Sunday's Message: Because of Pentecost

On Sunday, May 28, we celebrated Pentecost. We used 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 to discuss the coming of the Holy Spirit. Below is a copy and a recording of the sermon. You can stream our services every Sunday morning by going to the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel at 10:00 a.m.

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Of course, today is Pentecost, the one Sunday a year set aside to celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit. And for the last thirty-five years, for the most part, I’ve used the passage from Acts, you know, the one about the Spirit coming like tongues of fire on the disciples gathered in Jerusalem. And even though that’s worked out pretty well about thirty times, this morning we’re going to use another passage, this one from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, to guide us as we talk about why the Holy Spirit should be important to us right here and now and in particular, how it has equipped us to deal with a world that, over the last six weeks, we’ve called challenging.

And I’ll tell you, I think that’s really appropriate, because when we look at what was happening in Corinth when Paul wrote his letter, man, it was a mess, and frankly, Paul’s church wasn’t really dealing with the situation very well. Let’s just say, the Corinthian church, a congregation that Paul himself started, well, it had all kinds of issues, including the fact that they couldn’t seem to get along with one another, and they were dividing up for all kinds of reasons. For example, right at the beginning of the letter, Paul kind of summed up their problem, when he wrote this: 

My dear friends, as a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ, I beg you to get along with each other. Don't take sides. Always try to agree in what you think. Several people from Chloe's family have already reported to me that you keep arguing with each other. They have said that some of you claim to follow me, while others claim to follow Apollos or Peter or Christ.

Has Christ been divided up? Was I nailed to a cross for you? Were you baptized in my name? [1 Corinthians 1:10-13, CEV]

Now that was the kind of thing happening within the Corinthian congregation. You see, as they struggled to share and live the good news in a world that I think could be described as immoral and callous and totally unconcerned about what Christians thought or felt, this church decided to face its world by dividing into a whole bunch of little groups, with each one assuming that it was O.K. to spend most of its time and energy attacking the other groups rather than working together in order to make a difference in the surrounding world. Now that’s what was happening in Corinth. 

And I swear, if the Apostle Paul were with us today, I think he’d probably say, using the words of that great philosopher, Yogi Berra, that he was experiencing deja vu all over again. In other words, even though he wrote this letter almost two thousand years ago, I’ll tell you, I think we often get messed up with this same sort of stuff ourselves. I mean, like we’ve been talking about over the last six weeks, I think we’d all agree that we face a challenging world, right? Well, can anyone say, with a straight face, that Christians are facing it as one, united body? Personally, I don’t think so, not unless you believe that to be a Christian, I mean, a real Christian, you need to accept a very narrow and selective application of the Bible and a very specific and exclusive political agenda. But if we believe that Paul knew what he was talking about when he wrote, “Now I want you to know that if you are led by God's Spirit, you will say that Jesus is Lord, and you will never curse Jesus,” [1 Corinthians 12:3, CEV], in other words, if you confess “Jesus is Lord, you’re a Christian, case closed,  then I think we’ve got to accept the reality that the Body of Christ has become divided, and that ain’t good. 

But I’ll tell you, I think there’s something else going on that makes these divisions even worse; I believe this attitude and the general direction our society has moved recently, all that has actually allowed and encouraged Christians to fight with one another. I mean, that’s what we do in the world; why not in the Body of Christ? For example, it’s led believers to be downright nasty to folks who are supposed to be their brothers and sisters. In fact, for some, labeling and judging and condemning other believers has almost become part of their faith. And when I say labeling and judging and condemning, I’m talking about using anything at their disposal to win, even if that means calling fellow Christians juvenile names or making broad accusations or passing along vulgar little innuendoes that may or may not be true. But who cares, not if your side, your team, your tribe wins. My gosh, it’s not a lie if you don’t get caught; the ends justify the means; you’ve got to break a few eggs to make an omelet and let’s get real, good guys finish last, right? Well, that sure seems to be what a lot of folks both within our society and inside the American church seem to believe, isn’t it; which may show that, when push comes to shove, our culture has had more influence over Christians than vice versa. I mean, whether we like it or not, ours has become a nasty and an arrogant world, and some of that nastiness and arrogance has kind of made its way into a divided Body of Christ. In fact, I think it’s the same kind of thing Paul saw happening in that congregation he planted in Greece. In other words, when you get right down to it, whether we want to admit it or not, I think the Body of Christ in the United States has a whole lot in common with the Body of Christ in Corinth.

And I’ll tell you, for that reason, I believe what Paul wrote almost two thousand years ago should be as important to us as it was for them. In other words, in the face of the divisions, in the face of the labeling and the judging and the condemning, for Paul, it was and it is all about the Holy Spirit, and I’m talking about the Holy Spirit that came down on those disciples on Pentecost with tongues of fire, it was that same Holy Spirit which can knock down the divisions and bring believers together as the church of Jesus Christ. You see, according to what he wrote, it all came down to the Spirit doing three things for those whom God had called to do his work. And trust me, what the Spirit did then, the Spirit is still doing right now.

I mean, based on what he wrote in the twelfth chapter of his first letter to the Corinthians, for the Apostle Paul, first, the Holy Spirit enlightens. You see, in his opinion, it had enlightened those divided Christians in Corinth. And you know, if he were here today, I think he’d say the Spirit enlightens us too. I mean, just listen to what he wrote:

My friends, you asked me about spiritual gifts. I want you to remember that before you became followers of the Lord, you were led in all the wrong ways by idols that cannot even talk. Now I want you to know that if you are led by God's Spirit, you will say that Jesus is Lord, and you will never curse Jesus. [1 Corinthians 12:1-3, CEV]

You see, Paul wanted them to know that, through the Spirit, God had opened their eyes and their minds and their hearts, and as a result, they could see and understand and feel the truth. Now, that’s what God had already done. And because of that, they’d been changed forever. In other words, on one hand, God had set them free: free from their past, free from those idols they used to worship and free from those empty beliefs they once followed. They were now free from the stuff that prevented them from being what they were created to be. And on the other hand, he’d enabled them to know who Jesus really was and is, you know, that he’s not some kind of petty deity interested only in himself and those who follow his rules. No sir, instead he was truly Lord, Lord in every sense of the word. Lord of those who follow and those who don’t. Lord of those who’ve made him Lord and those who haven’t. Man, he’s Lord whether we like it or not. You see, for Paul, their Christian faith is grounded in that confession, in that recognition and not on the amount of water used in baptism or whether Jesus would endorse or oppose a certain candidate or political issue. When you get right down to it, it’s the ability to stand up and say, “Jesus is Lord;” that’s the sign of the Holy Spirit. And this is something we can see and understand and feel. You see, in that way, the Spirit enlightens. And that’s the first thing I think Paul wants us to remember. But of course, that’s not all. 

Because second, according to Paul, the Holy Spirit also inspires. You see, for him, it was the Holy Spirit that inspired those Corinthians to come together in spite of their differences, and that’s why he wrote this:

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but they all come from the same Spirit. There are different ways to serve the same Lord, and we can each do different things. Yet the same God works in all of us and helps us in everything we do. [1 Corinthians 12:4-6, CEV]

You see, after talking about how the Spirit had enlightened the Corinthians so that they could see beyond what they’d believed in the past, I think Paul made sure they knew that the same Spirit was also shaping their lives in the present. And even though those lives might look different, it was the exact same Spirit that was inspiring them all. Now I think that was his point. And I’ll tell you, for me, that’s really exciting, because it means it’s OK to be different; in fact, it’s what God wants us to be. In other words, different people may have different skills and talents, but they all come from the same Spirit. And there are different ways to serve, but they’re all directed to and motivated by the same Lord. And there are different ways God might be working within us, but it’s the same God who’s doing the work. And so, should I assume that my talent is more important and that the way I serve others is more righteous and that my experiences are more spiritual than yours? Absolutely not. Why; because they were and are all inspired by the same Spirit and Lord and God. You see, the Spirit inspires, and that’s the second thing I think Paul wants us to remember.  But again, that’s not all. 

Because third, according to Paul, the Holy Spirit also empowers, empowers individuals to do what they were called and created to do and empowers communities to move away from the pews and go out in order to make a difference in their world. And I’ll tell you, I think that’s exactly what he was getting at when continued his passage by writing this:

The Spirit has given each of us a special way of serving others. Some of us can speak with wisdom, while others can speak with knowledge, but these gifts come from the same Spirit. To others the Spirit has given great faith or the power to heal the sick or the power to work mighty miracles. Some of us are prophets, and some of us recognize when God's Spirit is present. Others can speak different kinds of languages, and still others can tell what these languages mean. But it is the Spirit who does all this and decides which gifts to give to each of us. [1 Corinthians 12:7-11, CEV]

Now that’s what he wrote. And frankly, I don’t think the specific gifts Paul listed are all that significant. I mean, he offered a different list when he wrote just about the same thing to the Romans. In other words, I don’t think we should get hung up with the details. Instead, we need to focus on how these gifts are intended to be used. Again, using the words of Paul, “the Spirit has given each of us a special way of serving others.” [1 Corinthians 12:7, CEV] Put another way, thanks to the Holy Spirit, we have all the gifts we need to do our job as the Body of Christ. We have all the gifts we need to make a difference in the lives of our neighbors, particularly those who are carrying around burdens that prevent them from being everything they were created to be. And we have all the gifts we need to make a real difference in our community and country, even when we’re faced with rising immorality and declining compassion and stagnating indifference. We have all we need to get the job done. And because of that, I’m about to make a radical statement, but one with which I think Paul would agree. I don’t think we need anymore blessings to do what we’ve been called to do. Instead, we need the insight and the strength to take what we’ve already been given and to develop it and then to use it. And why is this possible? That’s really simple, because the Holy Spirit empowers, that’s the third thing I think Paul wants us to remember. 

And I’ll tell you, I think that’s something really important for us to claim, especially today, when we’re celebrating Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit. I mean, let’s get real, for a variety of reasons, the church has become every bit as divided as our world and our society. But before we just sort of shrug our shoulders and start with the labels and the judgements and the condemnations right along with so many within our society now-a-days, in other words, before we buy into culture, let’s remember that the same Holy Spirit that rested on those disciples in Jerusalem also rests on us. And then let’s remember that, according to Paul, that Spirit still enlightens and that Spirit still inspires and that Spirit still empowers so that we can become everything we were called and created to be. I mean, as we move past this special day, let’s remember what the Spirit did and continues to do, because of Pentecost.