Spirit of Truth
Pentecost Sunday
Acts 2:1-4, 17-18 and John 16:4b-15
(Cover John 15:26-27)
Growing up in the 80’s, I was a big fan of Kool and the Gang, and I could not help but think of their song, “Celebrate,” as I began my thoughts for this sermon.
Do any of you remember Kool and the Gang? The lyrics to their song, “Celebrate,” went something like this:
Yahoo! This is your celebration
Yahoo! This is your celebration
Celebrate good times, come on (Let’s celebrate)
Celebrate good times, come on (Let’s celebrate)
There’s a party goin’ on right here
A celebration to last throughout the years
So bring your good times and your laughter too
We gonna celebrate your party with you
Come on now
Celebration
Let’s all celebrate and have a good time
Celebration
We gonna celebrate and have a good time
It’s time to come together
Everyone around the world, come on
When I think of the Spirit raining down on the people, no wonder they were speaking in tongues and appeared to be drunk. What a sight it must have been, the noise of the different languages exclaiming to one another, trying to understand one another, and knowing they were filled with the Spirit, the joy, excitement and bewilderment. Indeed it must have been such a celebration.
And so it was that the Advocate came down, the Spirit of truth, the one whom Jesus sent.
If we reflect back on last week’s message of how Jesus’ prayed for us, how he nurtured and cared for us like a mother, this is the same action that we see continuing in this scripture. Jesus, once again, is preparing his disciples for what is to come, and also providing for them the Spirit of truth so they will be comforted, and more importantly so they will be guided into all the truth.
Steven Lawson defines Truth as referred to in the Bible ‘as that which conforms with fact or reality. It is genuineness, veracity, or actuality. In a word, truth is reality. It is how things actually are. Theologically, truth is that which is consistent with the mind, will, character, glory, and being of God. Truth is the self-disclosure of God Himself.’
We are told in scripture that God the Father is “the God of truth”. Jesus Christ is “full of grace and truth, and that He is simply “the truth.” Paul calls scripture “the word of truth,” and Jesus prayed, “Your word is truth.” Everything about God is true.
Today we celebrate the Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit sent by Jesus to comfort us when he was no longer present with us in body. The Spirit is the one, that speaks to us and that inspires us to witness the truth of God through the words we say and the actions we live.
The world does not understand this truth, which is the reason Jesus was crucified. The world does not understand because they do not believe in Jesus. The world is focused on division, while the truth is focused on unity, the same unity found in the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We are one with the Trinity because we understand the truth.
The Gospel of John was written to a struggling community of reality and falsehoods when it came to the decision of recognizing God as the truth. Ironically, it is not a lot differently today as divisions seem to deepen the gorge between falsehoods and truth.
So when things get really confusing, and it is hard for us to know what is “right or wrong,” per se, we turn to the scripture, the word of truth, and we allow the Spirit of truth to guide us into all the truth.
I love the phrasing here that we will be guided into the truth. We are guided to lean into it and live it, not just read it.
Jesus also refers to the Spirit of truth as an Advocate. With the Holy Spirit with us, guiding us along our life’s journey, we never travel alone.
As we consider how the truth enlightens us, we can consider this story of a Greek teacher as explained by writer, Robert Fulghum (from his book “It Was on Fire When I Lay Down on It” :
‘When I was a small child during World War II…one day on the road, I found the
broken pieces of a mirror. A German motorcycle had been wrecked in that place. I tried
to find all the pieces and put them together, but it was not possible, so I kept the largest
piece. This one. And by scratching it on a stone, I made it round. I began to play with it
as a toy and became fascinated by the fact that I could reflect the light into dark places
where the sun could never shine. It became a game for me to get light into the most
inaccessible places that I could find. I kept the little mirror, and as I grew up, I would
take it out at idle moments and continue the challenge of the game.
As I became a man, I grew to understand that this was not just a child’s game,
but a metaphor of what I could do with my life. I came to understand that I am not the
light or the source of the light. But light — be it truth or understanding or knowledge —
is there, and it will only shine in many dark places if I reflect it. I am a fragment of a
mirror whose whole design and shape I do not know. Nevertheless, with what I have, I can reflect light into the dark places of this world — into the dark places of human hearts — and change some things in some people. Perhaps others seeing it happen will do likewise.
This is what I am about. This is the meaning of my life.’
This is how the Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit of God, works in us. Like this story of the little mirror, the Holy Spirit reflects the truth of God using the gifts we have been given by God so we may reflect divine light into the lives of others. Through the Holy Spirit we are vessels used to shine light and love into the world.
It is up to us to discover the ways the Spirit of truth is uniquely active in each of our lives so that others are brought to Christ through the Spirit and the light.
As we consider this Day of Pentecost, this great day of celebration when the Spirit rained down upon the people, and still continues to rain down upon us, I’ll leave you with this poem by Clarissa Pinkola Estes to ponder how we can reflect the light and Spirit of truth today:
We do not become healers.
We came as healers. We are.
Some of us are still catching up to what we are.
We do not become storytellers.
We came as carriers of the stories
we and our ancestors actually lived. We are.
Some of us are still catching up to what we are.
We do not become artists. We came as artists. We are.
Some of us are still catching up to what we are.
We do not become writers.. dancers.. musicians.. helpers..
peacemakers. We came as such. We are.
Some of us are still catching up to what we are.
We do not learn to love in this sense. We came as Love. We are Love.
Some of us are still catching up to who we truly are.