Readings
for Pentecost A: Acts 2:1-22, Jn. 20:19-23; 1 Cor.
12:4-13
May 19, 2002
The Rev. Karen Siegfriedt
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino,
CA
This next generation continued to visit that spot in the forest, but not quite as often. They didn't know how to light that special bonfire and they had forgotten most of the songs. But, they continued to re-tell the story of their earlier ancestors and the impact that their ancestors had on the village people. As time went on, this generation of families also died out. Their great-great grandchildren remembered that special spot in the forest. Once per year, they would make a pilgrimage to that special spot. They didn't remember the fire, they didn't remember the songs. They actually didn't feel anything special once they arrived. Come to think of it, they didn't really know why they were there. It had simply become a tradition. As time went on, that generation of families died out. When their great-great grandchildren decided to make the journey to that special spot in the forest, they just couldn't pull it together. The trouble was, they had forgotten the path.
Today we are celebrating the feast of Pentecost. Pentecost comes from the word meaning "fifty". It is 50 days after our celebration of Easter. Each year on this day, we remember that incredible time in history, when the early disciples were filled with a transforming experience of the Holy Spirit. On that day, the Spirit of God filled their hearts with love; a love that enabled them to understand each other, in spite of their different languages. This power of the Spirit propelled them to look beyond themselves by sharing the Good News in Christ though words and acts of compassion. It has now been many, many centuries since that initial life-transforming experience occurred. So we gather together today to re-tell the story so that we will never forget the path that leads to abundant life. But more importantly, we gather together today to pray for the grace and the opportunity to experience the Holy Spirit- that power of love and truth that can transform us and the world in which we live!
The Holy Spirit is the subject of the celebration of Pentecost. What exactly is the Holy Spirit? The Nicene Creed gives us some clues. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is "the Lord, and giver of life." If you want life and want it abundantly, it is the Holy Spirit that makes it possible. For it is the Holy Spirit who leads us into all truths and enables us to grow into the likeness of Christ. It is this process of sanctification that produces greater social unity, a clearer understanding of the cosmos, and thus the creation of a new humanity. It is something to pray for.
The Age of Enlightenment put forth the theory that knowledge would save the world. This theory claimed that if we just knew enough, then we could save humanity through the practice of science, medicine, and engineering. Many believed this theory for hundreds of years. Then World War I happened and then World War II happened. Today, there are several wars going on in many parts of the world where human beings are painfully existing. While knowledge is very helpful in moving us forward, knowledge alone will not save us. We already know what we need to do in order to make our lives and this world a better place. But we don't seem to do the good that we want to do and we end up doing the very things we hate. Why is that? Well, we are a fearful people. We are fearful of death, fearful of pain, fearful of scarcity, and fearful of being hurt and alone.
We need a power greater than our own fearful ego that can move us from a place of fear and ignorance to a place of love and wisdom. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. Let me give you an example. In the Mercury News on Friday, there was an editorial on the global AIDS crisis: "A plague of biblical proportions." There are now 22 million people in third world countries that are infected with the AIDS virus. In eight years, there will be 40 million orphans in Africa alone because of parents who have died from the virus. Not only is this statistic a reflection of human tragedy and suffering, it is also one of the greatest threats to our national security. Countries wracked by AIDS are most likely to be politically unstable, which in turn, breeds terrorism. What happened in Somalia a decade ago (when young Somalians attacked US peacekeeping troops) is an example of what is to come. Terrorist networks offered uneducated, orphaned Somalians a home, where hatred and violence were taught. We ended up paying the price.
It is into this historical background of AIDS, orphans, and terrorism that the Holy Spirit has finally penetrated into the hardest of hearts. No, it is not the President of Somalia, nor that of the terrorist networks. The Holy Spirit has finally penetrated into the heart of Jesse Helms, enlightening the conscience of one of the most conservative senators in the United States. Jesse Helms has long blamed the entire AIDS epidemic on the homosexual lifestyle. He once believed that if we got rid of the homosexuals, then we would get rid of AIDS. Unfortunately, his ignorance of epidemiology, his unfamiliarity with the sexual practices of married people in Africa, and his inability to integrate the teachings of Jesus with acts of compassion, caused him to reject requests for funding that could have helped the AIDS crises both at home and abroad. In my opinion, he was a man who claimed to be religious while being unable to integrate God's word with acts of compassion. He has now come around to see the grave implications of ignoring the virus that is transmitted through the blood or other bodily fluids. What caused this sudden enlightenment in Helms? I believe it was the work of the Holy Spirit who promotes right thinking and right action. How did the Spirit finally soften his heart?
While the Holy Spirit is "God working within us," we can resist this "Giver of Life." We can say "NO" to the workings of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes it takes the example and prodding of spiritual people to break down this resistance. For Helms, this prodding was the work of Samaritan's Purse, a Christian group in his home state of North Carolina that helps AIDS victims throughout the world. They convinced him that more should be done. It was also the persistence of rock star Bono who convinced Helms that debt relief for poor countries, combined with increased foreign aid, can help reverse the AIDS scourge.
The Holy Spirit enables the human spirit to be a receptacle of the knowledge of the word of God and also enables us to become a channel of love. The Holy Spirit fills us with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. If we long for abundant life, then perhaps the single most important thing we can do as a community of faith, is to pray for and be open to the power of the Holy Spirit. For if we allow this "Giver of Life" to transform our hearts, then abundant life is possible. It is this vision of abundant life that offers hope to a broken world.
| Updated 2/19/02 |
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