Sermon for the Second Sunday after Pentecost

No audio as Pastor was out of town this weekend and this sermon was read by one of our Elders. To view and listen, click here to watch a recording of the livestream.

Jesu Juva

“You Are Free in Christ”

Text: Mark 2:23-3:6; Deuteronomy 5:12-15

 

In the Name of Jesus. Amen

The Pharisees were very serious about keeping the Sabbath. You cannot hear the Holy Gospel we heard this morning without learning that or being reminded of that. They were keepers of the Sabbath, and wanted everyone else to be, too.

The question is: What does that mean? What does it mean to observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, and to do no work on it? 

Well, to observe a day means to set it aside as special. We observe, for example, birthdays and holidays - we set those days aside as different, as special. We circle those boxes on our calendar. Sometimes we count down the days until those special days arrive. Because they’re not like all the other days, and we don’t want them to be. We have special food, we do special things, to mark those days. We celebrate on those kinds of days, and they give us joy. That’s the easy question to answer. The Sabbath was to be set aside as a special day.

The little harder question is: What does it mean to do no work on the Sabbath? What is work? What constitutes work? Is work just what you do for a living, or more than that? And if more, how much more? To Pharisees very serious about keeping the Sabbath, these were important questions. So, for example, if you’re walking, how far can you walk before a comfortable stroll becomes work? If you’re lifting something up, what’s the difference between lifting a coffee cup and lifting a sack of cement? And these kinds of questions weren’t just important to the Pharisees, but also to the people who listened to the Pharisees and wanted to do the right thing. They wanted to know: What can we do? What can we not do? Be specific. Give us a list.

So the Pharisees created such a list. A list of a whole bunch of specifics that became, in effect, new laws for the people to keep. And one of those was about plucking heads of grain on the Sabbath. That was considered harvesting. And harvesting is work, isn’t it? Harvesting is a job. Harvesting is how some people make a living. So you cannot do that on the Sabbath. So when the Pharisees see Jesus and His disciples doing that - even if it was simply to eat, because they were hungry - they take issue with that. Point it out. They’re working! They’re harvesting. They’re breaking the commandment.

Notice what has happened here! The reason for this commandment that we heard in the reading from Deuteronomy was that you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. The people were to remember that they were slaves, but now they were not slaves, because of what the Lord had done for them. Something that should give them joy.

But with this another question arises: What does it mean to remember? If you’ve been in my catechesis or my Bible Classes, you’ve heard me say that in Bible times, to remember was not just a mental thing. That’s what it is for us; that’s how we think of it. Either something comes to mind (we remember), or we forget. But back in Bible times, it was more than that - it was an action word. To remember meant to call to mind AND to do something. And my favorite example of that is when the thief on the cross next to Jesus asked Jesus as he was dying: remember me when you come into your kingdom (Luke 23:42). He wasn’t asking for Jesus to just think nice thoughts of him! He wanted Jesus to remember him by doing something for him - take him there, too!

So how would one remember that you were a slave in Egypt? What doing would that remembering entail? Well, what you would do is go to church, hear the Word of the Lord that spoke of that rescue, all that the Lord had done, and rejoice in Him by thanking and praising Him. You would thank and praise Him that you were no longer a slave, that you were not enslaved to your work, but since you were set free, you could take this day to not work, to set aside your work and set aside this day as different, and hear of all that God had done for you, and was still doing for you. And so it would be a day of joy. Or that was how it was meant to be . . .

But notice what had happened. With all their rules and laws, the Pharisees and those who followed them and thought like them were not slaves to their work - they became slaves to their not working! Instead of the Sabbath being a day of freedom, they were slaves to the Sabbath laws. And instead of it being a day of joy, it became a day of fear - fear of breaking one of their laws. What happened was that instead of freedom, they had traded one slavery for another.

That’s why when Jesus asks them a “freedom question” about the Sabbath, a question they didn’t have a rule for, whether it was lawful to heal a man and set him free from his malady on the Sabbath, they had no answer. It confused them! They couldn’t think this way. Truth is, this is exactly what the Sabbath was for! To remember the freeing work of the Lord and in Jesus, to see it happening again. 

But that’s not our problem today. For us, for our society, the problem is not taking the Sabbath too seriously, but not taking it seriously enough. Not how to observe the Sabbath, but whether we will, or not. 

Now, it is true that we do not have to gather for church on the seventh day, as in Old Testament times. That part of the Law, the ceremonial Law, has been fulfilled for us by Jesus. But there is still to be for us a time to remember - to go to church and gather together, to hear of all that God has done for us in Jesus to set us free from our slavery to sin, to rejoice by thanking and praising Him, and to see and hear it still happening today. And while we may have some disagreement about how this is to be done, the bigger problem, I think, is that this time to go to church is no longer set aside as special. Sunday, the usual day, has become just like any other day. Or, if it is set aside, it is set aside for other reasons. 

And I wonder . . . have we made the same mistake as the Pharisees? Have we simply traded one slavery for another? The Pharisees had become slaves to their not working - what have we become slaves to? Things that probably are not bad in and of themselves, but which have enslaved us, taken control of our lives and what we think, desire, and do? To the point of even getting in the way of God and His Word and our joy in Him. What are Sundays often used for today? For some it is sleep, for others sports, or travel, or cooking, or work, or family - what else? What would Jesus say to us today, about our observance of a Sabbath? A day that we, in freedom, can set aside for Him, to listen to Him and continue to receive His freeing work for us? How we doing with that? 

Well, Jesus does not want us to be slaves in either way - slaves to the Sabbath, that we have to be here! Or slaves of any of those other things that come before being here. Jesus does not want us to be slaves, He has come to set us free! He has come to make us children, not slaves. Children who love and want to be with Him. Children who want to listen to Him and hear the old stories.

Like this . . . I remember growing up, my father would often tell a story about a fox on his way to a place called Squintums. It was an old folktale and I loved to listen to him tell it and the way he told it, and I would ask him to tell it over and over again. I never got tired of listening to it. Isn’t that what church is to be for us - children hearing the old stories of all God has done for us? Hearing over and over again! And hearing that what He has done, He is still doing! Promises then, promises now. Forgiveness then, forgiveness now. Freedom them, freedom now. Feeding then, feeding now. Being in church is not a law for us to keep, but a place where we go because we have been set free from the tentacles of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature which keep trying to enslave us again. And when they do wrap around us, we come for Jesus to cut them off and set us free again. For like that man with a withered hand that we heard about today, that’s what the Sabbath, or for us, church, is all about! The restoring, freeing work of Jesus for us.

So this day is special. We often count down the days until the weekend, lumping Saturday and Sunday together - but maybe we shouldn’t. Maybe that’s a mistake. Maybe we should count down the days until Sunday instead, and instead of dreading Sunday because we have to go back to work tomorrow, rejoice that we get to be with our Saviour today. We get to hear the old stories again. Maybe we’ve heard them before, but that’s okay. They’re still good, and they teach us what Jesus is still doing for us today. And like birthdays and holidays, we get to have special food and drink today (well, not today, but most Sundays!) - and not food that is fattening or drink that might give us a headache tomorrow! But the very Body and Blood of our Saviour, that lightens our load of sin and strengthens us for the week.

But most of all, we’re not here because we’re slaves, we’re here because we’re not. I don’t have to do what the world is telling me to do. I don’t have to be what the world is telling me to be. I don’t have to fit in with a world that is telling me to be like them. I don’t have to measure up to their standards, think like them, or live like them. Jesus has set us free from all that! 

Now, maybe the world will get mad at you for that, like many were furious with Jesus. That you don’t fit in. That you’re different. That won’t be easy. But think: What is worse? The anger of the world, or to be enslaved again to the world and what it thinks and does and wants? Is peace with the world worth giving up your freedom in Christ? No way! You have something far more valuable and precious than the love and approval and life of the world - the love and approval and life of your heavenly Father. And that’s a love, approval, and life that won’t come and go, or be here one day and gone the next, but that lasts forever.

So be like the Pharisees! And be serious about church. But don’t be like the Pharisees and make it all about the Law! Be serious about your freedom - not freedom from church, but for church. For Jesus. For He does His best work, here, for you.

 

In the Name of the Father and of the (+) Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Sermon for the Festival of the Holy Trinity

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Jesu Juva

“Because He Has Shown His Mercy to Us”

Text: Isaiah 6:1-8; John 3:1-17; Acts 2:14a, 22-36

 

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

There are four words you never want to hear. Whether you’re at work or at school; whether you’re trying out for a sport or to play in an orchestra; whether you’re applying for a job or to get into a college; whether it’s about a relationship you’re in or want to be in; or whether it’s about a whole host of other things in your life . . . there are four words you never want to hear. Four words that cause a lot of heartache: you’re not good enough.

 

No one likes hearing that, but that thought is all over the readings we heard today.

 

First there was the prophet Isaiah. He was not good enough to stand in the presence of the Lord. So when he is given this awesome and glorious vision of God and of heaven he cries out: Woe is me! I am lost. I am a dead man. I am not good enough to see and stand before the Lord of hosts. And he was right.

Then we heard from the sermon that the apostle Peter preached on the day of Pentecost. And what he said was that there was one man who was good enough - but what did you do to Him? You crucified Him! And in the next verses, which were not included in the reading for today, the people realize they’re not good enough. His preaching cut them to the heart and exposed them.

 

And then in the Holy Gospel, we heard the story of Nicodemus coming to Jesus at night to talk with Him. And after beginning a nice, polite, conversation with Jesus, Jesus tells him, basically, that he’s not good enough. Nicodemus wasn’t used to hearing that. He was a Pharisee, and the Pharisees were the good ones . . . or so everyone thought. But nope! Jesus tells him right off the bat, that he’s missing something; that something else is needed: Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.

 

And so it is. For Isaiah, for those Jews in Jerusalem, for Nicodemus, and for you and me. Yup, we’re not good enough either.

 

Now, we confess that every week. You did today, though maybe you didn’t realize it. But when we confess our sins at the beginning of the service each week, it isn’t just this sin or that sin you are confessing; that you just messed up a little this week. No, you are really confessing I am not good enough. In the eyes of the world, oh, maybe you are worthy of honor. You excel at a sport. You got into that school you really wanted to go to. You’re a talented musician. You’ve worked really hard and achieved. And that’s great! 

But here the standard is different. Before God, the standard is perfection. Fear, love, and trust in God above all things. Love your neighbor as yourself. Don’t give in to lust. Don’t fight with your brother. Don’t disrespect your parents. Don’t gossip. Don’t lie. Don’t put yourself on that pedestal called pride and think you’re something special. Don’t keep wanting to be served and not serve others. And more.

Now, have you done some good things this week? I’m sure you have. But perfect? Even when you try really hard, all that other stuff still happens, doesn’t it? I know it does for me. I’m no better than Isaiah, than Nicodemus. You? It’s true, isn’t it? We’re not good enough. 

 

And yet . . . and yet God wants you here, with Him. Not good enough as you may be. He called Isaiah and wanted to reveal Himself to him. He sent Peter and the apostles because He wanted those Jews who yelled “crucify!” and put Him on the cross to repent and be with Him. He came in the flesh because He wanted folks like Nicodemus and He wanted to lay down His life for him. And God wants you here with Him. Not because you’re worthy, but to make you worthy. Not because you’re good, but to make you good. Not because you’re without sin, but to forgive you. For as Jesus told Nicodemus, God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that [an unworthy, not good enough] world might be saved through him.

 

And that’s what this day, the Festival of the Holy Trinity, is all about. Today we remember and celebrate not just who God is in Himself - that He is the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God in three persons and three persons in one God, and all the other stuff we will confess in the Athanasian Creed today . . . today we remember and celebrate who He is FOR US. That the Father sent His Son into the world to save the world. That the Son sent His Spirit to give us the forgiveness He won for us on the cross through the Word and Sacraments. That the Spirit leads us to see our Saviour on the cross and to believe in Him there. And that the Son - through His death and resurrection - takes us to the Father. The triune God, all three persons active, all three persons working for you and for your salvation and the salvation of the world. That’s why the Athanasian Creed says this is the catholic faith - not the Roman faith; but catholic with a little “c,” meaning universal. Because this faith is true for all people, universally. God wants to save all of us not good enoughs. 

 

So it was for not good enough Isaiah. After his “Woe is me!” God began His work, having an angel take a coal from a sacrifice and touch Isaiah’s lips. And with that, Isaiah is changed. His guilt is taken away, his sin atoned for, and he goes from a cowering pool of woe to “Here am I! Send me.”

 

So it was for the not good enough people who heard Peter’s Pentecost sermon. God went to work. After being cut to the heart and asking what shall we do? they are touched with the water of Holy Baptism. And some 3,000 folks receive the forgiveness of their sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

 

So it was for not good enough Nicodemus. Jesus went to work. We don’t hear the end of his story today, but we do hear of him again later. He is one of the two men brave enough to care for Jesus’ body after His death on the cross (John 19:38-39). Not one of the twelve do that - only a man named Joseph and Nicodemus. He seems to have been changed by his encounter with Jesus, going from a fearful, nighttime meeting with Jesus to a brave and bold daylight taking of the body of this criminal from the cross.

 

And so it is for not good enough you and me. God went to work. You have been born again, born from above, by water and the Spirit. The sacrifice from the altar of the cross now touches your lips in Holy Communion. The Word of God has not only cut you to the heart but also proclaimed to you for forgiveness of your sins. And by grace through faith, by these gifts of God, your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for. God went to work, so that your not good enough is not good enough no more.

 

For Holy Trinity Sunday is about the one - the only one - who is good. Who created this world good, and then came to restore its goodness after we, in sin, make it not good. Holy Trinity Sunday is not about our God who stands afar off, watching and judging  and demanding, but who came, personally, to be involved in your life, to change and restore you. And when the uncreated, infinite, holy, glorious, eternal, almighty, everlasting God takes your sin upon Himself, dies in your place, pays the wages of sin, rises victorious from the dead, and then touches you with that forgiveness and life, you are changed, you are restored. For touched by Him and joined to Him and His work for you, you go from not good enough to child of God!

 

And that is what you now are. You, me, Isaiah, Nicodemus, Peter and the twelve, and the 3,000 that day - not because of what you’ve done, but because of what Jesus did for you. That’s what matters. That’s what counts.

 

But from the good Jesus did for you now comes the good that you do, for the Spirit who lives in you is not idle but active, to do good not only in you but through you, in the vocations, the callings, God has given you to live in. For Isaiah, that meant being a prophet. For Peter, it meant being an apostle and preaching. For Nicodemus, it meant teaching and caring and serving. For me, it means being your pastor and all that goes with that. And for you, it means living in the vocations, the callings God has given you, and giving the goodness God has given and worked in you to those around you - in your family, at work, at school, in your neighborhood, your country. That is the good you do. Helping, serving, protecting, mercying, loving, forgiving. Not in order to be good enough for God - you will never be that; you will never not need Jesus’ forgiveness. No, you do good because that’s who you now are. A new person, a new creation, born again, born from above. A child of your heavenly Father, through your brother Jesus, and alive in the Holy Spirit. We’ll confess that in a moment, too. Not just who God is and what He has done, but also the good He now works in us and through us for others. That this, too, is an important part of the Christian life. That Christianity is not just a “get out of jail free” card! But that being a child of God means you get to live a new life. Not the same old life! A new life. A Christ life.

 

And then we’ll gather around our Lord’s Table here, we who are not good enough on our own, we’ll gather as imperfect children, to receive the good One, to receive His Body and Blood, to receive His good and perfect gifts, His forgiveness, life, and salvation. And to receive them together. To receive them as a family of faith. 

And you know who else is here with us? Lots of people, actually! Isaiah, Nicodemus, Peter, and all who have died in the faith, those who are now part of, as we hear in the liturgy, the angels, archangels, and all the company of heaven. We are one in Christ. They in the Church Triumphant and we in the Church Militant. Yet one in Christ. Until the day when this now invisible fellowship and oneness is made visible once and for all, when our Lord comes again and the new creation, the new heavens and the new earth, are complete. And all our not good enough - all of it! - goes away forever.

 

And that, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, is what our God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - has come to do for you. That’s what He’s all about. Making you new. No matter who you are, no matter where you are, no matter what you have done. Making you new to live a new life. Truly, that is what this day is all about. The life and love of the Father, the life and love of the Son, and the life and love of the Holy Spirit, for you. 

And so we sang in the Introit earlier, Blessed be the Holy Trinity and the undivided Unity. Let us give glory to Him because He has shown His mercy to us (Introit Antiphon).

In the Name of the Father and of the (+) Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Feast of Pentecost Sermon

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Jesu Juva

“Spirited Eyes, Ears, Hearts, and Lives”

Text: Ezekiel 37:1-14; Acts 2:1-21; John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15

 

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

The untrained eye misses a lot of things. I can look at a fifty dollar bill and think it perfectly fine. But someone who is trained to spot counterfeit money can see in an instant all the imperfections, omissions, and flaws my untrained eye cannot see. Law enforcement officers, too. I can look at someone and think they are acting perfectly normal; they’re just like me. But a police officer can see small things I miss that tell them that person is hiding something; that person is trouble.

This is true for ears, too. We went to my daughter’s symphony concert last weekend and I enjoyed the music. But I’m sure my untrained ear missed many of the subtleties of the music and what the composer was doing with certain notes, certain instruments, and certain movements. And so for a medical professional, too. If I listen to a heartbeat through a stethoscope, I hear a heartbeat. But their ears can hear small sounds that might mean big trouble. 

Now, look around. In the world. Even in this congregation. What do you see? What do you hear? Now think: What does God see? What does God hear? Do you think He and His all-present, all-powerful, and all-knowing eyes and ears can see and hear things we do not? Of course, right? He sees the person who looks perfectly fine to us, but who is really confused and unsure about what to do, and scared that they make the right choice. He sees the man who is a pillar of the church but who is filled with guilt because he is not the husband or father he knows he should be. He hears the pain of that young person who says everything is fine, when it’s not, because they think they can’t do anything right. 

What does God see when He looks around? A valley of dry, dead bones. People who were full of life, but who sin has dried up and robbed of life. Ironically, this is how some people see the church! The world is where life is, fun is, freedom is! The church is where you don’t have those things - going to church, Bible study, family devotions, being faithful, not going along with the latest sin du jour - is boring, lifeless, dries you up, and sucks all the life out of you! Those are pretty opposite ways of looking at things! So the question is: who is looking with untrained eyes and who is seeing what others miss? Who is hearing with untrained ears and who is hearing those small things that mean big trouble? That’s a pretty important question, don’t you think? 

On the day of Pentecost - the very first New Testament Pentecost, that we heard about today in the reading from Acts - there was confusion about this, too. The people who were in Jerusalem heard the sound of the mighty rushing wind from heaven, but they didn’t know what to make of it. They each heard the apostles speaking in their own language - the Medes in Persian, the Arabs in Arabian, those from Mesopotamia in Assyrian, and lots more. But what did it mean? How could it be? They must be drunk! Babbling. Out of their minds.

But Peter and the other eleven knew exactly what it meant. They hadn’t been drinking. It was only 9 am! They were filled not with liquid spirits but the heavenly Spirit, the Spirit of God. The Word of God spoken through the prophet Joel was being fulfilled. What the crowds could not see and hear rightly, Peter and the eleven could. Receiving the Spirit of God, the could see with God’s eyes and hear with God’s ears. 

So when Peter and the others stood there and looked out at that mass of people, you know what he saw? He did not see Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, Cretans and Arabians. That’s what untrained eyes saw. Peter and the others saw a mass of dry, dead bones. So Peter became the new Ezekiel. Peter did what Ezekiel did. He preached. He preached to the bones that they life. That they be brought to life by the Word and Spirit of God. And just as with Ezekiel, it worked. Which should not surprise us! God’s Word is living and active, filled with the Spirit of God, and does what it says. And if you read on in Acts chapter 2, beyond what we heard today, you hear the rest of Peter’s sermon, as he preaches about Jesus and His death and resurrection, and we find out that 3,000 people believed and were baptized that very day. Peter and the others got to see all those dry, dead bones rise up and come to life.

Which really is the true miracle of Pentecost. The mighty rushing wind and what looked little tongues of fire that rested on the twelve get all the press. But what happened after that - and continues to happen after that, all the way to today - is the real story. That the Word and Spirit of God continue to give life. The Word and Spirit of God continue to raise up dry, dead bones to life. The Word and Spirit of God enable us to see and hear rightly, and truly. That we not be deceived by the world and where it says life is and is to be found, and so chase after those things. But see through that, and hear those small things, those small lies that lead to big trouble.

That’s the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, also called the Helper and the Spirit of truth by Jesus. The Holy Spirit who enabled Peter and the eleven to see and hear and know exactly what was going on that first Pentecost, and who enables us to see and hear and know in the same way. Which is what Jesus was teaching the disciples in the verses we heard from John today. Jesus told the disciples they would bear witness, they would testify, because with the Holy Spirit they would be able to see and hear in truth - not only what everyone else could see and hear, but what got missed by untrained, or maybe we could say, unspirited, eyes and ears. That Jesus is not just Jesus of Nazareth, or Jesus the crucified, but Jesus the Son of the living God; Jesus the one who died but is now risen from the dead, ascended into heaven, and lives and reigns to all eternity.

So, Jesus teaches them, the Holy Spirit, whom they would receive after He ascended back to His Father, would teach them and enable them to see and hear and know rightly and truly. And specifically to see, hear, and know of three things rightly and truly: (1.) themselves, (2.) Jesus, and (3.) satan. 

First, themselves, ourselves. It is the Spirit who enables us to confess: I am a poor miserable sinner. The Spirit opens our eyes to see sin truly, and to see the sin in me. And to see the sin that is in the world and that chasing after that is not going to give me life. To the untrained, unspirited eye it looks like it; it looks fun and fulfilling and better than church and following God’s Word! But the spirited eye sees through that, and the spirited ear hears false gods that promise the world but in the end, give nothing but sadness, division, trouble, and death. Look around. The world’s a mess! Why? Maybe your life’s a mess. Why? Dry, dead bones.

And then second, the Spirit enables us to see Jesus as not just a prophet, a good man, or an example, which is what untrained, unspirited eyes can see - but as Saviour. As the one who came to get us out of this mess by taking our sin and death upon Himself and overcoming it, conquering it. Dying for us in what looked like defeat, but then rising for us in victory, to give us dry, dead bones life again. Those crowds in Jerusalem that first Pentecost knew only of the defeat; Peter preached to them of the victory. And by the Word and Spirit of God, dry, dead bones came to life. 

And third, by the work of the Spirit, we know satan rightly and truly. Which sounds odd, doesn’t it? How could we not know satan rightly and truly? But that is why so many fall for his lies today. His lies about where to find life and happiness and fulfillment, and that it’s not in Jesus and His Word and truth that you find these things, but anywhere and everywhere else - anywhere and everywhere that fulfills your heart, your desires, whatever you think is good and right and true. But all that comes of that - sooner or later - is dry, dead bones. Satan has been judged, thrown out of heaven. And those who follow him - knowingly or not - sadly, wind up the same way. But the Spirit enables us to see and hear where true life and true joys are found. Life and joys that last more that a minute or a day, but forever.

And this Spirit you have received. For while 3,000 were baptized on that first Pentecost, how many countless others have been since? As the Word and Spirit of God have gone out into all the world, and every time the Word is preached, and every time a person is baptized, and every time a person repents and is absolved, that dry valley full of dead bones becomes a little less dry, a little less dead, and a little less full. And the church becomes a little more full, with those baptized and so risen with Jesus from that dry, dead valley of sin and death and alive in Him. With eyes and ears spirited to see and hear and know Him as Lord and Saviour.

Spirited eyes and ears that will now also come to the Table today and see and hear and believe what others cannot - that here is not mere bread and wine, but the true Body and Blood of Jesus is fed to us and gives us that forgiveness, life, and salvation we need. That forgiveness, life, and salvation we need after we have once again stepped up and sat at the world’s table and partook of its sinful swill that we thought was going to be tasty and good! And while maybe it was at first, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. And it doesn’t satisfy, doesn’t fill you up, but leaves you empty. And you look around that table at those you thought were your friends, and realize they’re not - they’re only there for themselves. And even if they wanted, they can’t give you what you need. For what can dry, dead bones give you or do for you? 

But there is one who can, and at whose Table are the gifts we need and hunger for. Word and Spirit, water and word, bread and wine. An unseeing, unspirited world says: foolish, stupid, useless, dumb. But to those who have been given eyes to see and ears to hear and spirited hearts, here is life. For here is Jesus. 

So on this Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out - a pouring out that has not ceased, but continues still today. And eyes and ears and hearts were spirited and opened, as they continue to be today. And dry, dead bones were raised to life, as they continue to be today. So while the mighty rushing wind and the little tongues that appeared as fire and the speaking in tongues may not be around today, the miracles of the Spirit continue. How do I know? Because you are here. Because I am here. That is the work of the Spirit. And that you resist the temptations of the world and of satan to sin, and that you repent when you give in, that is the work of the Spirit. And the love you give and the good works you do, that is the work of the Spirit. Which is why we say and sing so much today: Come, Holy Spirit! Fill fill the hearts of the faithful, and kindle in them the fire of your love. That’s what we need. That’s what all people need. And He did, He does, and He will. So that all may see and hear rightly and truly. That all call on the name of the Lord and be saved. That all have life, now and forever. 

In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.