. Her publisher quickly canceled the publication of her book that was then scheduled for release in one month. All of this because she trifled with the Trinity.
If you are confused as to why her words got her into so much trouble that is understandable. After all, people trifle with the Trinity every day. But for centuries the church has struggled to explain how God can be both One God and three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In the early Christian communities people worshipped God the Father as revealed in the person of Jesus Christ and in the activity of the Holy Spirit, taking it for granted that the God into whose life they had been graciously drawn was indeed God. It was at the council of Nicea in 325 that the theological concept of the Trinity was hashed out. And the very reason it was hashed out was because of people like Mrs. Shamblin. The early church leaders wanted to make is absolutely clear that while we experienced God as Father through all of creation, as the Son through the redemptive acts of Jesus Christ and as the Holy Spirit through the sanctifying grace of Pentecost, it was still the same God – each person of the Godhead equally holy and equally God. Mrs. Shamblin agreed that Jesus was both Lord and God but that Jesus held a secondary and unequal position to God the Father. The implications of her statements are huge! Basically, she was saying that Jesus is not fully God, which cuts to the heart of our most essential beliefs – that Jesus was fully God and fully man.
Now if all of this is beginning to feel a bit like a theology class just bear with me….I went to school for all of this, you know, I have to use it once in a while. Actually, that is not the point. The point is that while Mrs. Shamblin’s comments were a very big deal to some people, many people probably never gave it another thought. As I said, people trifle with the Trinity every day and we never blink an eye. Just as the early church leaders struggled to understand and explain their experience of God, so it is today that people seek to find words to describe their experience. We are not easily drawn to the concept of the Trinity to provide grounding for our experience of God because the whole idea of the Trinity is so abstract. There is no biblical story to provide a concrete basis for us; there is no narrative, no people to whom we can relate. And so we seek other concepts, other ideas, other words to describe our experience. But rather than provide the framework we seek, other concepts, other ideas and other words can draw us into other experiences that further confuse and confound us.
When I was in seminary, my Christian Theology class took a field trip to a New Age Bookstore. We spent a good deal of time browsing through the shop and then had the opportunity to meet with an author who was promoting her latest book. The more time I spent looking through the aisles, the more trouble I had being clear as to what was of the Spirit (capital S) and what was spirit (small s). There were so many offerings – different styles of meditation, devotionals for every subject you could ever imagine, self-help books and guides to shamans. It was a big shop and the rows just went on and on. You could read the stars or read your palms; you could tap into your inner child or commune with people from your past. You could pray with the masters or you could master the world around you.
As I looked back on that experience in the light of this Trinity Sunday, I realized that was an intense example of what we face each and every day. We strive for a deeper relationship with God – Father, Son or Holy Spirit – and we are often searching for a better way to do that. If I can pray just the right prayer, meditate just the right way, say exactly the right words, everything will click into place and I won’t have to work so hard at this relationship anymore. And so our interest is piqued by the latest self-help book or the newest prayer book to come across the best sellers table at Borders. But are these new ways of experiencing God really helping us in our relationship with God, are they really helping us find new words to describe our experience of God – or do they simply confuse us and draw us further away from that which we seek? How do we know if we are seeking the Spirit or merely trifling with the Trinity?
Jesus offers us guidance, something to ease the confusion and point the way through the maze of books, infomercials and advertisements. During the Sundays since Easter, our readings in the Gospel of John have been part of what we call the high priestly prayer. This is, according to John, the conversation that Jesus had with his disciples at the Last Supper. He had so much to tell them, so much to teach them, so much to help them understand. But in the face of Jesus’ imminent death, the disciples couldn’t take it all in, they shut down, they stopped processing the information. So Jesus tells them that he will send the Spirit and the Spirit will lead them into the truth. The Spirit will speak with the authority of God telling the disciples what God wants them to hear. The Spirit will speak the truth and give them the words they seek to understand their experience of Jesus, their experience of God. The Spirit will bring clarity and power and send them out to do all that Jesus instructed them to do.
And that same Spirit is in us today – leading us into the truth, telling us what God wants us to hear, giving us the words to understand our experience of God at work in our world and in our lives. The Spirit gives us clarity and power and sends us out to do all that Jesus tells us to do. And so in our confusion, our seeking, our searching, we turn to the Spirit for guidance and the path of truth – the path that leads us right back to where we started – three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – One God, One Way, One Truth – that remains a mystery and yet continues to be revealed to us. Perhaps we should follow the example of the psalmist who never struggled with the concept of the Trinity but only celebrated the magnificence of the One Lord, One God who made heaven and earth. “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?” “You have set your glory above the heavens, O Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.” (excerpts Psalm 8 NRSV) Rather than trifle with the Trinity, let us just rejoice in the mystery of the God who meets us where we are, through experiences beyond description, out of love beyond our comprehension.
Acts 2:1-21
(Pastor Mary enters sanctuary dressed as a firefighter.) Sorry to interrupt things here, folks, but we've had a report of fire. No, no, you don't have to evacuate but I do have to check things out. Report said something about tongues of flame and a lot of wind, just had to check it out (walk around the chancel and sanctuary). You know when it comes to fire you can't be too careful especially if there's wind too. Safety must be the top priority, can't take any risks. First you have just a spark or a little tongue of flame and then before you know it, whoosh; this could get out of hand!
I think there were firefighters at the first Pentecost that we heard about in our reading today from Acts. People who saw what was happening and, rather than enter into it, they sneered and criticized and did all they could to douse the flames of the Spirit they saw spreading all around them. They saw what was happening and they worried that if they weren't careful, whoosh, things could get out of hand!
But fortunately for us, there were other people there at that first Pentecost, people who were on fire for Christ, people who would not let the flames of the spirit be put out. The disciples were there and they were filled with the Spirit, they were overcome by the Spirit, they were empowered by the Spirit. The same Spirit that changed chaos into creation, that turned the Red Sea into a highway of freedom and brought salvation forth from the "yes" of a young, Jewish virgin. The same Spirit that invades the body, swells the soul and makes us more than we ever imagined we could be. The same Spirit that disturbs, delivers and lifts up. The same Spirit that makes the old feel young and brings life from death. The same Spirit that touches our lives today touched the lives of the disciples and the world was never the same. The disciples were filled with the Spirit and began to speak in other languages so that all that were gathered, people from many different places, could understand the amazing news the disciples had to share. The disciples went from being scared and frightened to boldly sharing the good news of Jesus. They went from believing in Jesus to proclaiming what he said and what he did. They went from thinking about themselves to thinking about others, to healing, forgiving, serving, loving. They went from hiding in an upper room to traveling the countryside. The Spirit entered into them and they embraced the power that changed their lives.
So, as we look back on that first Pentecost and the actions of those who were gathered, we are offered a challenge - which one are we? Are we Pentecost people - on fire for Christ? or are we firefighters - dousing the flames, making sure that, whoosh, this doesn't get out of hand?
I think we've probably all had experience with firefighters in our lives, people whose favorite expression is, "yes, but…" people whose negativity is contagious, people who, maybe unconsciously or unintentionally, douse the flames of Spirit and excitement before they can become anything more than a small spark. As I have mentioned before, ten years ago I worked on the staff at Leadership Lab for the first time. For those of you not familiar with Lab, Leadership Lab is a multi-synodical youth gathering held at Augustana College in Rock Island and it is intended to prepare youth to serve as leaders in their congregations. As a staff person I had the opportunity to interact with many fine young people from all over the state and to meet pastors and lay leaders who were talented and faith-filled. It was a great experience - for me and for the youth from my congregation. Everyday, in every gathering, in every event, the Spirit was present and everyone was touched. I never experienced worship like that before, either. It was energetic, free and so much fun! We sang songs and praised God with abandon - and no one ever looked at their watch! In fact, there was always a bit of disappointment when our large group gatherings would draw to a close. And so, we all came home on fire for Christ, ready to boldly proclaim what we had learned and experienced - only to be faced with firefighters at every turn - people ready to douse the flames of the Spirit we brought home with us. When a group of young people who attended Lab wanted to teach the congregation some of the music they had learned, no one would join in with them; the kids felt embarrassed and ashamed. When they wanted to talk about their experience, people listened politely but then turned away. I was on the receiving end of some of this, too. People would say to me, "You're different." and they didn't mean it in a very nice way. They might as well have said, "You're strange." or "You're drunk." Firefighters are invested in keeping things the same, they don't want things to be different, they don't want something new. Firefighters take care to make sure that things don't get out of hand.
Pentecost people, on the other hand, acknowledge that the power of the Spirit in their lives can be a frightening thing but they enter into it, they take the risk, they embrace the unknown and the unseen. Pentecost people go out and boldly share the good news of Jesus Christ, Pentecost people go from being believers to being proclaimers and Pentecost people go from thinking about themselves to thinking about others, healing, forgiving, serving, loving. When I was in seminary, one of my favorite professors was my preaching professor. Dr. Jensen is an average looking sort of person, close to retirement and eagerly looking forward to it. On the surface he seems to be kind of conservative, there is nothing flashy or showy about him, just a real, solid, down to earth kind of guy. One day he was asked to speak to one of my theology classes about the Holy Spirit. Being the good teacher that he is, the class was interesting and kind of moving right along until he got to the part about the gifts of the Spirit and speaking in tongues. And he casually mentioned that when he was serving a mission in Africa he was part of a group that spoke in tongues. You could just feel every student in the room lean forward in the chairs, eyes wide, listening carefully. Dr. Jensen started to go on with his lecture but we all stopped him. What? Wait a minute? You spoke in tongues? Good, old, solid, down to earth Dr. Jensen? We had to hear more about it! And after hearing the whole story, complete with cautions on how to really discern if this is truly a gift of the spirit (which was much more like Dr. Jensen), I came away with a new admiration for Dr. Jensen. He is really a Pentecost person, not because he spoke in tongues but because he opened himself to the Spirit. He took great risks, not knowing where it would lead him. He boldly proclaimed the good news of Jesus even when he didn't understand it! He said "yes" to something that was so different from who he seemed to be and he followed it through. Pentecost people allow themselves to be whoosh! overcome by the Spirit trusting that the same Spirit will guide and protect them in all that they do.
So which are we, firefighters or Pentecost people? Well, I think there is some of each in all of us. We all have a tendency to want to maintain the status quo in our lives and stay where life is safe and predictable. But we are also all filled by the power of the Spirit that came to the disciples on that first Pentecost - the same Spirit that come to our young people today. We can stifle it for a while, try to suppress it or douse the flames, but eventually the Spirit gives us the courage we need to be Pentecost people. And I hope and pray that is what happens for our Confirmands today - that the Spirit will give them everything they need to be Pentecost people - that the last fourteen or fifteen years of their faith journey will not have been for nothing, that the last three years of confirmation instruction will not have been for nothing, that the Spirit will give them everything they need to continue their journey, their life of faith. And the Spirit give us everything we need too! Just imagine what that could look like! We could put aside embarrassment and shame - we can be on fire for Christ! We don't have to be quiet or shy about our faith, we can boldly proclaim the good news of Jesus. We can go from being believers to being proclaimers! We can make every weekend an Invite a Friend weekend. We can throw open the doors of this place and make room for more and more and more. We can embrace people from different cultures, different countries and different neighborhoods. We can immerse ourselves in the Bible and join a small group. We can invite others to join a small group. We can tell our friends, our neighbors, our co-workers about what it is that makes our lives so wonderful! We can go from thinking about ourselves to thinking about others, healing, serving, forgiving, loving. We can build houses, help refugees, volunteer at Habitat for Humanity, care for children, collect food for the food pantry, serve meals at Hesed House, take people to the doctor, help shut-in's get their groceries, pray for one another and for others, worship together, share all that we have and all that we are, and praise God with joy and abandon! And the Spirit will give us everything we need to do this! We can be Pentecost people! Whoosh! This could get out of hand! Wouldn't that be great!