"The Pentecost We Need"

Chances are, if you and I live long enough, we may end up having a mystical experience - a Holy Spirit encounter - that we can't explain. It might come in the form of a vision or dream. It might come as a voice that seems to speak from somewhere deep within us...or from somewhere far beyond us. Over the years, I've heard a number of people tell of such experiences, and some have even said that their experience included an acute sense of smell or a profound sensation of touch. Often there are multiple sensations entwined in such experiences. For example, a woman from a congregation where I served many years ago told me about a dream in which her grandson, who had died of a drug overdose, came to give her a message. In the dream, she asked him, "Can you see everything?" He said, "Yes." She then asked, "Can you see your brother?" He replied, "Yes, and he's not doing well...." Then she told me something that blew me away. She said, "In the dream, I hugged my grandson, and I could feel the scratchy texture of his sweater, I could feel the warmth of his body, and I could smell his cologne.... In fact, I can still feel those things, and I can still smell that scent!..." I was blown away, and I believed her!... Here's another example from my own experience: Many years ago, during a time of great transition and personal pain, I went for a walk in a remote place and sat by myself to ponder and pray a while. As I tried to search the innermost depths of my being, I suddenly felt like I was being plunged into a formless void - an empty place of sheer, raw, terror.... For a moment that seemed like an eternity, I thought all was lost. But then, in that very same moment, I perceived a voice speaking to me from out of the depths, saying, "I will not abandon you...." Friends, I immediately knew it was the Holy Spirit, and to this day I know it's true: Our God will never abandon us, and God will never give up on any of us! The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness will never overcome it!...

Many of you know that I've had a few other mystical encounters during my lifetime, and so, I'd like to share with you some things I've learned over the years. One thing I've learned is that while such experiences are rare and defy all our human attempts to explain them, these fleeting encounters are also quite real and often call on us to spend the rest of our lives reflecting on their message.... When

you and I begin to unpack such gifts of the Spirit, we must do so carefully, heeding the Bible's advice to "discern the spirits, whether or not they be of God:'¹ Remember: If it's not loving, liberating, and life-giving for ALL, it's NOT of God!...

Another thing I've learned is that one must handle this type of gift carefully and prayerfully. On the one hand, it's NOT something for us to brag about and lord over others, as if being the recipient of such a gift somehow makes us superior. It most certainly doesn't!... On the other hand, this type of gift is also not something to be hoarded and hidden under a bushel simply because we're worried that others might think we've lost our marbles.... Friends, in finding the courage to risk sharing my own experiences, I've learned that my witness can empower other members of the Body of Christ - including many of you - to share your stories. After all, God's activity isn't confined to the pages of Scripture! God is still at work in this world and in our lives, but how we will know, if we don't tell each other our God stories?!... I have to say it's an incredible privilege and blessing to hear your stories and to reflect and discern together within this sacred community that has been called and gathered together by the Holy Spirit!...

I also want to share with you two more things I've observed about these rare and mystical encounters with the Spirit, and I 'm curious whether you've noticed these things, as well. I wonder: Have you ever noticed that each experience of this kind seems tailor-made for the one who receives it? [Show of hands, if you've noticed that!...] Yeah, I mean, it only makes sense that the very same Spirit who was present when we were knit together in our mother's womb comes to meet individuals where we are and as we are!... I also wonder: How many of you have ever noticed that powerful encounters with the Spirit often come in the midst of deep fear and/or deep grief? [Show of hands...] So, last Sunday morning during our study of the book of Revelation, we talked about how that book was written for early Christians who were experiencing overwhelming grief and fear, as they lived in the shadow of the brutal Roman empire. I asked our 18 class participants whether any of them had ever had an experience of feeling themselves held closely in God's love during a time of deep grief or fear. As I looked around the room, I saw several heads nodding, and two people shared that they'd had an experience like that after the death of their spouses. Then another person in the group shared that they'd had a profound sense of God's peace during a medical crisis. And later that same day, yet another person messaged me to say that they, too, have felt God's boundless love and the peace that passes all understanding sustaining them in the midst of poor health....

My friends, in recent months I've become increasingly aware that many of us here at Zoar and many in our wider community are in a place of deep grief and fear. So, I want to invite you to dare to let down your guard and roll the stone away from the entrance to your hearts, as we turn our attention to today's reading from John 20. I hope you'll find, as I do, that even though this story doesn't take place on the actual day of Pentecost, it IS the Pentecost story you and I need to hear on this day! It's the story we need to hear because it breathes new life into weary and worried disciples like you and me, while inviting each of us into an intimate relationship with the loving God Jesus comes to reveal.

As John tells the story, the Risen Jesus appears to his grief-stricken, terrified disciples on the evening of the very same day of his Resurrection. The disciples are hunkered down behind locked doors because they don't yet know that Jesus has been raised from the dead.... As they sit there in the very same house where they'd

shared the Last Supper with Jesus before he was put to death on the cross, the only thing they know for certain is that their future is uncertain.... But suddenly Jesus shows up in their midst, saying gently, "Peace be with you."² Then, as if to reassure them that he's for real, he shows them the wounds in his hands and his side. And as the disciples are rejoicing, Jesus repeats the message "peace be with you" because he knows that fearful and grieving disciples need a lot of reassurance! Then he commissions them, saying "As the Father has sent me, so I send you."³ And finally, he equips them to continue God's mission of bringing healing and hope to the world by breathing into them the Holy Spirit.⁴

To sum up, in contrast to the whooshing wind and flickering flames of Acts 2, in John 20 the Spirit is imparted gently by Jesus, as he breathes new life into his fearful, grieving disciples   Friends, do you notice how intimate and enfleshed this scene is? I mean, Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, gets up close and personal with his friends - close enough for them to feel the warmth of his breath on their skin. THAT'S how deeply and intimately God loves us! Wow!... I also wonder: How many of you noticed that when Jesus breathes the Spirit into his disciples there's an obvious connection with God's creation of the very first human being in Genesis? [show of hands...] Recall that after Adam has been created from the clay soil, God breathes life into him!._..⁵ In a very real sense, the same is true for you and me, friends. From the very moment we're formed in our mother's womb, God breathes life into us, too! In fact, at this very moment, God, who deeply loves us, continues to breathe new life into us.... Christian spiritual director and therapist Dr. James Finley teaches that with each breath we take God is loving us into being. Furthermore, Finley says that if God ever stopped breathing into us, we'd cease to exist because you and I cannot exist apart from God's love  Now, obviously, I can't speak for you, but I find it immensely comforting to imagine that the Holy Spirit is continuously loving us and breathing new life into us every single moment of every day....

So, now you get to help finish the sermon! Bearing in mind that each of us is different and that the Spirit shows up for us in the way we need her to show up, I want to ask you: When, where, and how have you experienced the Holy Spirit's presence in your life?

[pass mic around, share...]

Let's close with a prayer adapted from the Iona Community in Scotland: Great and gracious God,

Pour your Holy Spirit upon us, giving us a new identity

that extends beyond the smallness of our world

to the fullness of the family of God, and, being forgiven,

let us hear, once again, stories of your love

in our own language.

Repeat your resurrection in our hearts,

and descend once again into the depths of our soul

that we may look into the eyes of

the Other and see the people of God;

we pray in the Pentecostal power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.⁶

1 1 John 4:1.

² John 20:19.

3 John 20:21.

4 John 20:22-23.

⁵ Cf. Genesis 2:4b-7.

6 Rodney Aist, "I and the Other are One," Wild Goose Publications, www.iona.org.uk.

The Pentecost We Need