The Day of Pentecost, 2012
“The Giver of Life”
John 7:37-39b
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
This life is a life of death. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and “the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23) Everywhere we turn we see the result of sin in the world. If we take a look at our prayer list we see names of families that are mourning the deaths of loved ones, friends, neighbors, and loved ones that are battling cancer, sickness, suffering, depression, and loneliness. We pray for children, adults, and the elderly. Far worse we watch the news and see reports of murder, war, genocide, disasters, rape, robbery, and the like. As much as we try to hide ourselves from sin and death…it is all around us…even as we try to convince ourselves to the contrary…and lie to ourselves…just like when we call insurance for when we die… “life” insurance.
I don’t mean to get you down…but one day we will all die because of our sinfulness. There is no way around it! That realization is saddening and depressing. Where can we go for help in our time of need? “On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.” (John 7:37-39a)
We are thirsty…we are sinners thirsting for life. We have become parched by our own sinfulness…we are scared at our future…death and damnation. Where do we get life? Where do we get this living water? Our Lord tells us in our Gospel that this living water flows from within those that have faith in Him. Jesus is speaking about the Holy Spirit that lives within the Christian. This was a promise concerning Pentecost…a promise that has been fulfilled and given to the Apostles and to us.
The gift of the Holy Spirit has been given…and it has given what we desperately need and want: LIFE! This truth we have confessed by our faith in the words of the Nicene creed. “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets.” (Nicene Creed Article III) Today is Pentecost and we celebrate the gift that our Lord promised…the gift of the Holy Spirit.
But who is the Holy Spirit…how can the Holy Spirit give life? The Holy Spirit has been present and involved in the most important events of Holy Scripture. “Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness.” (Genesis 1:26) “The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35) “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him.” (Matthew 3:16) “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” (Acts 2:1-4) “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19)
The Holy Spirit is God. The Holy Spirit is the 3rd person of the Holy Trinity. The Holy Spirit was present and part of creating the world. Present and part of the Birth of Christ. Present and part of Jesus Baptism. Present and encompassing Pentecost. Present and creating faith in your Baptism. Present and sustaining your faith as He led you to your confirmation. Yes, your Baptism is one of the most important events in all of Scripture. It is the day you were given the gift of the Holy Spirit who created faith in you…the same faith that you confessed to at your Confirmation. The Holy Spirit is present in the Church and all true believers. The Holy Spirit is present in you.
This life is a life of death. But there is also life! The Holy Spirit is the Lord and giver of life! Sometimes that’s hard for us to see because we are surrounded by sin and death. Yet God promises us life through the work of the Holy Spirit. Truly there is life in Baptism. There is life in God’s Word. There is life in the body and blood of Christ.
While the world is filled with sin and death…we have been given the gift of the Church. As Noah and his family fled the Great Flood in the ark…we flee sin and death in the ark of God’s Church. It is in this place that we receive the Holy Spirit in Baptism and where the Holy Spirit sustains our life through God’s Word and Jesus’ body and blood. It is in the ark of the church that we are brought to be baptized, where we are Confirmed in our baptismal faith, where we come to be joined together by God in marriage, where we have learned the faith, where we receive our Lord’s body and blood, and where we are buried from.
Yes, even for the Christian, this life is a life of death…but for the Christian death is the doorway; the beginning of life eternal. Christians do mourn…but not the way the world does…for we have been given the Holy Spirit the Lord and giver of life…life eternal.
My brothers and sisters in Christ…don’t let this life get you down; don’t let sin and death get you down. Christ is victorious over sin and death…and He has won for us life eternal by His death on the cross… life that is given to you through the work of the Holy Spirit. While this life is filled with struggles and hardships…it is for a short while…for your Life and your home are in heaven and they are yours for all eternity. Amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. Amen.
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