Greater Things to Come!
a sermon based on
John 14:8-17
by Rev. Randy L. Quinn
English is really the only language I’ve
ever known. I’ve taken classes in Spanish, German, and Hebrew, but I’ve
never really known how to speak any of them.
But what little I did learn about those
languages has made me aware of some limitations of the English
language. There are some concepts, for instance, that are hard to say
in English.
Without knowing another language, you
can see that when you look at the directions to new equipment.
Typically they are now printed in several languages. But some languages
seem to say the same thing in far fewer words! (A comic strip this week
suggested it took fewer words because the manufacturer doesn’t have to
cover as many possibilities since there are fewer lawyers who speak
those other languages.)
One of the places that I encountered a
limitation in English in our text today is in the second person plural.
The closest we have to that in English is the southern “y’all.” But in
the Greek, it’s apparently easy to hear how Jesus starts answering
Philip and begins addressing everyone.
He changes from “you” to “y’all” in the
middle of our passage today.
When I read that, I realized that my first response to this passage was
right on target! The promises of this text are for the corporate body
of the church, not for individual members of the church. This is about
the Body of Christ.
Our text today is set within the context
of the last supper. This is the dinner conversation between Jesus and
his disciples. There have been several questions and answers, including
this one.
But the focus, at least from the
perspective of Jesus, is that he is leaving so they can become part of
something bigger. They want to cling to Jesus, they don’t want him to
die; but he knows the only way for the Holy Spirit to give them power is
for him to leave.
It’s easy to let someone else do
something for us. And Jesus knows we can do far more than we think is
possible – but not as long as he is doing those things for us.
He must leave so we can be filled with
the power of the Holy Spirit.
But he isn’t talking about individuals
being filled with power. He’s speaking about the community of faith,
the Church, that is filled with power. The Holy Spirit will come to
“y’all” and “y’all” will be able to do far greater things than Jesus
did.
That’s because when he leaves, we become
the Body of Christ.
At Christmas we celebrate the
Incarnation. That’s a fancy word we use in the church to explain an
important concept. God is revealed to us in terms we can see. God
becomes flesh and blood in the human Jesus. That is the Incarnation.
At Pentecost we also celebrate the
Incarnation. God is revealed to the world in terms we can see. God is
revealed in and through the Church. We become God’s hands and feet and
arms and eyes and ears. We are the Incarnation.
Since Thomas Edison invented the
incandescent light bulb, several new types of bulbs have been
developed. The original bulbs, like most bulbs in use today, generate
light almost as a by-product of the electrical phenomena of resistance.
You see, when electricity travels through a substance – any substance –
there is some resistance, or friction. That friction generates heat and
in certain substances it also generates light.
One of the most commonly used filaments
for light bulbs is tungsten because it tends to generate more light than
other substances.
Another commonly used light bulb is the
fluorescent bulb. These run on a similar principle, except electricity
runs through a gas rather than a metal. As the electricity ‘sparks’
from one end of the fluorescent tube to the other, the gas begins to
vibrate, and the friction causes the gas to glow.
A more recent – and still very expensive
– light bulb is based on an entirely different principle. Rather than
using electricity, these bulbs use radio waves – much like your
microwave oven does. In these bulbs, the coating on the bulb itself
responds to radio waves by generating light.
They haven’t figured out how to make
them cost-effective, but I remember when I read about them how
fascinated I was by the process of invention. New ideas are sparked by
other ideas and they are continually being used to develop new gadgets
and products.
The coating on the inside of the light
bulbs, for instance, was an idea that was sparked by another idea – the
paint on highway signs. You’ve seen them. At dusk they almost seem
dull, but in the night, they somehow take the light that comes near them
and multiply the intensity so that you can see the sign long before you
can read what it says.
I don’t understand how it works, but I
know it does.
And I like to think that the Holy Spirit
is like that sign coating, or the coating on those light bulbs. I think
of the Holy Spirit as a coating that is inside each of us, just waiting
to be energized by God so that the light of God can shine in us and
through us.
When that happens, when God’s light is
reflected in and through us, we become the Body of Christ. We “give
skin to God”.
And like the paint on highway signs, I
don’t always understand it, but I know I’ve seen it at work.
·
I saw it here in the very
visible stack of quilts our UMW made. God’s spirit was shining.
·
I experienced it here in
your welcoming embrace of me and my family. God’s spirit is still
shining.
·
I’ve seen it in the
hospitality of the congregation for potlucks as well as Easter
Breakfast. God’s spirit is shining.
·
I’ve seen it in the way
children have been included in the life of this church. God’s spirit is
shining.
·
I’ve also seen it in the
examples of individuals in our church:
- I see it in
the way Les gives his time and energy to craft shows where funds are
raised for special projects.
- I see it in
the clown ministry of Jan and Carl.
- I see it in
the sharing of music by Charlotte and Mary.
- I see it in
the way Bev and Mary Lou have stepped in and helped with Children’s
Church.
- I see it in
the way Mary and Lawrence trim the bushes and sign up to clean the
church.
- (I know the
danger in creating such a list as this one is that someone will be
left out – someone who has perhaps reflected God’s Spirit more
vividly than the ones I’ve named. Whether I named it or not, I’ve
seen it in countless other ways and circumstances as well as the
ones I’ve named.)
·
God’s spirit is shining.
I also see it every time we gather to
break the bread and share the cup. In this sacred act, we proclaim
again the mystery of the life and death and resurrection of Jesus. He
gave his life so we might live. And in our text for today he reminds us
that his spirit, the Holy Spirit, continues to live in us and among us.
We not only see Jesus as the Body of
Christ, we not only see the bread as the Body of Christ, we also see the
Church as the Body of Christ. And like the physical, human body, it
cannot live with out breathing.
In Hebrew as well as in Greek, the word
for spirit is the same word as wind and it’s also the same word for
breath. There is always an unintended ‘pun’ at play when we speak of
God’s Holy Spirit. It’s the same spirit that was breathed into the
human Adam when he was created (Gen 2:7).
In much the same way, the Holy Spirit
comes at Pentecost and breathes into the Church, giving it life. Giving
us life.
Pentecost is the day we celebrate
birthdays. It’s the birthday of the church. But it’s also the first
day of a new adventure as God’s Holy Spirit continues to shine in us and
through us as we go into the future.
None of us can name what that future
will look like.
But I’m convinced that greater things
are coming still!
Thanks be to God.
Amen.
