Pentecost Truth

Pentecost.  In the Gospel of John: “….‘the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you.  Peace I leave with you.’ ”  And:  “Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you.  As the Father has sent me so I send you’  When he had said this he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’ ”

In the Acts of the Apostles: “And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.  Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, …..  All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages……and in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deed’s of power.”

Two totally different perspectives of the same event, each speaking truth.

Yes, the Holy Spirit is at work in Reformation. We are becoming stronger disciples and the call to share the gifts we’ve each been given.  God continues to breathe on us in order to use us as his hands and feet in and for the world.  Yet sometimes it seems that the more attuned to the Spirit’s urgings  we become, however, the more difficult it becomes for us to respond in faith.

The writings of C.S. Lewis, particularly  The Screwtape Letters, provides a perspective.  Lewis indicates that the devil loves “good people” who go to church on Sundays and simply try to be “good.” He says these folks are unknowingly, easy pawns for Satin’s bidding.  What really upsets Satan are those folks who are focused on responding intentionally to Christ’s call to live as his disciples.  They become the focus of all the devils tricks and devious acts of subversion.  In that view, perhaps then, as disciples in Reformation, if and when struggles come, it means we have come to the attention of the devil and he attempts to turn us, and in that moment it feels as if disciples and resources are in short supply.  Then the cycle continues and we begin to wonder if what we have is enough.  Maybe some of us begin to question if we’re doing the right things.  And then comes the questions of faith. Can we go on with so little? Lewis would say those are the kinds of questions the devil would delight in.

It is a fact that our spending consistently out-paces our giving.  Which, everyone knows. cannot continue indefinitely.   At the same time, we are doing needed mission and outreach.  We are working together as disciples in new and exciting ways.  And our leadership here is excited about ways to Change Our World.  More and more of us are learning to think of all of life in terms of discipleship.  Yet what is all that, if we have no money? 

One of our leaders asked a question during the training that I have been wrestling with for a couple of months now.  I went thru a period of sleepless nights trying to think it out.  After struggling through one such night, I rose the next morning, without having rested much, thinking of the night Jacob, soon to be re-named Issac, wrestled with a strange man, or was it with God? (Gen. 32:24-32) One thing that story said to me was that even a man of unending resources and strength as Jacob then was, cannot prevail over God.  To wrestle with God is to know that God is God and we are not, even in our strength.  It occurred to me that all too often I want to engage with God in terms in my strength.  “Come on God, we have excellent people, excellent facilities, use us for your kingdom!”  Yet truth is revealed when we engage God at our time of weakness. We come to God, now knowing we can’t win any wrestling match, but come, only through the faith of Jesus the Christ, urged on by the Holy Spirit.  If God prevails when we’re at our “best”, will God not also prevail in our weakness?  Except now his power will not be used to rip our hip out of joint, (Genesis cited above) but to strengthen us that we might be his servants in the world. 

I remain convinced that the Holy Spirit is at work in us.  “I believe.  Help me in my unbelief!” (Mk. 9:24)  I believe that each of us can say “I need the support of community.”  Why? Because, we need each other to overcome doubts, by presenting Christ to one another, by recognizing Christ in our gathering, and also, united in the faith, by sharing our resources, even sacrificially, with joyous heart, as the Holy Spirit witnesses to God’s deeds of power that he is able to work through us, reminding us that God Always Provides.