Do not let your hearts be afraid
The Day of Pentecost, June 5, 2022
Acts 2:1-21 • Psalm 104:25-35, 37 • Romans 8:14-17 • John 14: 8-17, 25-27
“Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” Amen.
Happy Birthday, Church! After 1989 years, you’re still looking pretty good. What a day to celebrate the foundation of this complicated, beautiful mess we call Church. And it’s a beautiful day in the life of Holy Innocents as we name, bless, and send forth three graduates from high school and eleven members of the search committee. What joy!
Why today? Why is this day so special? On this day, long ago, 1989 years ago, to be precise, thousands gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the harvest. By the first century, Jewish Tradition recognized two harvest festivals annually, and this spring day marked the thanksgiving of the first fruits of the harvest. To bring their first gifts to the Temple, and the Marketplace, people gathered from all over Mesopotamia to Jerusalem, one of the largest cities in the region. People from all languages, cultures, and religions were in Jerusalem to buy and sell, and for this reason, we have the description from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles of everyone understanding each other in their own language, despite the multiplicity of languages spoken that day.
And so the Holy Spirit blows into town with tongues of flame, rushing wind, astonishing the crowds and the disciples alike. She’s not subtle, this one. She is flashy, dazzling, inspiring. And with her entrance she completes the Church - the last piece of the strong triangle that will ensure that the Church will remain past that day in a Palestinian marketplace, through the many trials the young movement will endure, across the darkest days of the Dark Ages, and through centuries of schism, schemes, and scandals.
The Spirit is the essential element, the covalent bond that keeps the other two members of the family from being taken apart from each other. This is a new concept. Before Pentecost, there was a well-established tradition of who and how God was. We had Law, Tradition, Temple. Before Pentecost, the new arriver onto the scene, Jesus, taught us to look at God’s laws in a new way and led us in a struggle against oppression. Taken individually, they can be easily co- opted.
Think about how two sides of a war can each invoke God as their protector or their justifier. Put into your mind how Jesus can be kidnapped by politics as pictures of a White Jesus are held up at a cross burning, for example. In both cases, it is the Holy Spirit, the arbiter, the source of understanding, the spirit of reconciliation, that stands firm: “NO! You cannot take any one of us on our own, we’re a family.” she says.
Now, I don’t want to jump into next week’s sermon, wherein I am certain Fr. Cam will successfully unravel the mysteries of the Trinity for us as we understand the nuances of this triangle of strength. Instead, I want us to stay with this Spirit, the one who brings understanding.
Because that’s it, right? The miracle of Pentecost. It’s not about flame and wind; new wine or many languages; it is that the hearts and minds of the people are opened. They understand each other. If this is what Church could be, give me some of that! We could all use more understanding. Understanding is what calms us, provides us new ways of imagining current conditions, it is what cures our fears. And this is why today is the birthday of the Church - the final piece of the divine plan of Salvation and of Creation. What was lost in the eating of an apple is found in the understanding bestowed on us by the Spirit.
John’s Gospel treats the disciples gently. So much has happened, and they have witnessed changes, reversals, loss. In just the last sixty days, from Palm Sunday ‘til today, they have gone from cheering crowd, to condemning mob; from guests at a dinner party to betrayers of its host; from a people filled with confidence to take on the powers that be, to a movement in danger of being crucified, killed, buried. Even the circumstances around the empty tomb, appearances of the Risen Christ around every corner, and a glorious ascension all give us confusion, perhaps fear, even, heaven forbid, despair.
I want to touch on the word “despair” for a moment. To the Church, despair is a grave sin. Some posit, the gravest. It is not because fear is inherently ungodly, to fear is primal, right? That raising of the hair on the back of your neck, the dropping of your stomach when you hear bad news, these are deeply instinctual physiological responses to an emotion that runs so deep, it is a part of our most ancient brain. Despair, in contrast to mere fear, is allowing fear to win, allowing it to rule. Paul describes despair in his letter to the Ephesians as something that leads us into other sin, because, having given up on light, we may as well embrace the dark.
To Aquinas and Kirkegaard, despair is the opposite of Hope, it’s the enemy of Hope, it is hopelessness itself. But we don’t have to leave things there. John the Evangelist tells us not to fear, that in these situations when all feels lost, the Spirit is there. Advocate, Comforter, Love. And Hope. The gifts of the Spirit. Sometimes it rushes in on wind and flame to dazzle us into action. Often it’s a quiet voice in the back of our head encouraging us to listen to our instinct, to make the right choice, to trust.
To those First Century disciples who had been through those wild days and weeks, Jesus says, according to John, do not let your hearts be troubled. Be not afraid. I leave you my Peace. The Spirit abides in you. And with those words, they leave fear behind, and they move into understanding.
Family. That is the second of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We are united because she flows through us, a winding thread, connecting our hearts to our actions, connecting one person to another in love and service, connecting congregations to their community as they make neighbors out of strangers.
Today we stand together, not completely unlike our First Century siblings. We have lost our leader - to retirement, not death! We are left with questions about what will come, who we will be, what will happen to us. We may even speak in many voices, heated discussions, as we passionately map out our future in the process to find a new leader. The Spirit will be there to rest on us, to provide understanding where there is dissension. Sounds like family to me. Where there is family, there is Spirit. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Do not be afraid.
And we hold up our graduating seniors, wonderfully made in the image of an intelligent God. It might be a scary time, or, perhaps, scary times are coming. I couldn’t wait to get to college, get out of the house; but there were plenty of times when I was out of my element - when I was failing calculus; when I was betrayed by a friend; when I wondered who I was and how to tell my family about it.
You might have times like these, also. But you’re not alone. You won’t be alone. This church that raised you, anointed you with the Spirit, and which today blesses you, is cheering for you. And that is the gift of the Holy Spirit. She will rest on you, give you understanding, advocate for you, and accompany you. When all feels like chaos, when despair feels close, listen. Your family is there for you. Take a deep breath. There. Did you hear her? Listen again.
Do not let your hearts be troubled. Do not be afraid.
Amen.