Easter 6C
May 1, 2016
John 14:23-29
As anyone who has dealt with cancer
or a similarly serious disease knows, even after you finish treatments you have
to go back for check-ins. I had such an appointment this week with my surgeon
who operated on me several times for breast cancer. At this point, now three
years out, these appointments are more joyful than stressful or fearful,
because I’m doing so well. I am the sort of patient they love to see, who went
on to have the life she dreamed of, started a family, and is living a healthy
life. More than anything, these appointments are a chance for me simply to
hear, “Everything looks great! See you in 6 months,” and to say hello and
thanks again to the people who saved my life.
But these appointments aren’t all
roses and sunshine, because they also, without fail, remind me of a time of
life that wasn’t rosy and bright, a time that was indeed very fearful and
stressful,
when my dreams were threatened, when my doubts clouded my joy. As I walk
in that office, it is hard not to travel back to that place, to remember the
restlessness I felt in my heart.
 |
| Introducing Grace to my surgeon at my last 6 month appt. in Oct |
I remember talking to my spiritual
director during that time, and telling her that what I was seeking more than
anything else was not just health, but peace. Peace, I knew, would not come
from cancer simply being gone, or from wishing my situation away. Peace would
come from acceptance of my reality, and the knowledge that God was with me in
it. My goal, to find peace, came out of something my surgeon said to me when I
was trying to decide my treatment plan. “You have to be at peace with your
decision,” she said. “You won’t be equipped to heal and recover unless you are
able to find peace.” How right she was! Without peace, our hearts our restless
and tumultuous, like the chaotic sea – unpredictable, threatening, dangerous. That’s
no way to find healing! When peace like a river attendeth our way, as the old
hymn says, and it is well with our souls, our focus can turn away from our many
troubles, and toward the awareness of Christ in our midst, guiding and comforting
us.
Jesus seems to know just how
important, how longed for, peace is for us – apparently as much so in the first
century as it is now – because several times both before and after his death
and resurrection Jesus promises this gift to his disciples. Today we hear one
of those times, from the night before his death. “Peace I leave with you. My
peace I give to you.” They are words spoken to his best friends as they sit,
confused and fearful of the fate of their beloved teacher, about to march off willingly
to his death.
But of course they are words spoken
also to us, in whatever confused and fearful state we may find ourselves at
this particular moment in time. They are words of promise, promise that is
deeper and more trustworthy than any promise the world might give us for peace.
“Buy this product and you will be happy!” the world tells us. “Make lots of
money and all your problems will go away!” These worldly promises are empty.
Christ’s promise to us, though, is trustworthy and true, and we know this because
along with these words, he gives us also another gift: the gift of the Holy
Spirit.
You know when you’re really stressed
– what do you do physically to calm down? You take a deep breath. Do it with me
right now… Feels good, right? I think this physiological set-up in our bodies,
that a breath would bring us peace and calm, is God’s way of reminding us of
that promise of
the Holy Spirit to be our Comforter, our Advocate, our bringer
of peace. We breathe in that Holy Breath, and feel our bodies calm down and
come closer to that peace Jesus promises. Our Bishop, John Macholz, has said
that his favorite prayer is to breathe like this, and on the in-breath he
prays, “Spirit of God,” and on the out breath, “Breathe in me.” Our very way of
finding life and calm is tied up in this Holy Breath, the gift of the Holy
Spirit.
 |
| Deep breath... |
The disciples were told of this gift
on that night of Jesus’ betrayal. According to John’s Gospel, they received it
when Jesus appeared to them after his resurrection, a story we heard last month.
According to Luke, the Holy Spirit came in dramatic fashion on Pentecost, which
we will celebrate two weeks from today. On this day, the Holy Spirit comes sweeping
over the crowd like a rushing wind and tongues of fire, and the Church is born
and empowered by this spiritual presence of God. However it happened, we
continue to celebrate the coming of the Spirit especially in two ways, both of
which we will celebrate today. The first way is in baptism. Before water is poured
over Harleigh’s head today, we will pray over the water, asking the Holy Spirit
to come into it. After we pour the Spirit-infused water on Harleigh’s head, we will
declare that she has been sealed with the Holy Spirit. It is a promise we all
receive in our baptism, a promise that wherever we go and whatever we do, that
gift of the Holy Spirit goes with us.
The other way is in Holy Communion.
Today we have the joy of celebrating with five young people as they receive
this sacrament for the first time. Whenever we celebrate communion, the pastor
stands up there and says a long prayer, right? Part of that prayer is asking
the Holy Spirit to be present in this meal, and is generally accompanied by
holding two hands over the elements – the liturgical gesture used when
summoning the Holy Spirit. So here again, we receive the Holy Spirit, now in
the form of bread and wine, and have the opportunity to physically take it into
ourselves, and receive all the peace and comfort that Jesus promises. Receiving
Holy Communion is like taking that
deep, holy breath, and trusting that when
the Spirit is taken into our physical bodies, it is also taken into our hearts
and souls and minds.
 |
| Supper at Emmaus, He Qi |
Sisters and brothers in Christ, today
is a day for celebration. It is a day for celebrating this peace-bringing gift
of the Holy Spirit, given to us in the form of Word, water, bread and wine,
indeed given to us in our very breath. It is a day also for prayer – prayer for
those receiving this gift today for the first time, that this would be only the
first step in a long journey that is guided by that Spirit. It is also a day
for prayer for those who do not know the peace that Christ gives, and prayer
for all those who struggle with restlessness in their family, work, life, or
faith. But most of all, dear friends, it is a day for thanksgiving, that Christ
gives us peace like the world cannot give, and that in all things and in every
step, the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, is with us.
Let us pray… God of peace, we give you thanks for all the gifts you have given us.
Today we thank you especially for the gift of your sacraments – Baptism and
Holy Communion – and the ways they reveal to us your grace, your peace, and
your companionship. Send us with your Holy Spirit, that we would always know
your promises are true. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy
Spirit. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment