“Whose Spirit is it,
anyway?” 2017
I don’t know if you have noticed much, but we have been
lighting a particular candle every week since Easter
We have been lighting this beautiful, large candle, the
one right here in front of the altar, every week.
But today is the last Sunday we will light it for a long
time.
There is something sort of sad about this for me.
I love light, and candles, and fire (as long as it’s
safe).
I love a good campfire, when we are sitting around in the
dark sharing stories, singing songs, whispering prayers.
And what does it mean, anyway?
What does it mean that we light this candle, and that
after today we won’t light it any more?
It has something to do with Jesus’ resurrection – but
Jesus is still risen, so why would we not just go on and light this candle
every single week?
That wouldn’t be a bad idea, would it?
We would light the candle and remember what we said on
Easter, that “Christ is risen” and we would all answer, “He is risen indeed.”
But we don’t do that.
And to find out why we have to go back.. we have to go
way back… we have to go REALLY far back to the book of Numbers in the Old
Testament,
to the story about Moses and the 70 elders that we read
this morning.
This story takes
place while the people of Israel are wandering in the wilderness.
They are wandering
in the wilderness, and it’s going to take them awhile to get to the promised
land.
They are wandering
and they are hungry and they are complaining to God.
Even Moses is complaining, because he’s feeling the
weight of being the leader of all of these people, and there’s only one of
him.
So God is hearing all of this grumbling and complaining,
and he gives the people food – manna and quail, to be specific – and he also
finds some leaders who will share Moses’ spirit – 70 of them to be exact. So
Moses would not have to do everything all by himself.
There were others.
And God put some of the Spirit on them, and they
prophesied. But Just once.
But there’s this odd thing that happens.
There are 70 people who are in the authorized place, who
prophesy.
But there are these two, Eldad and Medad, who are not
where they are supposed to be, and they prophesy too. (light a couple more candles).
And it seems that there is some anxiety about this. Somehow the rules are not being followed.
Someone is getting
some Spirit who shouldn’t be getting the Spirit.
And we should stop this from happening!
But Moses actually is not bothered about this at all, and
says instead that he wishes that ALL of God’s people would be prophets.
Prophets. What
does it mean?
Moses wishes all of God’s people would be prophets.
I’ll bet you never thought of that as a name for
yourself.
Child of God.
Yes. Image of God. I hope so.
Sheep of the
shepherd, Living stone? But
prophet?
What does it mean?
It does have something to do with this light right
here.
And it has something to do with spirit. Light and spirit.
They go together.
And God wishes that all of God’s people would be
prophets.
Has wished it for a long time.
Ever since the
wilderness, when the Spirit spilled out – just for a little it – on Eldad and
Medad.
To be a prophet.
We still think it has something to do with foretelling the future
sometimes, having a crystal ball, when it has more to do with speaking God’s
truth.
Dreaming God’s dreams.
Seeing God’s visions. Carrying
God’s light.
Yes. (light a
couple of candles).
Being able to having enough light to see the love of God,
and share it… To carry the spirit of God, the spirit that raised Jesus from the
dead – and in some way or another – to share it.
To bring light where there is darkness. Light where there is death. Hope where there is despair.
That’s what it
means to be a prophet.
So. This brings us
to today.
Pentecost Sunday.
On that day the disciples were all together in a
room. They were waiting.
On that day there were people gathered in Jerusalem,
because it was a Jewish festival 50 days
after Passover.
So they were already gathered for one purpose.
But while the people were gathered, and while the
apostles were waiting, the wind blew so hard everyone could hear it and the tongues
of fire danced so brightly that they could see it, and there was light and
there was noise, and the apostles were ALL like Medad and Eldad –
It wasn’t just one person testifying – they were all
testifying.
There wasn’t just one person who held all of the
spirit.
There were all of these people sharing the spirit.
And there wasn’t just one person who was bearing the
light. They were all bearing the
light All of them.
That’s what Pentecost was.
The dreams and visions of God, now a part of the
disciples.
The light of God.
Now a part of the didsciples.
The spirit of God – the spirit that raised Jesus from the
dead – now a part of the disciples.
(I shared the story of the two men in Portland who stood
up for the teenage girls who were threatened, and the last words of one who
said, “Tell everyone on this train that I love them.” I said this was his one prophecy.)
So after today, the light of this candle will be
extinguished. We won’t be lighting it
any more. You can come back here and
unless there is a baptism – the candle won’t be lit. And if you have ever wondered why
Here’s why that it
Because the light is in you now.
The Spirit is in you.
It is you who go out into the world, to be light and hope
and love to people who so much need to know, need to feel, need to see it.
It is you who feed the hungry, it is you who lay hands on
the sick, it is you who tell about God’s mighty acts, not only in the Bible but
in your life.
But here’s the thing:
remember that the light you bear – starts here.
Not in this sanctuary, exactly, but in this gathering,
among this people, and with the one who died and rose.
We gather in grace, grow in Grace – and Go in Grace – and
it is God’s grace that fills us.
It is not your life, not your power, not your spirit, but
the Spirit of God lives in you.
Your small candle is a part of this large candle, and
even though we can’t see it – the light still shines.
AMEN
