"A Teaching On Spirit Alive and Flaming Faith"
Acts 2:1-8, 11 and Galatians 5:19-25
Pentecost Sunday + June 8, 2003
Bethany Nelson and Doug Huneke
Q - What is your concept of God? How does God affect
your everyday life?
Q - How can I increase my faith?
Bethany Nelson, Lead
One night a mother told her son to go out to the back porch and bring her
the broom. The boy told her that he didn’t want to go out there because
it was dark. The mother reassured him saying, “You don’t have to
be afraid of the dark. Jesus is out there. He’ll look after
you and protect you.” The boy questioned, “Are you sure he’s out
there?” The mom responded, “Yes, I’m sure. Jesus is everywhere,
and he is always ready to help you when you need him.” The little
boy thought about that for a minute and then went to the back door and
cracked it a little. Peering out into the darkness, he called, “Jesus?
If you’re out there, would you please hand me the broom?”
Aren’t we all like that boy every now and then? Just hoping Jesus
will come along and do that difficult stuff for us . . . so we don’t have
to? I think the disciples were feeling that way after Jesus’ death
and resurrection. They had been so used to Jesus doing all the hard
stuff for them. He taught the difficult lessons, he said the stuff
people didn’t want to hear, he dealt with all the naysayers. But
then Jesus left them, leaving very specific instructions to carry on his
work in the world. But how could they? Without Jesus there
to hand them the broom?
Then comes Pentecost. God sends the Holy Spirit to the people,
touching them with tongues of fire, enabling them to understand each other,
even though they are speaking different languages. One of the squirmin
sermon questions we are addressing today is “What is your concept of God
and how does God affect your everyday life?” This Pentecost story
is an image of God in which I strongly believe – a God who can heal divisions
between people, who can make the impossible possible, a God who can open
our ears to hear and our hearts to understand. Now I don’t see God
as this all powerful being who forces us to do these things, but God does
present us with opportunities, and it is up to us to act.
The disciples acted that day. They could have ignored the spirit,
kept the miracle of the resurrection to themselves, and lived in fear of
a world that scorned them. But, they allowed the Holy Spirit to strengthen
and guide them, and they began teaching and preaching to those who had
not heard or did not believe the Good News.
We also have a choice this Pentecost Sunday. How is God going
to affect your everyday life? On this day when we celebrate the power
of the Holy Spirit, do we choose to live by the flesh or by the Spirit?
It is certainly easier to get caught up in the factions of the world and
to react with jealousy or anger when things don’t go our way. But
that is not what God calls us to do. God has filled each of us with
the fruits of the Spirit, but it is up to us to use them, to allow our
lives to be guided by them. So how are you doing living the fruits
of the Spirit? As I list each one, I invite you to assess for yourself
if you are living guided by the spirit.
Love – Do you love not only the easily loveable, but your enemies as
well?
Joy – Are you joyful not only when life is great, but also when you’re
sitting in traffic on 101?
Peace – Do you not only work for peace in the world, but also for peace
in yourself, your family, and your relationships?
Patience – Are you patient with all the people in your life?
Children, parents, people whose opinions are different from your own?
Kindness – Are you kind even when kindness is not returned to you?
Generosity – Do you give of all you have, not just money, but your
time, talents, and gifts?
Faithfulness – Do you walk by faith? Do you trust and believe
in God not only with the small issues of your life, but the big ones too?
Gentleness – Are you gentle, not only with babies and puppies, but
with all of God’s creation?
Self-Control – Are you living a balanced life? Do you know what
your own personal limits are?
The second squirmin’ sermon topic for today was “How can I increase
my faith?” In addition to regular prayer, Bible study, and worship,
we should challenge ourselves to live our lives guided by these nine principles.
To improve how we are doing with each. The next time you are tempted
to lash out at someone in anger, know that God has filled us with the spirit
of peace – and hold your tongue. The next time you want to take an
eye for an eye, know that God has filled us with the spirit of gentleness
and kindness – and find a different solution.
It’s not easy. You seniors who are about to leave home to attend
college will be faced with all kinds of temptations to not live by the
Spirit. But stay true to those nine fruits. Remember who you
are and whose you are – a spirit-filled child of God. Those of you
about to go to Mexico will certainly feel strife during your incredibly
difficult week. But remember the Spirit which has brought you together
and guides your work. We all face daily challenges that try to dampen
our Spirit, and we can choose to live our lives as worldly people of the
flesh and leave that Godly love and joy stuff to someone else. But
let us, like those disciples that Pentecost Sunday, choose to walk by faith,
guided by the Spirit, sharing our Godly fruits with the world.
Doug, I’m curious about your concept of God. Would you share
that with us?
Douglas Huneke, Response
Bethany, according to the “definitive” teaching of “The Shorter Catechism”
of The Westminster Confession of Faith, “God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal,
and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness,
and truth.”
What? What? What? You want more than that? The Bible says God
answered Moses, “I am who I am becoming”
Of course there can be problems with our concepts of God, like the
one in Alice Walker’s book, The Color Purple, when Celie says, “Ain’t no
way to read the Bible and not think God white…. When I found out
I thought God was white, and a man, I lost interest.”
This was Jesus’ concept of God, “They who have seen me have seen God.”
Or when John said, “God is love.” And God’s got a real showstopper
in Revelation, “I am the Alpha and the Omega.”
I love the portrayal of God by a character in Ntozake Shange’s book,
“i found god in myself and i loved her, i loved her fiercely.”
Okay Bethany! How about all of the above and more!?
“What is our concept of God?” Tough question because, as you
see, if you ask 10 people that question you are assured of at least 21
answers. The snake tempting Eve and Adam answered in a single compound,
complex sentence. Bethany and I get 12 minutes. Theologian
Karl Barth took volumes. Often our concepts of God are really comparisons,
metaphors, and equivalents. The unknowable, unseeable God gets portrayed
in some very curious ways.
I try to avoid an anthropomorphic concept of God: white, father, gray
locks and beard, gnarled fingers, or even as a wise, old, nurturing, loving
woman. Conceptually, meaning intellectually, we could correctly say
that what we know about God we know from the life and ministry of Jesus
Christ.
That said, however, my experience of God is my sole concept of God.
My experience evolves as I open my heart to the Sacred, and name those
experiences Holy, Sacred, or Divine.
For much of my life I conceived of God as “all powerful” and at some
point, that lasted a long time, I added “all loving.” For many years
now, my experience of God has not included power and is not qualified by
‘love’ or any other characteristics. Instead, my experience was lifted
one dimension more to “presence.”
When I am intentional
? I feel God’s presence in me, around me, and in others;
? The Sacred Presence inhabits my thoughts and words, my heart and
my soul;
? God is a part of every situation and relationship to the extent that
I intentionally recognize God’s presence.
When I am mindful of God’s presence it affects me in these ways:
? I feel deeply secure,
? I experience serenity,
? Relationships become sacred,
? Life is vivid, real, and holy,
? Every decision and action is imbued with an ethical ultimacy,
? Existence changes into life and that life is rich in ecstasy that
further opens my heart.
When we move from God concept to experience and finally to presence,
our lives are affected, changed, elevated. So, I cannot really speak
about God, though I regularly speak to God. I cannot attribute qualities
to God, and yet when I open my heart there is God, present, always present:
that is the mystery of faith and trust.
Copyright © 2003, Westminster Presbyterian Church of Tiburon