to return to your place in the text.To read endnotes, click on the the note number, then click on the
If we are realistic, we know we have been living on borrowed
time. In the over 3100 years of recorded world history, the
world has only been at peace 8% of the time or a total of 286
years, and 8000 treaties have been made and broken. On any given
day, soldiers are firing in thirty to forty nations. Wars of
liberation. Territorial disputes. Religious principles. "One
man's freedom fighter is another's terrorist," the saying goes,
but the common denominator is death. Day in and day out.
The Center for Defense Information estimates the number
killed since the early 1970's at anywhere from a "conservative"
4.5 million to a more realistic 7.1 million. More than one-and-a-half billion people - about one in three of the world's
population - live in lands where there is armed conflict.(1) With
the end of the Cold War several years ago, I began to get the
feeling that perhaps we at least had dodged the nuclear bullet.
Now the news this week. How foolish of me.
On Thursday night, 76-million of us tuned in for the last
episode of "Seinfeld." Some, no doubt, were like me - because of
all the hype, we watched the last episode even though we had
never watched any of the others. Curiosity. As I prepared for
the "experience," I thought about all this attention being paid
to what has always been billed "a show about nothing." Why?
Perhaps that is precisely why - in a scary world, it is sometimes
nice to have "nothing" to think about, even for just thirty
minutes on a Thursday night.
I wonder if the Apostle Paul ever felt that way. Probably.
After all, he lived in a scary world himself - no nuclear
nightmares, but just about every other kind. Listen to what he
says:
Whew. Give that man a little Seinfeld.
No. Not necessary. You see, Paul had something that every
Christian has (if we only allow ourselves the luxury). Paul had
the sure and certain conviction that he was not alone in this
scary world, and that the Lord who loved him and gave himself on
the cross would not leave him to fend for himself. The promise
had come from Jesus' own lips:
And yes, I DID leave out one word. An important one, one
which describes the work of the Holy Spirit. Depending on your
translation, it might be "Advocate," or "Comforter," or
"Encourager," or "Consoler." The Greek verb behind it is
parakaleo which means literally "to call to one's side" - usually
asking the other for help. In a legal context, it has the flavor
of "helper at court."
WHOSE helper then? Ours? Perhaps. But it might mean
Jesus' helper as well. The Paraclete comes to speak to us FOR
Jesus. What was it Jesus said? Teach us? Remind us of all that
JESUS said to us? The Holy Spirit speaks to us ON BEHALF OF
Jesus. The Holy Spirit helps us remember the CONTINUING PRESENCE
of this Jesus who promised to be with us ALWAYS.(3) The Holy
Spirit helps us HEAR Jesus.
What is Jesus saying? It is that wonderful word of peace:
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give
to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled,
and do not let them be afraid." Peace. Just what we need in
this scary world.
But that is not all Jesus says. He may have other words as
well. Think again about this brief account we have in our lesson
of the Apostle Paul's Mission trip to Philippi. Just before we
overhear the story about Paul's vision and the call to "Come over
to Macedonia and help us," we find an intriguing few verses
describing the missionary journey. The little band is comprised
of Paul, Silas, Timothy, eventually Dr. Luke and who knows who
else. They had been traveling overland through what is now
modern Turkey. They arrive at the port city of Troas on the
Aegean Sea, but only after some detours. Listen: "They went
through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden
by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. When they had come
opposite Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the
Spirit of Jesus did not allow them; so, passing by Mysia, they
went down to Troas."(4) Did you hear that? "Forbidden by the Holy
Spirit...the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them..." Hmm. Yes,
the Spirit offers the needed word of peace, but also the Spirit
provides directions.
Has that ever happened to you? It happens all the time.
You who have been around St. Paul long enough have heard MY story
of ending up here instead of Kansas. I will not recount it here,
but if you have never heard it, ask me. The leading of the
Spirit would have been difficult to miss in that one (even
though, had it not been for Christie, I might have).
So saying, that was not the only time I found myself being
rerouted from a previously planned direction. It happened right
at the beginning of my ministry as I got an unexpected call to
"come over and help us" from a little congregation way out in the
boonies - Liberty Hill, South Carolina...about an hour north of
Columbia, and a century away from prosperity. Liberty Hill
Presbyterian had no pastor and, seemingly, no prospects. It was
an historic church, having been in existence since 1851. It had
been the spiritual home of distinguished leaders of both church
and state, but recent years had seen it fall on hard times -
families had moved away, remaining members were aging quickly,
finances were slim. About all that held the little band together
was the listing on the National Historic Register, the cemetery
next to the church, and a summertime ministry which offered a
weekly outdoor worship for vacationers to a local lake - folks
gathered at a marina and hoped for dry weather; seating was on
lawn chairs which worshipers brought either by boat or car
(almost like the scene in our lesson as Lydia and her friends
gathered).
Now summer was approaching along with those lakeside
services scheduled from the first Sunday in June through Labor
Day. Who would lead them? The call came. I was fascinated by
the possibilities, but the timing seemed all wrong. I was brand
new at this - I would BEGIN seminary in mid-summer, and the
school was clear in saying that new students should try to avoid
outside work at the beginning of studies because the burden would
be overwhelming. They were especially adamant in suggesting that
incoming students not attempt to serve a church during this
arduous period. As much as I would have enjoyed the challenge,
my inclination was, "Thanks, but no thanks."
To make a long story short, we went anyway, and we were
exceedingly glad that we did. The years that we spent there were
marvelous and God tremendously blessed:
And that is just a PARTIAL list. Several years ago, the
Liberty Hill Presbyterian Church was chosen as Small Church of
the Year for the entire Synod of South Atlantic in the
Presbyterian Church (USA). As I say, God blessed...in spite of
me. Remember, I was the one who had not wanted to go.
I wonder if Paul were ever embarrassed about the spread of
the gospel in Europe. After all, his plan had been to preach and
teach in the opposite direction. But the call came to cross over
from Turkey into Greece, and that began a missionary outreach
that changed the course of western civilization.
Do you need some direction in your life? In this scary
world, do you know anyone who DOESN'T? Yes, a Seinfeld "show
about nothing" is a nice escape for a brief moment, but we know
that reality returns with "Film at 11:00." Perhaps there is some
direction in which you ought to be aimed, some task to which you
are being called, that you need to reconsider. The good news of
these lessons this morning is that we have direction available
from the best director in the universe. All we have to do is
listen.
In the current issue of The Christian Century,(5) James
Somerville, a pastor and professor over in Wingate, offers a
wonderful and unique way of picturing the Holy Spirit. He uses
the Upper Room conversation between Jesus and the Twelve to
recall a scene that has been played out in homes since the
beginning of time. The kids are on the living room floor,
absorbed in their Legos, when suddenly one realizes that Mommy is
going out:
"Where are you going?"
"I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a
place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that
where I am there you may be also." (14:3)
"Can we go with you?"
"Where I am going you cannot come." (13:33)
"How long will you be gone?"
"A little while and you will no longer see me, and again a
little while and you will see me." (14:19)
"Who will take care of us?"
"I will ask the Father, and he will give you another
Advocate, to be with you forever." (14:16)
Somerville then takes that picture and drops it into a
contemporary scene. He writes:
This is the one who takes care of you and me, the one who
gives us our directions, the one who offers words of comfort in
this scary world. Are you listening? Are you listening?
1. Bible Illustrator for Windows, diskette, (Hiawatha, IA: Parsons Technologies, 1994) 2. II Corinthians 11:24-28 3. Matthew 28:20 4. Acts 16:6-8 5. James G. Somerville, "Who Will Take Care of Us?", The Christian Century, May 6, 1998, p. 471
Five times I have received from the Jews the forty
lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods.
Once I received a stoning. Three times I was
shipwrecked; for a night and a day I was adrift at sea;
on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger
from bandits, danger from my own people, danger from
Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness,
danger at sea, danger from false brothers and sisters;
in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night,
hungry and thirsty, often without food, cold and naked.
And, besides other things, I am under daily pressure
because of my anxiety for all the churches.(2)
I have said these things to you while I am still with
you. But 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; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as
the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled,
and do not let them be afraid.
When my wife puts her hand on the doorknob, her coat
over her arm, my children look up from what they are
doing to ask: "Who will take care of us?" and she gives
them the name of one of their regular babysitters. All
of them are capable, and my children enjoy the
attention, but if my wife gives them one name -
"Brittain" - my children leap up from what they are
doing and rejoice. Brittain reads to them, romps with
them, acts out plays and makes chocolate chip cookies;
she nurtures their young lives like a loving parent,
and as long as she is with them they are not afraid.
I don't know that the Holy Spirit has ever been
compared to a babysitter. But if you can imagine Jesus
as a mother, then it may not be so hard to imagine the
Spirit in this other role, as one who cares for the
church in the interim between Jesus' departure and
return, as one who comforts, teaches, reminds and, yes,
sometimes even romps with the sons and daughters of
God.
Amen!
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