Thoughts going in, Sunday May 19th

John 14:8 Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." 9 Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? 10 Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, all who have faith in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. 15 "If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever-- 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 25 "All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

            This week we celebrate the festival of Pentecost. It's an 'inherited' festival--meaning that it began as something on the Jewish liturgical calendar, but was brought into the Church via the experience of the first disciples as detailed in Acts 2. The experience in Acts 2 is the fulfillment of Jesus' promise in the above Gospel reading 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever--the Spirit of truth. 26 [the] Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

            Anyone who has ever found themselves in need of a job and has landed an interview has perhaps felt the pang of fear go through them when the prospective employer asks a technical question that is beyond the applicant's expertise. It can happen. The fear is multi-layered. An interview is like an oral examination, so of course every question 'must' be answered. But the fear goes even deeper when one takes into account the enormity of the situation. This is a job interview; if I do well here they may ask me to come to work for them; no more worries, no more unemployment. But now a horrific barrier has been erected; a technical question beyond my expertise has been asked. What do I do? Do I fake it? Do I feign a level of expertise that I really don't possess in the hopes that I can buffalo the interviewer? Do I talk in vague generalities for a few minutes like a politician, deftly attempting to guide the conversation back onto familiar turf? Do I come clean and admit that the question is beyond my level of expertise and risk being perceived as under-qualified?

            As I say, this is probably a scenario that a lot of people can relate to. In our Christian life, however, it's something that we never need worry about. There is never a need to try to 'fake it till we make it.' There is never a need to feign expertise in matters over our pay grade. The reason for that is that the Savior promised that he'd send us the Spirit. We do not need to be our own advocate. We do not need to be our own helper. We do not need to be our own expert teacher. The Lord has covered that for us.

            In conversation I sometimes relate that the seminary experience, limited as it is to 3 academic years, was never intended to teach a prospective pastor EVERYTHING. If that were its goal, the training process would have to be much longer. Rather, the goal is to teach prospective ministers the basic tools so that they can engage in the process of being life-long practical theologians.

            In our baptisms, something wonderful happens. Each of us is given EVERYTHING we need to engage in the process of being life-long disciples of Jesus. The gift of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer is all we need in order to will and desire all that Christ wants. Many believers have a poor 'faith-self-image.' They tend to look upon others as being more spiritual, more godly, or more steeped in biblical knowledge than themselves. Sometimes this poor 'faith-self-image' leads to spiritual stagnation or a stunting of spiritual growth. But there is absolutely no need for this. All Christians are given the same Holy Spirit. All can do mighty works in Christ's name. May it never be forgotten that the original disciples--the original ragtag group that received the Spirit that first Pentecost--were simple people whose hearts were lit on fire by God's Holy Spirit.

cheers,

TM