April 27, 2008
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The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church Pastor Per Inge Vik Joh 14, 15-21 The Spirit’s Coming Early last Wednesday I was riding my bike to church. It was a nice spring morning. As I biked under a railroad bridge, all of a sudden, a dove appeared, up in front of me. The bird was quite close to my head. It had a light grey color, nearly white. I was not scared at all. On the contrary, I felt the appearance of the bird as a greeting from God. It simply reminded me of the Holy Spirit. That he was close to me. This might be connected to my Bible reading the same morning. I had been reading about the Spirit. In a couple of weeks, we will celebrate the festival of Pentecost. This Sunday has a theme pointing towards Pentecost. Jesus gives his disciples the promise of the Holy Spirit. Can you remember the story about Noah in the Bible? Three times he sent a dove from the ark after it had stopped raining. The water level was sinking. - Has the water sunk enough? Noah was wondering. He sent out the dove to get an answer. The dove returned to Noah quite quickly, as it found no place to set its foot (Gen 8:9). Then 7 days later, Noah made a second attempt. He opened a window and let the dove fly out from the ark. In the evening it returned with a freshly plucked olive leaf in its beak. So after another 7 days he let the dove leave the ark a third time. Then it did not return. It had found a place to stay. The dove depicts the Holy Spirit. The 3 times that Noah let the dove leave the ark, symbolizes the three stages of the Spirit’s coming to the earth. The first stage is the time of the old covenant. The Spirit is sent to the stormy ocean of this world. He speaks through the prophets and intervenes in specific occasions. But he finds no dwelling place where he permanently can settle. He returns to God the Father. Then, the 2nd time the dove was sent out, we noticed that it returned with an olive branch. That is the symbol of peace and reconciliation. God’s judgment over humans, because of our revolt and evil, has reached an end. This sending of the Spirit is all about his presence in the life of Jesus. He took our punishment upon himself, and proclaimed the Kingdom where there is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom 14:17). At Jesus’ baptism in Jordan, the Holy Spirit’s dove came down over him. From that moment the Holy Spirit stayed with all his power in the Son of Man, and touched humans through him. Jesus was God’s son, all the time. But he restrained from his glory and power. He emptied himself as Paul puts it in Phil 2:7. Imagine, God’s Almighty Son became a helpless, little boy. Just like my newborn grandson. He had to learn to speak, learn to go, learn to keep himself clean. Without the Spirit he was as helpless as anyone else. It was only after the Spirit by his baptism had come down over his life, that Jesus could start his mission. A mission characterized by tenderness and grace, piety and beauty, everything that the dove depicts. But still the Holy Spirit couldn’t settle down completely in the world. The Spirit was only present through the Son. So there comes a 3rd phase, as the dove of the Spirit flies out of “the ark of heaven” and does not come back. But dwells in the world. This points towards the first Pentecost day: The Spirit is sent to abide with us, live among the humans. As we heard in the text, God will send us another Advocate, to be with us forever. This expression, another Advocate tells us that there must be a first Advocate. That is Jesus himself. He is now our Advocate at the right side of the Father in heaven. He started that mission from his Ascension day on. Next Sunday we will hear more about that. So we learn something important today: While Jesus is our spokesman in Heaven, a mission he started as he had completed his deed of salvation, and returned to his Father in heaven. Then Jesus sends the Spirit to the earth. The Spirit is the abiding God With Us. So where is it specifically that the Spirit has settled down? Jesus states it thusly today: He abides with you, and he will be in you. So the Spirit makes the human heart his dwelling place. The 3 stages depict how the presence of the Spirit is successively intensified on earth. In the time of the Old Testament there are only glimpses of the work of the Holy Spirit. In the Gospels, the presence of the Spirit is concentrated on one person, Jesus Christ. But then, from Acts on, the era of the Spirit starts at its full strength. The Spirit is poured out. He came to each of us through baptism. Just as he came to Jesus at the Jordan River. So if we welcome him, if we love Jesus so that we keep his commandments, then he will dwell with each one of us. In this speech Jesus prepares his disciples for his ascension. That he is going to leave them, leave the earth. They will not see him physically anymore. But in this comforting teaching he makes a clear statement, I will not leave you orphaned. After his ascension Jesus comes to all who believe in him, through the Advocate of Truth. The Spirit is God’s permanent ambassador to us. He is both among us as a fellowship of believers, and he has his dwelling place in the heart of each one of us. Notice the deep fellowship that Pentecost implies: On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you (v.20). This is the incarnation continued. On the first Christmas, God came to us in flesh and blood. God’s eternal Son became a human being. Then he went back to heaven. But ten days after ascension, on the first Pentecost day, and from then on, the Spirit is sent to live permanently with all those who love Jesus. So glory be to the triune God Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who was, is and shall always remain one true God from eternity to eternity. |
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