Pentecost
– Acts 2 and John 14 – June 3rd and 4th,
2017
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +
The
day of Pentecost is here – the day on which we remember the
Apostles sitting there in Jerusalem, and then the mighty rush of
wind, and then the tongues of fire, and then the speaking in tongues
so that all who are present can hear. . . hear what? Our reading
today from Acts cuts off Peter’s sermon – he had just begun to
preach – said we aren’t drunk but this is just what Joel told you
would come – and then we don’t hear any more. So, what does
Peter preach that day – when the Holy Spirit comes upon him, what
does Peter proclaim? Listen to his next two sentences – “Men
of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested to you
by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through
Him in your midst, as you yourselves know – this Jesus, delivered
up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you
crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised Him up,
loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for Him to be
held by it.” And then here's the
closing sentence – “Let all the house
of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made Him both Lord
and Christ, this Jesus whom you have crucified.”
The Holy Spirit comes – and what happens? Peter preaches that
Jesus is True Man and True God – He is the LORD – and He has died
and He has risen. Then people ask what they should do, and Peter
responds: “Repent and be baptized every
one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins,
and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is
for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone
whom the LORD our God calls to Himself.”
And so
here we are. Seriously, this is us in the text – we are those who
are far off, who are the children’s children’s children many
times over – this is the promise we have received, that we have
been made part of. We have been called to repentance, we have been
baptized – many of us at this very font – we have received the
Holy Spirit, and we have been called by God to come to this place and
hear His Word and worship Him. You are part of Acts 2 – you are
part of the events of Pentecost. What started then with the
establishment of the Apostolic Church extends to right now, right
here. We are part of that very same Church – we have the same LORD
and Christ, we have the same baptism and forgiveness, we have
received the same Holy Spirit.
So
then, what does this mean? What now does life for one who repents
and receives forgiveness from Christ look like? What does life look
like for one who has received the Holy Spirit? Is it a life of power
and might – where we can put our hands on people’s heads and
shake a bit and then knock them to the ground and say, “Be healed”?
While it could be fun, at least for me, to go around smacking people
upside their head – that’s not the point. Or does receiving the
Holy Spirit mean that we get to go and speak in tongues and talk in
strange languages? Well, I suppose it could, but on Pentecost day
there were people from all over gathered into the Temple –
Parthians and Medes and Elamites and folks from all over. What do we
have here. . . English speakers of mostly Germanic descent. There’s
not really a need for that, and the Holy Spirit didn’t have the
Apostles speak in tongues just so that they could be cool and have
people ooo and ahhh at them. And I could go on – there are those
who thought receiving the Holy Spirit meant you rolled around on the
ground – you know, holy rollers – or that you barked like a dog,
or that you got to play with snakes – on and on and on. I would
rather suggest that we listen to the Words of our Lord Jesus Christ
and what He describes in our Gospel lesson.
“Jesus
answered him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My Word, and My
Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with
him.’” This is a fantastically dense
verse. We are the people who love Jesus – so what shapes our lives
– keeping His Word. Now, this doesn’t just mean “obeying the
commandments”. This isn’t just law here, this isn’t just a
command to be nice. This word “keep” really has that sense of
hold fast to, cling to – to hold onto God’s Word in faith. We
are to hold fast to and cling to God’s Word – all of it.
Commandments – yes indeed. We are to strive and to struggle to do
good. But also we are to cling by faith to the Word of God which
tells us that we have forgiveness in Christ Jesus because of His
death and resurrection for our sake. We are to cling to that very
truth that Peter proclaimed on Pentecost – to keep and pay
attention to what the Scriptures say and teach – all of it – Law
and Gospel. This is what it is to keep the Word, to see that we know
it, that we learn it. Our entire lives are shaped and defined by the
truth that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. That’s
what we hold on to, that’s where we live. We struggle against sin
and delight in Christ’s forgiveness. And what happens at the very
same time as we live in that Word? The Father and the Son come to us
and make their home with us, live with us, be with us.
And of
course, this keeping our focus on the Scriptures, this being in the
Word isn’t simply our own action, it isn’t something that simply
comes about by our own strength. Rather our Lord says, “These
things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the
Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name, He
will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I
have said to you.” The Holy Spirit,
the same Spirit that came upon the Apostles on Pentecost, the same
Spirit that Peter promised to those who heard and believed and were
baptized, the same Spirit that we ourselves have received by the gift
of baptism – He has come to us and He teaches us. The Spirit
brings to remembrance – He makes us remember the things that Jesus
has said to us. Or to put it another way – the Spirit makes us to
keep Christ’s Word – to make it so that the Word of God is up
front in our life. The Holy Spirit makes us to remember God’s
commands, so that during the week when we live our lives we know the
difference between right and wrong, so that we know what is good and
God pleasing and strive to do that. Without the Spirit, you cannot
try to please God, because without the Spirit a person doesn’t
really know who God is and can’t know what God wants – and you
end up with all the various false religions of the world where people
make up their own things - the Lord says of them, “In
vain do they worship Me, following the commandments of men.”
The Holy Spirit focuses us upon the Word so we don’t careen off
into that. The Holy Spirit also makes us to remember God’s love
for us, makes us to remember that the Father sent the Son to be our
Savior from Sin, so that when we are burdened, when we understand and
see the weight of our sin, we repent and with joy and gladness
receive forgiveness. The Holy Spirit draws us closer to Christ, He
makes us to trust in the forgiveness that Christ won even while Satan
and the world mock us and try to condemn us. That’s what the
Spirit does. Do you wish to know if you have received the Holy
Spirit – it is as simple as this. Have you been baptized? If so,
the Holy Spirit has laid His claim upon you. Do you confess that
Jesus is LORD – that He is God Almighty? No man may say that Jesus
is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. Do you repent of your sin and
receive Christ’s forgiveness – that is worked by the Word of God
through the Holy Spirit. This is where we live, this is our lives as
Christians – those who by the Spirit are brought to the Word of God
and live in that Word of God and keep that Word of God.
And so
what does this all mean? Jesus says, “Peace
I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do
I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be
afraid.” The gift of the Holy Spirit
is this – the Spirit focuses us upon the Word of God, and thus we
are focused upon Christ Jesus and thus we know His Peace. We are at
peace with God. God is not angry with you, God is not out to punish
you – all that has been taken up by Christ. There upon the cross
was your punishment, and now there is no more punishment left for
you. The Triune God – Father, Son, and Spirit – is at peace with
you, and dwells with you, makes His home with you – for you are
forgiven because of Christ Jesus. This is the peace Christ has given
you, the peace that the Spirit continually points you to. And this
is not given as the world gives. In the world, that which is given
often has strings attached and hidden fees and fine print. In the
world, there's wheeling and dealing. In the world there’s always a
catch, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. But not as the world
gives does Christ give His peace to you – for it is truly free. It
is truly a gift. Nothing of yours is required, but rather God
delights in giving you salvation – indeed, God loves you and
maintains you and cares for you even as you wander. He calls you to
repentance, calls you to return to your baptismal life, and showers
forgiveness upon you. And thus, there is no need for your hearts to
be troubled – no need for them to be afraid. Christ has won
everything for you, enjoy His peace.
This,
dear friends, is your heritage as a Christian. This is what the
Father sent the Holy Spirit through His Son for – so that you might
always be secure and confident in His love, that you might always
cherish God’s Word in its truth and purity, and that you might
always know and be sure of the forgiveness Christ has won you. What
was revealed on the day of Pentecost continues here today, and it
shall continue until our Lord returns – come quickly Lord Jesus.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +
Amen.
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