WHEN THE SPIRIT SPEAKS

A sermon by the Rev. Dr. James G. Kirk

Harundale Presbyterian Church

Glen Burnie, Maryland

January 12, 2003

Text: “The Holy Spirit came upon them.” (Acts 19:6)

First Reading: Genesis 1:1-5

Second Reading: Mark 1:4-11

This past week a friend told the following story. She was baby sitting her four-year old great granddaughter. Now these visits were special, since not long ago my friend lost her husband and enjoyed the company of her great granddaughter whenever she came to visit. On this particular occasion they’d had a good visit, as they usually did, and it was time for bed. Again, bedtime was special, because the four-year old would sleep in the bed where her great grandfather had slept. It was a high bed and care had to be taken to tuck the child in well to hinder the risk of her falling out of bed and possibly hurting herself. So, she was safely and snugly tucked in and great grandma said she would go to the bathroom and would be right back.

When great grandma returned, her husband’s slippers were in the middle of the bedroom where they had not been before. She knew that the great granddaughter couldn’t have gotten out of bed and put the slippers there, because she was tucked in the way she had always been and the bed covers had not been disturbed. Great grandma asked her how the slippers had gotten there and heard the reply, “Oh, that’s alright ‘mom-mom’, ‘pop-pop’ was here and just left through the window.” That same weekend, when my friend’s daughter came to visit her mother, the first thing she said when she came in the house was, “it smells as though Dad has been here!” Now Dad and great granddad has been dead for about nine months.

I tell you that story, because there’s a direct link between the slippers left in the middle of the floor and Paul’s story about the disciples he meets in Ephesus. Knowing that they were disciples, he asks them if they have received the Holy Spirit. They answer that they know nothing about the Holy Spirit. So, after some remedial theological training (Paul told them that John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus,) Paul re-baptizes them “in the name of the Lord Jesus.” As proof that that the baptism has taken the Holy Spirit comes upon them and they begin to speak in tongues and to prophesy.

Go back to what we heard in Mark’s Gospel and the link becomes clearer. Remember when John entered the scene he made it very clear that he was baptizing with water, but the one who’d come after him would baptize with the Holy Spirit. He also said how the one coming after him was more powerful than he was to the extent that he John was not worthy even to stoop down and untie the thong of Jesus’ sandals. In other words, whose shoes were the disciples to walk in, John the Baptist’s or Jesus’? And it’s pretty clear from what John himself tells us and later Paul confirms for us that the disciples in Ephesus were to walk in Jesus’ shoes. If that were the case they would be led by the Holy Spirit.

So, matter of fact, “pop-pop” left the shoes at the foot of the bed as a reminder that his spirit was and would continue to be present. The great granddaughter, full of his spirit in her own way spoke in tongues and prophesied, “pop-pop was here and just left through the window.” It remains to be seen, but it would be fair to say that in the future she’ll not be afraid to walk in his shoes and pop-pop’s spirit will be around to show her the way, which is exactly what Paul wanted from the disciples he met in Ephesus.

This Friday we had a wonderful service for Gordon Mandrell. It was the type of celebration of a life that really comes alive in the church. We sung hymns, two members of the family shared memories of a life well lived and one of his friends recounted good times spent together, times they’d always remember. In the meantime, Gordon’s picture was here in the chancel next to the communion table on which his urn lay adorned with the white pall, reminiscent of his baptism. Throughout the service there was no doubt that Gordon’s spirit was with us. Sure there were tears and there was sorrow, but to counteract those tears and that sorrow was the strong conviction that Gordon now rests secure in the house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. And his spirit will continue to be with Miriam and his family and friends just as it was so pervasive this past Friday. They may not see the slippers at the foot of the bed, but they’ll know his presence is with them.

In the next Spire I announce a new venture we’re going to try. It’s called the Lay Academy and it’s going to be a series of classes that will explore some of these issues we live with, like the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. What provoked me to think about such a venture is one of our young people who’s been asking a lot of questions about what it means to be Presbyterian. She’s a sharp young lady and has friends, some of whom are Roman Catholic, others belong to other denominations. Our young lady is also becoming familiar with other faiths, like Islam, Buddhism and Judism. The other day, while going through the line at the end of the service, she asked me what Presbyterians believed about the Lord’s Supper. Was the bread and the cup actually the body and the blood of Christ like her Roman Catholic friends believe? Or, was it more of a symbol of Christ like her Methodist friends believed? So, we’re going to begin a series of classes during Lent to answer some of her questions.

When we baptize we pray over the water and ask God to send the Holy Spirit to transform the water from ordinary tap water to a sacred use. Then we pour it on the child’s head knowing that it is more than just plain water. The Spirit speaks to us in that moment and the child becomes one with Christians throughout the world as water baptizes her in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

The same is true each time we celebrate the Lord’s Supper. We pray that God will send the Holy Spirit so that as we take the bread and the cup we may become one with Christ and he with us. It’s not so much that the bread and the cup are changed as we are changed. Just as the slippers at the foot of the bed. They weren’t changed, but the great granddaughter was changed. She’d felt the spirit of her pop-pop very much alive in her room. Just as Gordon’s death hadn’t changed, but everyone at the service was changed. They’d felt the assurance of the resurrection of the living Christ and knew that he was at home in the house not made with hands eternal in the heavens.

When we eat the bread and drink the cup they don’t change, but we change. We become the body of Christ, old enemies become friends, class distinctions break down and for a time we are all one big family united by God in Christ. When we take the cup we drink the spirit of Christ and we are emboldened to act as he would have us act. We are to go out into the world and ease the suffering, welcome the stranger, feed the hungry, clothe the naked and break down the walls of hostility that exist between one another.

Just as the disciples Paul met in Ephesus, the fact of their baptism in the name of John hadn’t changed, but they were forever changed in the name of Jesus Christ and would go on to prophesy in his name. The Holy Spirit came upon them just as we pray “come Lord Jesus, let your Spirit speak to us in new ways.” May we become like the little girl who told her mom-mom that he was here, I saw him, and he left his slippers that I may walk in his way!”

Thanks be to God,

Amen