The Church of St.
Paul and Incarnation, Jersey City NJ
May 17, 2020
Year A: The Sixth
Sunday of Easter
Acts 17:22-31
Psalm 66:7-18
1 Peter 3:13-22
John 14:15-21
Seeing the Spirit
Alleluia!
Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Today
is the Sixth Sunday of Easter – it’s still Easter – but as you may have
noticed from today’s gospel lesson - we are beginning to turn our attention to
Pentecost – the great feast when we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit.
In
that gospel lesson I just read, we pick up right where we left off last week.
It’s
still the Last Supper and Jesus is preparing his closest friends for the
future.
He’s
already told them that they know the way to the place of reunion – and that
Jesus himself is the way.
And
now, he promises that the disciples will not be left orphaned – that God will
send the Spirit – that Jesus will continue to be with them – to be with us – in
a new and profound way.
These
words are found in the Gospel of John, which was probably completed sometime
around the year 100, long after the earthly lifetime of Jesus.
And,
so the Gospel of John includes memories and traditions about Jesus that had
been handed down for several generations – and it also reflects the experience
of a particular community living near the start of the second century.
Like
every community that particular group had its challenges – as always there were
some internal disputes – and also some external pressures, too.
In this case, it
was getting harder to be both Jewish and a follower of Jesus – people were
being forced to make a difficult choice.
We
can hear some of that long-ago pain in this gospel, especially the parts that
sound anti-Jewish to us.
But,
like every community, it wasn’t only trouble.
After
all, at least some people stuck around – and they remained and told and re-told
the old Jesus stories because they found them to be true.
So,
when they heard the story that we just heard – the story of Jesus promising the
Holy Spirit – they didn’t have to “believe” it
- they didn’t have to believe because they knew it was true.
They knew it was
true because they continued to sense Jesus with them even with all their
troubles – they knew Jesus had kept his promise because they could see the
presence of the Holy Spirit, strengthening them and guiding them, and holding
them together, especially in times of trouble, no matter what.
Seeing
the Spirit.
Seeing
the Spirit reminds me of the last sermon that my friend Dave Hamilton preached
as rector of St. Paul’s.
He
stood up in front of us and he talked about some of the ways he had seen the
Holy Spirit at work in this place.
And,
over and over, he repeated the words:
“I
don’t have to believe it because I’ve seen it.”
“I
don’t have to believe it because I’ve seen it.”
Now,
it’s possible that I may have “borrowed” that line in my sermons a few times a
few times over the years – and, you know what, I’m going to borrow it again.
I
don’t have to believe in the Spirit because I’ve seen it.
The
community that first put together the Gospel of John, they didn’t believe
because of stories in a book. No, they believed because, despite their
troubles, they could see the Holy Spirit alive among them, holding them
together against great odds.
Seeing
the Spirit.
In
today’s first lesson we find St. Paul in Athens preaching to people who
probably had no idea what he was talking about. He describes to the Greeks a
God who is unknown to them, a God unlike all the other so-called gods, an
invisible God who created everything, a God of new life who raised Jesus from
the dead, an awesome God who is so close to each of us.
Just
like everywhere Paul went preaching the Good News, he had limited success.
We
know from his letters that Paul was often frustrated, disappointed, and sometimes
even angry.
Most
people scoffed at what he had to say or they seemed to forget everything he
taught as soon as he left town.
But,
some people stuck around and believed – and I don’t think it was because Paul
was such a great preacher or because he convinced them with eloquent arguments.
No,
they stuck around because they could see the Spirit alive and at work in this
man who was on fire with the Spirit as he traveled to as many places as he
could, giving away his life, tirelessly sharing the Good News.
Seeing
the Spirit.
And,
what was true two thousand years ago is still true today.
People
don’t come to put their trust in Jesus because of what they read in a book or
because we are able to talk them into believing some claims to be true.
No,
people come to put their trust in Jesus because they see the Spirit at work –
because they see the Spirit at work in us.
And,
I don’t have to believe that because I’ve seen it – I’ve seen it in the life of
our brother Sidney King.
I
never once heard Sidney try to talk anybody into believing in Jesus but I know
that I’m not the only one who could see the Spirit alive and at work in that
man.
Like
Paul, Sidney was sometimes disappointed, frustrated, and even angry.
The
church can break your heart sometimes.
But,
even in those bad times, Sidney stuck around and did the work of building up
the church and caring for people.
If
we could gather like we normally do at times like this – and man do I wish we
could gather in our usual way – if we could be together you know that we’d hear
so many stories of Sidney’s total devotion to the Church of the Incarnation and
the Diocese of Newark and in the last few years our unified congregation.
We’d hear about
how Sidney kept the Church of the Incarnation going especially during those
five long years without a priest - the countless hours he spent on almost every
committee and commission known to the church – they way he always wanted to do
more ministry, to feed the hungry in the neighborhood, to welcome asylees to
live in the Parish House, to take the time to get to know those men and women
from faraway lands, to offer hospitality to Family Promise guests.
If
we could gather like we normally do at times like this, you know that we’d hear
so many stories of Sidney’s quiet service and kindness, the calls, the hospital
visits, the rides to the doctor, his devotion to Eugenia Suthern in her last
years.
Sidney
didn’t have to preach about the Spirit because anyone who cared to look could
see the Spirit alive and at work in this man, right to the end.
And,
I don’t have to believe it because I’ve seen it.
Seeing
the Spirit.
It’s
not Pentecost yet but we’ve already been given the gift of the Holy Spirit.
We
have not been orphaned.
We’ve
been given all that we need – all we have to do is to be like Paul and Sidney –
all we have to do is let the Spirit live and work in and through us – so that even
in a time of trouble – especially in a time of trouble - people will look at us
and see, really see, the best news of all time:
Alleluia!
Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Amen.
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