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Sermon May20, 2018
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, LSW
The Church of the Nativity and St. Stephen’s, Newport, PA
Pentecost
//lectionarypage.net/YearB_RCL/Pentecost/BPentDay_RCL.html
Jesus said, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” John 16:12-13
Please be seated.
When I have a long drive, I often call my friends. That was true this past week as I traveled down to Alexandria, Virginia for graduation at The Virginia Theological Seminary. Shayna Watson is from our Diocese and was receiving her Diploma in Anglican Studies. This is a one-year program and I’ve been trying to support Shayna through this year of study.
A friend has been on my mind. I haven’t seen any Facebook posts from her lately. I knew she was at work, but figured she would have a few minutes to talk and if not, then I would at least leave a message that I was thinking of her.
She answered my call and we chit chatted about her new job and how it was going. Then she asked, “Why did you call me?” I told her she was on my mind. Then she proceeded to tell me that she had some health issues last week, some that could be serious, but for now everything was okay. Maybe it was only coincidence; however, so many times when someone is on my mind, there is something going on with that person. I call it God or the Holy Spirit guiding me. Have you had that experience?
In our Gospel lesson today Jesus speaks to his Disciples about how he will no longer be with them. He tells them that even though he will be gone, the Holy Spirit will come and be with them.
Jesus says there are still things he needs to teach and say, yet we and the disciples cannot bear them now. It is through the Holy Spirit that we will hear and learn these teachings. This makes sense. I mean, when we learn math, we don’t go from addition to algebra, do we? In most subjects, the learning builds upon itself. We cannot bear nor understand everything all at once. We need some time.
Jesus had upended the world of his followers. There was something liberating and life-giving about Jesus’ teachings, because they left the lives that were “normal” for the time. They left families and family businesses. Jesus reminded them that the foundation of their community and their life together was to love God, love their neighbor, and love themselves.
It was that simple and we also know it was and is challenging. There were rules and laws about who could worship God and how one should worship God. There were people considered “outsiders” like the Samaritans or the tax collectors.
Jesus ministered to them all. Jesus broke many of the laws and rules of the time. I imagine life was very confusing at times for the disciples. And we read many times how the disciples got it all wrong. They were worried about who would be the most honored or they betrayed Jesus or denied they knew Jesus.
Yes, there were many things to learn and many things to adjust to this new reality Jesus gave them. They could not do it all at once. They still had much to learn. And we cannot do it all at once. We still have much to learn.
Today in our reading from Acts, we hear how the Holy Spirit came all at once upon so many people gathered in Jerusalem. As we continue reading in Acts and the rest of the New Testament, we see how the Holy Spirit moved through the early church.
The Holy Spirit continues to move today in our church and in our lives. The speaker for the graduation was The Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor. You may have heard of her, because she has written many books. I was excited to hear her speak once again.
Imagine my surprise when her whole message was about how the church handles conflict! You see, recently in our Mutual Ministry Review, the issue of how we as a parish handle conflict came up. The short survey we took appeared to show that we tend to avoid conflict. We were encouraged to explore this deeper and to come up with ways to handle conflict. I spoke about this last week.
And here I was at this graduation with one of the most interesting and insightful preachers in The Episcopal Church and her entire message was about what we need to do in dealing with conflict. And I immediately thought, this is the Holy Spirit at work!
And did you happen to see the wedding yesterday between Meaghan Markle and Prince Harry? I think fellow Episcopalian Kevin Barron put it best when he posted on Facebook:
“Today, on the eve of Pentecost, we witness something truly remarkable. For some, it’s just a royal wedding. However, for me it’s a statement to the world. In the 1600s, Great Britain held the monopoly on the slave trade. The brutality of slavery was felt most by black women as they were brutalized by their slave holders, bore their children, and charted the over 400-year viewpoint of black women as people who are last in line. Today a black woman joins the royal family of a country that led in the importation and subjugation of Africans, that began this viewpoint of black women. To me, it speaks volumes as something that comes full-circle. It charts a new path for Great Britain and all the places that nation has touched around the world. And this happens on the eve of Pentecost, the birthday of the church – the beginning of our identity as members of the body of Christ.”
The message preached, the diversity of the service all attested to the movement of the Holy Spirit throughout history to get us to this point.
The Holy Spirit is at work, whether it is calling a friend who is on our minds and hearts or whether it is in guiding us as a church community and throughout the world. Let us give thanks for the Holy Spirit.
Amen
Virginia Theological Seminary Graduation. Sermon begins at 41 minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O2568WgDIw
