John 20:19-23 (NRSVue)
Reflection
What if I told you that the most important gift that you
could possibly have is the gift of the Spirit’s fire? And I’m not talking about the ability to
stack and burn wood for smores.
It all has to do with that heavenly flame that came down on the disciples on that day of Pentecost. The Bible indicates that the flame is access to God and access to God’s gifts. Pastor Jira, what are you talking about?
In the very beginning of the Biblical story, in the very first pages of the Bible, we see the flame for the first time. It is when the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, are cast out from the garden for not trusting and obeying God. They ate the fruit of the tree from which they were not supposed to eat. Because of that, they were cast out from the beautiful Garden of Eden, cast away from eating eternally from the tree of life, and cast away from walking and talking directly with God. They were cast out of the gates of the garden and behind them was set a sword to guard the gate and with the sword was fire.
That fire that separates humans from God comes back again and again in the biblical story as God arrives on the scene and tries through various ways to connect with God’s people in a meaningful way.
The fire is there when God calls out from the burning bush to Moses and asks him to step upon some holy ground. Through the fire God connects with Moses.
The fire is there when God invites Moses up the mountain to get the Ten Commandments, the law that has the potential to bring peace to the world if only we follow it. Through the fire God is trying to connect with us.
The pillar of fire is there above the tabernacle in the Israelite encampment as they wandered through the wilderness. God dwelled with the Israelites and led them through the wilderness. Through the fire God leads the people.
The fire comes down on the Temple in Jerusalem when it is dedicated, God new home, where God will dwell with God’s people. It is the place where blessing and forgiveness will be granted by God through a sacrifice of fire. God is behind the fire, working to connect with God’s people in a meaningful way.
Do you see a pattern going on here? The Bible is telling us that it is through the fire, stepping back into the garden, that allows us to connect with God.
And that brings us up to the day of Pentecost. Previously, God’s dwelling place, beyond the fire, was in a garden, then in a bush, then on a mountain, then in a tent, and then in a temple of stone. But, on Pentecost, God chooses to dwell in Christ’s people. The fire of the Holy Spirit comes down from the heavens and lands upon the followers of Jesus Christ, making them the new temple; making them the new dwelling place of God; making us the new dwelling place of God.
The Holy Spirit, the fire of God, comes and makes Christ’s followers the gate of access to the divine.
Have you ever considered that biblical truth; that you, as a member of Christ’s body…Christ’s church…are now the gate of access to the divine?
I know, I know, I can hear the jokes already: “Well, I might be God’s gate, but I am a rusty one!” “So and so might be a gate of to God, but they seem to always be locked!”
Jesus was well aware that we might lock the gate. Jesus says in John 20:23, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” Jesus is well aware that his people might lock the gate.
That is why he tries to teach us things like: “Knock and the door will be opened to you,” and “You must forgive seventy times seven times.” Jesus wants to impress upon us that we are the only gates that he has, and if we are not willing to open up, people will suffer.
But those early Christians did not lock their gates. No, those early Christians were immediately open to using the gifts that the Spirit wanted to share with the world.
They immediately spoke in people’s own languages on that day of Pentecost so that everyone could hear the saving news of Jesus Christ. Peter did not close his gate as he stood to speak of Jesus and preached the promise that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21).
We see the apostles, Jesus closest followers, gifted with many powers that can only be described as coming straight out of God’s life-giving garden.
After the Spirit’s fire landed on the disciples, not only were they given the gift of this breath of life that can speak in other languages, but some went from Jerusalem and did many amazing things in Jesus’ name. They did things like healing the sick and preaching with power in the face of danger.
Peter was
even given the ability, by the power of the Spirit, to bring someone back to
life: Tabatha. Tabitha was beloved by her community because she clothed the
poor and assisted those in need. And when she died, Peter was given the power
through the Spirit to bring that viral woman back from death to life, back to
her people.
This all
sounds like the power of Jesus Christ, because it is! Jesus pours this power of the Spirit on “all
flesh.” Peter preaches, “In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will
pour out my Spirit upon all flesh” (Acts 2:17). That means that these gifts of the Holy
Spirit are poured out on all kinds of people, including even you and me. Imagine, even you might have the power from
Jesus Christ to raise someone from the dead, just like Peter!
I did it once! I too brought someone back to life, kind of, or so it seemed.
You see, when my granddaughter, Trinity, was very little she loved caterpillars and one time we collected one of these soft little things and put it in a jar with holes. She loved that caterpillar like a pet. She would take it out and let it walk around on her fingers, tickling her the entire time. She loved to just sit and watch it move around mesmerized by that little piece of God’s creation.
Unfortunately, even though we put leaves and water into the jar with it, apparently, we had not chosen the correct leaves for a caterpillar to eat. One morning after I came back home from driving Trinity daycare, I looked in the jar and saw that Trinity’s tiny little pet had died.
I felt so sad and so heartbroken for Trinity. So, I did what any other loving grandfather would do, I brought it back to life by going outside and finding a replacement caterpillar. Those things are everywhere. And, with that, it was back to life!
OK, I did not bring it back to life, I just replaced its life; but who cares about the details, it was alive again and Trinity would continue to live happily with her little pet.
You have no idea how happy; because when she came home and looked in the jar she screamed a scream of joy.
“What is so exciting?” I asked Trinity.
“Before I went to preschool, I looked and saw that my caterpillar was dead. So, I prayed that it would come back to life.”
“You prayed that it would come back to life?”
“It did! Look Opa, it did!” she proclaimed.
Like Peter, she prayed that her friend would come back to life, and it did.
Needless to say, it has now been revealed that she may not have that gift of the Spirit after-all.
But, luckily for her there is a whole list of other gifts from the Holy Spirit, some of which she does have, and that is why we will be celebrating her confirmation today.
The Apostle Paul give us this list: “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the benefit of everyone.” Then he lists the gifts: the utterance of wisdom, the utterance of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, the working of miracles, prophecy (or truth telling), the discernment of spirits, various kinds of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. Each one of us does not have all of these gifts, but together as a community we have them all, and through these gifts “all flesh,” all people will get to experience the power of God.
However, there is one gift that, for some unknown reason, Paul does not put on his list; but Jesus does. It is the gift that every single one of us can share with others. It is the most important gift of the Spirit of God that you could possibly have; the one that I promised to tell you about at the beginning of the sermon.
Jesus blows this gift of the Spirit onto his followers very soon after the resurrection as the disciples are locked away in a fear-filled room. John 20:21-23 reads, “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. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
The most important gift that you have been given, the gift that previously only God could provide, but now you can provide since you are the temple of God, is forgiveness. The Holy Spirit has given you the gift to forgive as if it comes right from God.
Never underestimate the power of this gift. God thinks it is the most important gift. In fact, God’s son went to die on the cross to forgive the world. Jesus thought it was so important that he staked his life on it. Forgiveness has that power to keep someone chained up when it is withheld and has the power to set someone free from a life of despair when it is granted. Never underestimate the power of the gift of forgiveness.
I know of woman who divorced her husband because he had done and said terrible things, too many times and hurt her in too many ways. She was right to get out of the relationship. But the strangest thing happened years and years later as the end of life drew near. The man became very ill, and she invited him to come and live with her. She took him to his doctor’s appointments. She fed him as he became feeble. She whispered to me before he became so feeble, “You know pastor, we even sleep together again” she said with a slight giggle. “He asked for forgiveness, and I gave it, and that was that.” He died in the arms of his wife. That is the power of forgiveness.
As a called and ordained minister of the church of Jesus Christ, I have that authority to forgive sin as if God is forgiving it. But so do you. The Spirit of God has landed on you with fire, and through the fire in you, the world can peer in and connect with God. Through you, the fiery gate to God’s holy temple, the world can experience the greatest gift ever given: forgiveness.
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