St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Owings Mills MD
May 25, 2025
Year C: The Sixth Sunday of Easter
Acts 16:9-15
Psalm 67
Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5
John 145:23-29
Hearts Open to the Holy Spirit
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Today is the Sixth Sunday of Easter.
It is still Easter!
And just like the past couple of Sundays, in today’s gospel lesson we back up to before Easter, back to before the Resurrection, back to the Last Supper.
Especially in John’s account of the Last Supper, Jesus has a lot to say to his friends. He commands them - and us - to love one another. He teaches them - and us - that we should serve one another, just as Jesus did when he washed the feet of his friends.
But, of course, there was an air of sadness and grief over the Last Supper, as the disciples realized that their time with Jesus was drawing to a close, and they were facing an uncertain and frightening future.
So, gathered around the table one last time, Jesus tries to reassure his friends – he reassures them as best he could by saying that we will all be reunited someday.
And, as we heard today, Jesus reassures his friends by promising that God will send the Holy Spirit – the Holy Spirit - God’s ongoing Presence, teaching us, guiding us, giving us true peace, the peace that the world cannot give.
So, yes, it is still Easter, but today we begin to turn our attention to the next great Christian feast, coming up in just two weeks: Pentecost
Pentecost: the day when we especially celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit, the gift of God’s ongoing Presence with us.
So, I confess that I love Pentecost, almost as much as I love Baptism.
And you all know that this year Pentecost is going to be extra-Spirit-filled here at St. Thomas’, with Bishop Carrie making her first official visitation with us.
She’ll confirm our six young people who are ready to say before God, before the bishop and before all of us that, yes, they want to continue as disciples of Jesus that, yes, with God’s help, they will keep the baptismal promises that were made on their behalf when they were children.
And, of course, Pentecost will also be Amelia’s first full day as a priest.
But, even without all our many special things this year, I love Pentecost because, unlike Christmas and Easter, which recall one-time historical events, Pentecost happens all the time.
Pentecost happens all the time.
God continues to pour out the Holy Spirit upon us., right here, right now
And, since Pentecost happens all the time, and since it’ll be Bishop Carrie and not me preaching on Pentecost, I just can’t resist giving a Pentecost sermon today, two weeks early.
So, here’s the thing:
The Holy Spirit is powerful, powerful enough to transform our lives, just as the Holy Spirit transformed the lives of the disciples long ago.
The Holy Spirit is powerful, but the Holy Spirit is never coercive.
So, for us to receive the Holy Spirit, our hearts must be open – our hearts must be open, even just a little bit.
And we get a glimpse of a beautifully open heart in today’s first lesson from the Acts of the Apostles, where we meet Lydia.
These few verses tell us all we know about Lydia.
It’s not much, but it’s enough.
Lydia was from Asia Minor, what’s Turkey today, but Paul and the others encounter her in the Greek city of Philippi.
We’re told that she is a businesswoman, a dealer in purple cloth, which was expensive and prized in the ancient world.
There’s no mention of a husband or any man. Perhaps Lydia was a widow, we just don’t know.
Lydia was probably what was known as a God-fearer, a Gentile, a non-Jew, who was drawn to the God of Israel.
So, on the sabbath in Philippi, there’s Lydia and other women gathered for prayer.
Her heart and the hearts of the other women were already open, at least a little bit, when Paul arrives with the best news of all time:
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
With their open hearts, Lydia and the other women can hear this Good News and, yes, are baptized, immediately, it seems.
And with her open heart, Lydia offers hospitality, inviting Paul and the others to stay at her home.
And I love the last verse, “And she prevailed upon us.”
I imagine Lydia using the same persuasiveness that served her so well in business, to convince Paul and the other disciples to stay for a while.
Lydia’s heart was open to the Holy Spirit.
Today, whatever our political point of view, I think that we can all agree that we are living in a very closed-hearted time.
As we see just about every day in the news, hate, cruelty, and violence are on the loose, both in our own country and around the world.
And open hearts of compassion and mercy seem to be in short supply.
Like the long-ago disciples around the table at the Last Supper, perhaps we are gripped by fear and dread.
But Pentecost happens all the time.
God continues to pour out the Holy Spirit upon us, right here, right now.
With God’s help, all we need to do is open our hearts even just a little, making room for the Holy Spirit’s good gifts of grace, love, and courage.
And openhearted Lydia shows us how to open our hearts, shows us how it’s done:
Sticking together, gathering each week to pray with and for one another.
Keeping our eyes and ears open for how God may at work around us.
And opening our doors in hospitality, inviting people, all sorts of people, to stay a while.
Lydia shows us how to open our hearts.
But, of course, even in a closed-hearted time like ours, you and I don’t have to look back two thousand years to find open-hearted people.
Just flip through the announcements.
Just look around you.
Pentecost happens all the time.
God continues to pour out the Holy Spirit upon us, right here, right now
With God’s help, may our hearts continue to be open to the Holy Spirit.
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Amen.
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