Romans
8:22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the
pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but
we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the
Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption, the
redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were
saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for
what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet
have, we wait for it patiently. 26 In the same way, the Spirit
helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the
Spirit himself intercedes for us through
wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the
mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God's people in
accordance with the will of God.
This Sunday is Pentecost--one of the
6 Principle Festivals of the liturgical year along with Christmas, Easter,
Epiphany, Ascension, and Holy Trinity. Pentecost is the Greek name for
the Feast of Weeks (also known as Shavu'ot) which began as a prominent
feast in the calendar of ancient Israel celebrating the giving of
the Law on Sinai. Later, in the Church it took on meaning as the fiftieth
day of Easter. On Pentecost we celebrate the Holy Spirit as the power of God among
us that heals, forgives, inspires, and unites. In the reading from Acts, images
of wind and fire describe the Spirit poured out on disciples of all nations. In
the gospel of the day from John, the risen Christ breathes the Spirit on his
followers on Easter evening. In the one Spirit we are baptized into one body,
and at the Lord's table the Spirit unites us for witness.
While the ancient Jewish festival of
Shavu'ot has little to do with the Christian observance of Pentecost... at
least on the surface... we can still learn much about our own faith tradition
if we unpack the meaning of that ancient festival in the lives of the first
generation Jewish Christians. Weeks/Shavu'ot is the second of the three major
festivals with both historical and agricultural significance (the other two are
Passover and Sukkot). Historically, it celebrates the giving of the Torah at
Mount Sinai, as the sages had calculated that this happened fifty days after the original Passover.
One
Jewish online source states: "The
period from Passover to Shavu'ot is a time of great anticipation. We count each
of the days from the second day of Passover to the day before Shavu'ot, 49 days
or 7 full weeks, hence the name of the festival. The counting reminds us of the
important connection between Passover and Shavu'ot: Passover freed us
physically from bondage, but the giving of the Torah on Shavu'ot redeemed us
spiritually from our bondage to idolatry and immorality. It is noteworthy that
the holiday is called the time of the giving
of the Torah, rather than the time of the receiving of the Torah. The sages point out that we are
constantly in the process of receiving the Torah, that we receive it every day,
but it was first given at this time. Thus it is the giving, not the receiving,
that makes this holiday significant."
Sometimes I cannot help but stand in
awe of the workings of God, for while both Jewish and Christian theologians say that their Shavu'ot has little to do
with our Pentecost, it takes only a slight re-working of the words above to see
theological parallels within our own faith tradition. For it was at Passover
that the Lamb of God who takes away the
sin of the world freed us from our bondage to sin and death. At various
places in the New Testament, Jesus is portrayed as the culmination of Moses... leading the people in an ultimate 'exodus.'
Fifty days after the original Exodus something grand, something awesome
happened: an out-pouring from God. Mount
Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The
smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain
trembled violently (Ex 19:18). Likewise, fifty days after the ultimate
Passover/Exodus, something grand and awesome happened: Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a
violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were
sitting. 3 They saw
what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of
them. 4 All of them
were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:2-4).
In other words, the
parallel is between the giving of the Torah--the voice of God written in
stone--and the giving of the Spirit--the voice of God written in our hearts.
And just as the Jewish theologian can say that the giving happened once but the receiving
is ongoing, we in the Christian faith tradition can say the same about the
Holy Spirit. The giving/outpouring happened once 2,000 years ago, but the
receiving is continuous.
I
think this gives us an important lens through which to view these words of St.
Paul to the Romans, as he specifically links the idea of hope with the Spirit: But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it
patiently. 26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our
weakness. Just as Jewish sages point out that their Torah is to be received
every day, it is true to say that the Christian's life of faith consists of
receiving, every day, the ministration of the Holy Spirit. THIS IS THE SOURCE
OF OUR HOPE!
Christianity
is sometimes portrayed as a ridiculously optimistic faith; as a
head-in-the-clouds, pie-in-the-sky... no grounding in the real world sort of
belief. Not that long ago it was popular to portray believers as sort of burned
out "Jesus-freaks" from the early 70s who had smoked one too many
'home-grown' cigarettes. That's not HOPE, that's just denial of reality. True
HOPE acknowledges that sin has done a pretty thorough job of messing up this
world; that's the groaning part of
vs 22. But true HOPE also... thanks to the Spirit's work...sees that God is in
the process of setting things right. By our reckoning, it seems to be taking
forever. But even when we lose heart... even then... we receive the Spirit's
help on our behalf who intercedes for
us through wordless groans. The call to faith is to recognize
this work of the Spirit, and receive it gladly. DAILY.
Cheers,
T.M.
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