The Holy Spirit

Pastor Phil Beck
St. Paul's Lutheran Church
Walkersville

(7/2023) Throughout our Lenten journey we reflected on God’s Amazing Grace as we prepared for our rendezvous with the cross. We were guided thoughtfully as to how God has filled our lives with good things though not forgetting we have had to struggle at times to realize God in our midst.

This period of contemplation led us to the betrayal in the Garden, the trial in Jerusalem, the turning of the crowd, and Jesus’ death on the cross. I am not so sure I would not be as dejected, confused, and fearful as the disciples were as they witnessed these traumatic events. Yet, we all go through a similar situation when loved ones become sick, they can no longer care for themselves, they want to handle things themselves, and all we want to do is make it all better. Yet, we experienced all the pomp and celebration of Easter Sunday and all was well with our soul.

We celebrated Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed! We all went our merry ways for brunch, lunch, dinner, or some other relaxing way to finish out this arduous journey in which we witnessed the promise of the cross on Good Friday and were assured Christ is Risen. What now? Do we all just settle back and wait for what has been promised? Do we get tired of hearing the Easter proclamations and do we grow weary of a pastor who says Christ is Risen expecting a response of He is Risen Indeed with excitement and anticipation? What is the Good News we are supposed to hold fast to when we sit with our closed hearts figuring its just another day? In these days of everything going a million miles an hour, are we just as likely to move on and forget what a gift we have been given in the coming of the Holy Spirit?

We get into the rut of going about our daily routine where we don’t or can’t hear the promises Jesus gives to us in his last hours. Jesus promises we will not be alone, "I am always with you and I will send you another advocate." But what does that mean for us post Easter, does it carry the weight of what we heard on Easter Sunday, does everything just go back in the box until we are ready to unwrap things for Christmas. I assert we are not all Chreasters and there is more to our Resurrection Story we can hold on to with the sure and certain hope we are given new life because of everything Christ. Sure for us it is a little different from those early disciples, we were not witness to the incarnation, the birth of Christ, and sharing time with Him while on His earthly journey, although we have reaped the benefits of those early witnesses in that we have been assured of a place in His Father’s House, another advocate, and the promise of eternal life when we live a life as modeled for us by Christ.

I believe it was extremely difficult for those disciples to wrap their heads around the promise of Jesus being with them forever and that the gift of the Holy Spirit would be given to them to carry on the mission of loving us the way Jesus loved and served those whom he came in contact. This is the promise of the empty tomb, we have faith in the resurrected Christ, the one who came to serve and our faith is strong because we have not actually seen but believe. We often see the Resurrection as the end of the story, the end of our Lenten journey, the end of everything because we say the words Christ is Risen and that makes everything good, we smile at each other and go our own ways. I assert the Resurrection is the beginning, it is the launching of our life in love of Christ and love of all. "Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them and we will come to them and make our home with them." These words of assurance given to those early disciples are what guides us in our lives today, they give us comfort that Jesus in the Holy Spirit continues to abide with us though we cannot see.

There was a nature show about a black bear that gave birth to two cubs. One cub died right away. Three weeks later the mother died and the remaining cub was left to fend for itself. An orphaned cub in that condition is not likely to last long and typically becomes the meal to a host of wildland predators. In this episode we see a hungry-looking mountain lion eyeing up this cub as its next snack.

At some point, the orphan cub encountered a giant male black bear and cowered at the bear’s sheer mass. The larger bear peered around and seemed to realize the mother bear wasn’t anywhere to be found to which he gave the little cub a friendly nudge. We see the little bear happily trailing along after the larger one. The papa bear proceeded to show the cub how to grub for insects, to catch fish, and to scratch his back against a tree.

One day the two bears became separated. The cub began to cry and looked frantically for his new father but couldn’t find him anywhere. The cub approached a stream where he’d learned to fish and something caught his attention. He looked up to see the mountain lion that had stalked him for the entire show. There was no way that mountain lion would’ve gone for the cub with Papa bear around, but now this cub probably felt like the disciples or us when we can’t find Jesus. The cub mimicked the posture of his adopted father when threatened, stood on his hind legs, and bared his teeth. Then, in the exactly the same way his new father would have done, this cub let loose a mighty growl that should have reverberated throughout the forest. But, only a tiny bear cub squeak came out. Well, can you picture what happened? Yep, the mountain lion lowered his head and ran off in the opposite direction.

The camera panned back to the proud little cub still standing tall on his hind legs. And then all the viewers saw what that little cub could not: a few yards behind him, at full, ferocious height, his sharp, white teeth bared in a snarl, stood Daddy bear. He may not have made a sound, but he was there. And even though the cub couldn’t see his father, his father stood guard, protecting his young. The little cub had power available greater than anything he could produce on his own. There was a greater power watching over him. The Holy Spirit is our Papa Bear.

The gift given to us in the Resurrection is the promise from our advocate there will always be a presence, we will always know Christ is Risen and stands behind us, the Holy Spirit walks beside us, and God goes before us to make ready for us a place. The Resurrection is not the end of our Easter journey, it is just the beginning, it is for us the assurance we will not be stranded and left alone. When we need it most, the Holy Spirit will be there to chase off the predators who feel they will have an easy meal in our fallen state. Jesus does not abandon the disciples nor does He abandon us. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus abides with the disciples of every generation and lives with us as the Spirit of Truth, a Spirit we receive in baptism and beyond.

To learn more about St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, visit them on-line at www.saintpaulslutheranchurch.org, or better yet join them for Sunday at 14 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Walkersville.