Text: John 14:8-17 (RSV)
8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me; or else believe me for the sake of the works themselves.
12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I go to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son; 14 if you ask[a] anything in my name, I will do it.
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you for ever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him; you know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you.
In the Name of God, the Holy and Undivided Trinity. Amen.
“[H]e who believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do…”
“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (RSV)
“For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.” (RSV)
Today is a great day! It’s Confirmation Sunday! In just a few minutes, Bailey and Mason will deliver their statements of faith and take their places as full members of St. John’s. I am very proud of these two young adults, as I know all the rest of you are – especially their parents, grandparents, and other relatives and friends. Their statements of faith are very good and really give me renewed hope for the future of the church – not just for the future of this church, but for the future of the Church Universal.
That’s not an exaggeration. I’ve quoted the line many times that tells us “the church is always one generation away from extinction.” It’s not just a line – it is a fundamental fact of our lives as Christians and as members of the Church. So a day like today is truly a reason to celebrate – not just the end of two years of instruction, but more so to celebrate that today we have hopefully pushed the extinction of the church back another generation.
And when I say “we,” I really mean “you.” Clergy types like me sometimes think that they are the lynchpins of the church. I profoundly disagree. Yes, we clergy are important, but we are not all-important. If I were not the one standing here this morning, someone else would be. And, someday, someone else will be. Pastors are interchangeable, like doorknobs, or hubcaps for your car. Some fit better than others, some are prettier than others, but by and large, they all do pretty much the same thing. Not one of them is irreplaceable. This is not false modesty on my part, but a statement of just another fact of life in the church.
But the people who are irreplaceable, the people who are the lynchpins of the church, are people like you, Jayne, and you, Bradi, and you, Linda, and you, Jeff, and you, Sheri, and you, Jeff, and you, Cheryl, and you, Carmen, and Sally, and Roger….and most of all, you, Angela and Josh, and you, Laurie and Bob. Without your desire to raise your children as Christians, and your commitment to bring them here, week after week, through rain and snow and ice, no matter how hectic your schedule was, this day would not have happened. And without the dedication and love of Jayne, and Linda, and Bradi, and Cheryl and Carmen, Jeff and Sheri, and Jeff, and Roger and Sally, and all the people who have given their time and their hearts to these young folks, and so many others through the years, we would not today be celebrating anything. In fact, we might not be here at all. That’s how important all of you are to this day. You are living proof of the words of Jesus: “He (or she) who believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will she (or he) do…”
And it’s no accident that today is Confirmation Sunday, because today is also Pentecost Sunday, the day which we have come to call the “birthday of the Christian Church.” I chose this day for Confirmation, because there is no better or more fitting day in the church year for this rite to be observed. We are doing our part to insure that the church will have another birthday or two!
But why is Pentecost called the “Church’s birthday”? Pentecost – from the Greek πεντηκοστή (“pentecosté”) means “fiftieth day” and marks the number of days since the start of Passover. In Jewish tradition, Pentecost commemorates God’s giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai.
For us, though, it’s important because that’s when the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples and filled them with the power that enabled them to go forth into the world and truly fulfill the mission Jesus had given them.
The Holy Spirit resides just as much in us, too!
Now, that’s something all of us know, and have known all of our lives – but how often do we really let that sink in? How often do we realize that this gift truly does equip us and empower us?
We need to remember, again, that this passage records events from the last night Jesus spent on earth. He wants his friends, his confused, frightened friends, to know that they will not be left alone: “And I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you forever.” The passage from Acts tells us that that is exactly what happened. The Holy Spirit descended on those men, and they were frightened no more. They were transformed from disciples into Apostles, and spent their lives transforming the lives of others.
God never leaves us. God fulfills his promises. God does that through the Holy Spirit, given to us; and through us, to the world.
Today is a reminder of what can and does happen when good and faithful people allow the Holy Spirit to work in and through them.
In the movie “Dances with Wolves,” the medicine man, Kicking Bird, played by Graham Greene, says to Dances with Wolves, the character played by Kevin Costner: “I was just thinking that of all the trails in this life… there is one that matters most. It is the trail of a true human being. I think you are on this trail, and it is good to see.”
I believe that you, Bailey and Mason, are also on that trail – and it is exceedingly good to see! Congratulations! God bless you both!
In the Name of God, the Holy and Undivided Trinity. Amen.